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the survival guide for iowa school administrators Boxes, design only
REACHING PARENTS AND COMMUNITY
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Ways to Help Staff Move Through the Stages of Change Productively

Reaching Parents and Community Resources
PDF Resource, click to view/download.
  • Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. As Japanese professor Shibutani once said, “You had better keep your employees informed, or they will make it up, and it won’t be flattering.” Tell staff everything they need to know to feel “in the loop” about what’s happening. Failure to do this can leave you stuck in stages 2 and 3 for far too long.

  • Involve staff in the process—through advisory boards, task forces and focus groups. Send a clear message that change is not something being done “to them” but “with them.”

  • Be able to articulate the benefits. Former SAI Director Dr. Troyce Fisher puts it this way—“People don’t resist change, they resist loss.” Be able to articulate for people how this change will ultimately benefit them. Fewer preps? More opportunities to collaborate with peers?

  • Reorganization is typically driven by dollars (or the lack thereof). People need to understand what it means for kids if changes aren’t made. (This goes “double” for community members.) We all have to understand that it’s not about us—it’s about kids.


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