What does it mean to be a supportive administrator during the time of Covid?
Recently, Lauren told us about how the Covid pandemic is having a disproportionate impact on women. Women make up the largest percentage of the teaching workforce and, while many teachers have been able to keep their jobs this year, it is clear that the pandemic has presented myriad challenges for teachers both at work and at home. Remote learning and hybrid learning require a great amount of planning, as teachers adapt their current curricula or design new curricula based on the needs of their students. As an administrator or supervisor, you might be asking yourself what you can do to support your teachers during this tough year.
Think about what real on-the-ground support looks like.
The impulse on the part of any administrator may be to send supportive emails, leave small treats or cards in teachers’ mailboxes, or try to lean on the “school as a family” metaphor in order to increase teacher morale and sense of well-being. Maybe you have developed a school slogan or mantra or left extra Covid-safe snacks in the teacher cafeteria. While those things might be appreciated in the moment, real support comes from providing what teachers need—from time to plan to relief from unnecessary meetings to making sure that your policies and on-the-ground practices support people being able to take care of themselves and their families.
It is all well and good to tell people that you want to support them but if the requests they make for help are met with comments about how we are all struggling and we are a family so they ought to do it for the team… well, let’s just say that you probably aren’t being as supportive as you think. Get into the habit of saying yes to what people need unless you have a real, concrete reason to say no. And to anticipate a potential question, “We’ve never done that before” is not a reason to say no. Also, while you are working on this, it is a great time to look at your school or district’s leave and absence policies and childcare infrastructure to be sure that you are providing organizational support for teachers caring for their families in 2021 and beyond.
Create a feedback system that is anonymous, timely, and specific.
Consider how you are asking people for feedback about how they are doing. If it is irregular, infrequent, or requires them to provide personal information, it probably isn’t doing what you think it is. Teachers are trained to show that they can do it all and to be silent when they are struggling. Yet we know, based on the lower retention rates in teaching and the data on teacher burnout, that many are struggling and may be afraid to say so because of fear of repercussions. Yes, it may be difficult to hear some of the anonymous feedback and yes, you may feel hurt by some of what people say. But being able to have the real data on how your staff is doing and to provide more functional support may lead to better staff retention. I think we can all agree, having to hire new teachers for Fall of 2021 might not be the easiest task. Make your people feel heard and appreciated and you can minimize the number of people who decide that teaching isn’t a sustainable life model anymore.
Cancel that meeting that could be an email.
We’ve all seen the memes and heard the jokes about meetings that could be emails. And yes, we know that providing information to teachers and staff is one way to lower anxiety. But take a hard look at your meeting calendar and about the meetings that you, as an administrator, attend with your teachers. Unless it is absolutely essential that you or your teachers be present at the meeting, cancel it. Zoom fatigue is real and planning time is precious. This is a great year to hold on to that cool article you read or that new initiative that you saw at a virtual conference. You, as an administrator, might feel like it was important and relevant information, but chances are that anything you try to roll out during this year will be viewed with at best annoyance and at worst downright hostility. Better to hold on to that idea until next year, as people begin to feel that they have their feet underneath them again.
There are many actions that administrators can take starting tomorrow to make their staff feel more supported. As long as the support is based on the needs of the staff and authentic, it will go a long way toward making this challenging year a little bit less awful. Want to know more about ways to help your staff and evaluate your policies? Contact us and we can help you out!