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Meetings With Support Personnel Help Build Strong Teams


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The support personnel who work in every school -- secretaries, teacher and office aides, custodians, and cafeteria workers -- are essential members of the school team and integral to the overall success of a school. Many principals, myself included, refer to them as "family members."

To help make each of your school's support team sense their importance to the school's mission, plan to hold regular short meetings with each of them. When I was a principal, I always chose to meet with them at a quiet, out-of-the-way place near their work area instead of in my office; I did that because they would likely feel more comfortable in their areas than in my office. I asked each of them to explain how they viewed their role in the overall operation of the school. I asked for suggestions about how I might help make their jobs easier or improve the school's operations. I also asked what I might do to help them be successful in their daily endeavors.

Those meetings with members of my school's support team allowed me to learn each person's interests and strengths too. We were often able to use their interests to make our school a better place to work and learn. We found ways for many workers to share their hobbies or personal interests -- such as stamp collecting, fishing, knitting, painting pictures, and photography -- with our students. That helped our students see that their secretary, cook, or custodian was much more than that. He or she was a mentor, role model, friend, and teacher too!

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Explore this series of nine articles by George Pawlas:
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  • Getting the Most Out of Parent-Teacher Conferences
  • Newsletters: An Essential Tool for Every Principal
  • Building Positive Relationships With the Media
  • The Benefits of Being an MBWA Principal
  • More Tips for Great Newsletters
  • 50 Million Students Can't Be Wrong: Improving Perceptions of Your School
  • Support Personnel Are P.R. People Too
  • Create a School Profile Brochure

Meet Dr. George E. Pawlas

George E. Pawlas has written the book on PR for school principals -- literally! In The Administrator's Guide to School-Community Relations, Pawlas presents a treasury of practical tips and strategies for principals. The book includes hundreds of principal-tested ideas, illustrations, and templates to help you
  • create successful school newsletters and other communication tools;
  • use the media to your school's advantage;
  • enhance parent and family involvement;
  • work with the community and local businesses;
  • deal with crisis situations; and
  • much more.

    Pawlas has been an educator for nearly four decades. He has served as an elementary school teacher and principal, a district administrator, and a state education department consultant. Currently he is a professor of educational leadership at the University of Central Florida. In addition, Pawlas has authored dozens of articles and coauthored three editions of a book on educational supervision. He is a frequent presenter at local and national conferences.

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