This is an ongoing series on The Worthy Educators’ Principles of Educator Agency and Efficacy and their implementation in our efforts to transform the profession. This piece addresses the non-negotiable right of principle 6, Support: allocating programs, services and resources that feed our bodies, our minds and our souls. See the accompanying infographic below and share this resource with colleagues. We invite educators everywhere to join us in this important work!
Practical, functional supports are essential in providing for educator agency and efficacy. We cannot achieve the goals of public education subsisting in a deficit culture, wearing multiple hats just to keep the doors open, the lights on, and our students served. It creates unrealistic expectations that we can continually achieve the impossible: educating children according to their many and varied needs while continuously digging ourselves out of a hole.
As we leave the industrial age behind, we need to realistically provide the supports and resources needed to serve society as it exists today, and as it evolves towards tomorrow. Specifically, here are fifteen ways that education agencies can support schools and staff to effectively refute age-old deficit practices and fully prepare children to be active citizens who solve problems and contribute value to society:
Wellness and mental health supports that address the stresses, challenges and opportunities educators face every day, helping to address burnout and retention of professional staff
Trust and shared responsibility among staff, providing time for group planning and decision-making, ongoing feedback loops, and the vetting of data to inform continuous cycles of improvement
Cultures of respect and openness that promote teamwork and collaboration, breaking down institutional barriers to foster risk-taking and innovation that transforms education for a new age
Enhanced communication at all levels that builds and sustains trust and openness, providing multiple conduits for giving and receiving input that fuels ongoing refinement of goals and targets
Strong relationships with staff, students, their families and the greater community to gather informed input and build consensus for well-resourced and strongly supported schools
Leadership development and capacity building that impart the skills, attitudes and dispositions that empower all professional staff to lead whatever their role, from wherever they sit on the org chart
Autonomy at the district, building and classroom levels to put in place the programs and services that meet the needs of the local community and individual student and family circumstances
Cultural capacity-building that welcomes all members of the community and creates greater understanding of the richness each group contributes to schools and to our society
Community-based programming that extends learning beyond the classroom for staff, students and citizens, enriching and extending the value of education across the local region
Professional learning that is customizable to meet the needs and interests of each education professional, acknowledging that we are unique individuals who need personalized supports
Mentoring relationships that promote educators sharing and learning from one another, building a cooperative, collaborative culture as an extension and enhancement of professional learning
Avenues of advocacy for what is best for student learning and teacher working conditions, including policy supports that create an environment of confidence in those supports
Integrated technology and data services that support quality teaching and learning, instructional and strategic planning, effective resource allocation and informed decision-making for the future
Optimal resource management that ensures good stewardship of funding, addresses actual needs on the ground, provides for professional salaries and benefits, and plans for efficiency and growth
Full upkeep of classroom furnishings and supplies, as well as facilities maintenance and security, so that schools are a safe, healthy place to work, learn and grow for everyone involved
Educators have a longstanding track record of making the most with less. To change this, communities have to become more invested in their schools, making education a stakeholder-based enterprise where everyone informs planning, programming and upkeep and there is a commitment to transform education in the same ways society is transforming itself.
If education cannot or does not reflect the world that it serves, it will not be successful in meeting the challenges of each new age. Through fully resourced supports and services, public education can recruit and retain a new generation of educators who feel valued and are able to work the lifespan of their careers to make a true difference in the lives of students, their families, and their communities. Anything short of this will continue a downward spiral of ineffectiveness that will lead to the irrelevance and eventual extinction of public education. The time is now to advocate for these supports as part of a transformative vision for our profession.
The Worthy Educator offers group and individual Impact Coaching to support you in realizing your full potential and achieving your goals.
Learn more, view testimonials, and join us here.
Comments