Fostering Effective Relationships
One of the most important dimensions of a school administrator's role is to foster effective relationships within the school community. This would include students, staff, district office staff and the community as a whole. Just like a classroom teacher, a school leader needs to foster relationships with the students. Positive learning environments support learning. Our main goal is to educate the future generation. Being seen in the school and offering an open door will begin to create that positive atmosphere. The key is to get to know the students on a one-to-one level offering support for not only educational endeavors but extracurricular ones as well. This same philosophy must be mirrored in the relationships with staff as well. Getting to know staff on a personal as well as a professional level helps to build these relationships. But relationship building takes time and trust. As we develop into a 21st century learning environment, role of administration in fostering relationships within the larger community will be paramount. If we truly are going to open our doors to the community we must be even more reflective and responsive. This will require excellent communication skills and a whole lot of patience.
I believe that one of my greatest strengths is fostering effective relationships. Whether it is with staff, administration, students, or parents, my personality and beliefs about other people allow for me to build effective relationships. I am friendly and forthright and lead by quiet example. I like to listen to others first before I inject my opinion on an issue. I value others and that shows in the respect I give and receive. In the development of the action plan for Springbank Community High School, one of my first tasks as leader of the "think tank", I lead both students and teachers through focus group discussions. Each was facilitated by me, but gave significant opportunity for others to speak. I replicated the process with the parents and accumulated valuable data that was eventually compiled into a formal report "Building a Better School". Without building effective relationships this task would have been more difficult. Granted, I could have gathered some data, but the conversations would not have been as rich, honest, or productive as they were. The document "Building a Better School" is now the framework for which we, as leaders in Springbank High School, are implementing many of the suggestions. This includes, an Advisory Program, transitioning to a Learning Commons, participating in Alberta Education's Flexibility Project and others. It also has provided the background to our School Education Plan and the justification for allocating funds to appropriate places.
I believe that one of my greatest strengths is fostering effective relationships. Whether it is with staff, administration, students, or parents, my personality and beliefs about other people allow for me to build effective relationships. I am friendly and forthright and lead by quiet example. I like to listen to others first before I inject my opinion on an issue. I value others and that shows in the respect I give and receive. In the development of the action plan for Springbank Community High School, one of my first tasks as leader of the "think tank", I lead both students and teachers through focus group discussions. Each was facilitated by me, but gave significant opportunity for others to speak. I replicated the process with the parents and accumulated valuable data that was eventually compiled into a formal report "Building a Better School". Without building effective relationships this task would have been more difficult. Granted, I could have gathered some data, but the conversations would not have been as rich, honest, or productive as they were. The document "Building a Better School" is now the framework for which we, as leaders in Springbank High School, are implementing many of the suggestions. This includes, an Advisory Program, transitioning to a Learning Commons, participating in Alberta Education's Flexibility Project and others. It also has provided the background to our School Education Plan and the justification for allocating funds to appropriate places.
