End of Year Teacher Celebrations!

Planning for Year-End Celebrations for Your Teachers!

Last time, I talked about planning year-end celebrations for students. For this one, I will focus on those year-end celebrations for staff. Again, even if you are reading this in the summer, reflect on last year, and take some notes for next year. 

At the end of the year, it’s time to recognize teachers’ hard work and commitment throughout the year. Celebrating with an end-of-year event, focusing on creating a positive climate and building relationships is always a nice way to say goodbye to another school year. End-of-year traditions build community. 

Always remember that the climate you create for teachers will make a difference when they return next year. 

Key questions for planning those celebrations: 

• What climate will your year-end awards & celebrations create? 
• What can you celebrate at your end-of-year celebrations that will reinforce what you want to see in the new school year? 
• Do teachers implement the school training strategies and have strong instruction practices in place? Is that the behavior we want to celebrate and reinforce? How do you do that?

In an article about teacher morale, Danny Steele, EdD and Todd Whitaker, PhD share a list of “shout outs” to recognize not only teachers but also support staff throughout the year. No need to reinvent the wheel, head over to this article for some ideas that may spark your creativity for end-of-year recognition. Link https://www.tepsa.org/resource/how-are-you-affecting-teacher-morale-the-importance-of-recognizing-and-celebrating-your-teachers/

“Great Principals Do Not Act Important; They Make Their Teachers Feel Important.” Danny Steele, EdD and Todd Whitaker, PhD 

End of Year Data:

At the end of the year, state testing and year-end data are conducted. If it is received in time, you may share it by the end of the school year if it is positive and motivating. In an atmosphere of positive data climate, teachers will come to you wanting to know the results. 

Most of the time that data is received in the summer. In that case, it is shared during summer data training or when the new school year begins. Only you can determine when that should occur for your teachers. If your teachers feel bad about the data, it is time to determine why. 

I am often asked; how do you use your data for celebrations? I wish I could give you one answer, one magic bullet that would work for everyone. The truth is, sometimes it is good to include and other times, it is not. It depends on the data results and your school climate. If you need help trying to figure that out – we can have a conversation and talk about it. 

Many factors play into sharing the data with staff. It is highly recommended that it is done in a way that creates a positive climate and real change and transformation. How do you do that? The process will be school-specific and dependent on the climate and culture. 

As a leader, we are always reflecting on the impact of our actions. Do you know the practices and behaviors that will make a difference? (Those identified within your solutions to your root causes). If so, reward those practices that are having a positive impact on your results.

Questions to consider:

• What celebrations would help positively contribute to your data climate?
• What celebrations create an atmosphere of data ownership for your teachers? 
• When you have positive results to share, what instructional practices did the teacher implement to achieve those results?
• When you have positive results to share, which teachers fully implemented the identified solutions and achieved those results? 

If all your teachers accomplished the goal or implemented your training solutions, awarding all teachers builds momentum and energy to keep going and do it again. If you are not seeing results with your solutions, then it is time to go back to data step 2 and ask why. What is the root cause for not achieving results with that solution?

“Data are just summaries of thousands of stories—tell a few of those stories to help make the data meaningful.” Dan Heath

And I would say that it’s not only meaningful but motivating! Positively using data goes a long way toward creating a positive data climate and momentum for the new school year.

If you are interested in more information or would like assistance with any of the 4 data steps request a FREE consultation, or call me. Fill in the Contact Form Link: https://debradurma.com/contact-us 

Type in “Yes” for “Are you Interested in STAR Leadership Data Solutions?” You will receive a follow-up email with the next step to schedule a phone call to discuss your needs and questions.