What does real School Staff Appreciation look like? From a Former Principal

Real staff appreciation is more than words.

It is vitally important for those in charge to take the time to show real appreciation for the staff.

Throughout the school year there are days that are set aside for appreciation of the staff. It is vitally important for those in charge to take the time to show real appreciation for the staff. As most people know, education is a field that is extremely challenging and having an administrative time who shows appreciation can make a real difference.

Most of the time the administrative team or the PTSA will organize a breakfast or lunch for the staff. Sometimes they will buy them tokens of their appreciation such as cups and pens. I know this for sure because I was a principal who organized these activities. As a principal, I felt that showing appreciation for my staff was one of my most important tasks. I knew how much I needed my team to feel valued. However, the tokens aren’t the things that I found to be the most appreciated by my staff.

Real staff appreciation looks like support.

Support is more important than it ever has been. With the landscape of education changing everyday, it is leaving teachers and staff members with more tasks and more challenges to deal with each day. This means that there are more opportunities for support to help teachers deal with this ever changing educational environment. Staff members need support dealing with student behaviors, which have proven to be more difficult as our children are dealing with more social emotional needs. This means that if there is a child presenting very difficult behaviors in the classroom then you should work with your teacher with a hands on approach. After they have done their part, help them to develop a plan to address the behaviors, stop by the classroom when the child is in there, meet with the student, meet with the teacher and the student, call their parent for advice, etc.

Real staff appreciation looks like valuing the staff member’s time.

One way to value a staff member’s time is take tasks off of a staff member’s plate. You know the litany of tasks that staff members are responsible for, if there is a small task that can be done in a way that doesn’t impact staff, do that. Don’t add menial tasks if they can be avoided. Also, it is important to let the staff know that the reason that you are making a particular decision is to help them out and to take something off of their plate. This way they can see when this is happening. Another way to value the time of staff is to refrain from scheduling unnecessary or lengthy meetings. No one really enjoys staff meetings unless they are fun, and how often does that happen? I mean it is not always possible when you have professional development that has to be covered or announcements to make. Since this is a known fact, it is best to only have meetings when they are necessary and to make them a good use of time.

Real staff appreciation looks like kindness.

You would be surprised to know how many teachers say that their leadership treat them rudely. Maybe you wouldn’t. However school staff members don’t come to work to be mistreated. The job is hard enough, on top of that they don’t need leadership team members speaking to them disrespectfully or rudely. This makes a job that already takes so much effort unbearable. This is one reason why people will leave a school and go to another school where they have heard that the leadership is kind. If you think that staff members don’t talk about how they are treated by the administrative team, you are mistaken. People will work harder for someone who treats them kindly and like a professional. The basic tenet of treating people the way that you would like to be treated goes a long way in a school building.

In my mind these are simple things to do that will overall make a big difference in staff retention. Some leadership teams find some of these tasks more difficult than others, based upon the personalities of your leadership. However it is worth the push to ensure that your staff members are getting real staff appreciation. A nice water bottle is always nice but it doesn’t compare to feeling supported and appreciated based upon the actions of your leaders.