Preparing for Growing Pains

Mineral Point Elementary is my third school as an administrator and second as the head principal. I also taught for seven years. In all of these environments, and really in every school out there, we should prepare for growing pains related to schoolwide improvement.

In fact, if we are not seeing challenges arise as we move toward a school that ensures all students are learning at high levels, we probably aren't changing. This is not always an easy experience to go through for anyone. People resist, maybe hoping you will not notice their lack of engagement with an initiative.

What can we do to prepare for the different obstacles that will come our way? It's hard to provide advice on how to deal with specific situations that arise when the status quo is being challenged. However, I have found the following qualities to be helpful in preparing for the inevitable growing pains.

Trust

We must bring a "can do" attitude to our work and believe that everyone will eventually find success. This means suspending some of our current assumptions which are based on past experiences. Instead, ask "What's possible?" Trust also means delegating some leadership responsibility and allowing others to personalize the work within the constraints of the initiative.

Confidence

Trusting ourselves to make informed and thoughtful decisions comes from a broad knowledge base about the initiative and constantly seeking more information. For example, I am currently calling other schools that have experienced success with ELA and asking how they achieved their results. I can rely on this collective understanding to support our shift toward our own goals.

Empathy

Change is hard. Some people take longer to work through the process than others. Having compassion and understanding for everyone's experience, while still holding to agreed-upon expectations, is important. The more we can see schoolwide improvement through the eyes of each community member, the better we can respond to what people need.

Stick-to-itiveness

Merriam-Webster defines this as "dogged perseverance". The easier thing to do when learning and growing and things get hard is to quit. Maybe some things are worth quitting. But because it is difficult does not mean it is not the right pathway to take. Trust and confidence come into play here. When we have faith in the process, the growing pains become more manageable.

Compromise

This last quality may not seem to fit. It doesn't mean, "Settle for less than what we set out to achieve." What it means to me is to be flexible and open-minded about the process and the outcomes. Each of us has a personalized vision for success that is different from others. By compromising, we accept some giving up of our ideals without sacrificing our core beliefs.

What quality would you add to this list for managing the growing pains of schoolwide improvement? Consider sharing in the comments. I'll be sharing more about the process of organizational change this week on the newsletter. Subscribe below! -Matt