Employees are people. Here are just a few examples of how administrators can boost morale: Award teachers (jean days, certificates, etc.) Why we like this: Your employees are always pressed for time. Now is a good time to put your sense of humor and empathy on display.” said Hodges. Employee Recognition. We’re looking for feedback on our new site to make sure we continue to provide you the best experience. One 2nd grade teacher responded with photos of herself hiking with her children. Your employees will respect honesty while you work together to fix any issues. We asked HR practitioners, via the SHRM Connect online community and LinkedIn, to share their ideas for easy, affordable ways to boost morale in the work environment. Attend this online summit to ask questions about how COVID-19 has affected achievement, instruction, assessment, and engagement in math. Putting some of these ideas to work can help keep employee morale high, even during the most difficult times. Then the staff swings into action. Dixie Rae Garrison, principal of West Jordan Middle School in West Jordan, Utah, would have preferred a hybrid schedule and other social distancing measures. Kathy Brown, who teaches middle school social studies in rural Milford, Ill., appreciates the things her principal has done to preserve a sense of normalcy, like posting videos of daily announcements and teachers reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Although some students are attending classes in the school building, others are still learning virtually. They’ve set up training sessions on technology platforms that are new to many teachers, like Zoom and Google Classroom, and dropped into virtual class sessions to offer instructional guidance. He posts videos while he’s out running, or cooking dinner with his partner and their teenage son, making sure to tag at least one teacher from each of the district’s six buildings. How Principals and District Leaders Are Trying to Boost Lagging Teacher Morale During COVID-19 Written by Catherine Gewertz / Education Week A Principal's Reflections: Reflections on teachine;, leamini:, and leadership Posted by Eric Sheninger How Educators Can Boost Morale and Mental Health Durini: the COVID-19 Crisis Here, we examine fifty different strategies that administrators can use in boosting teacher morale. “I just feel like I’m not doing a good job, and I worry about them,” said Brown, who’s in her 30th year of teaching. Related Articles. LEON. Be Intentional About Communications It’s crucial … Posted by Eric Sheninger. What was that all about? Two infectious disease experts weigh in on how a COVID-19 vaccine that’s 90 percent effective, as early results are showing, could change school health and safety protocols. Amy Pollington, a kindergarten teacher in Seattle, was so exhausted and stressed after four days of distance-teaching that she was on the verge of a panic attack. ET. How Principals and District Leaders Are Trying to Boost Lagging Teacher Morale During COVID-19. “Knowing how distant you can feel, I knew we needed to support our teachers,” Garcia said. Fri., January 22, 2021, 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. A principal describes the "nightmare" job of keeping more than 1,000 people safe in the fast-moving pandemic. 3 Ways to Keep Employee Morale Up During COVID-19. About 450 teachers … A strategy that works well in one school may not work well for another. What were we thinking?’”. We have a tea trolley that trundles around the school and serves a hot drink to all of the staff who can no longer move out of their bubbles and so on.”, Mr Hardy, who leads St John Vianney Roman Catholic School in Hartlepool, added: “We are so pleased with it that as we move into the winter we are thinking we may offer hot soup to our children as well to keep them warm in the freezing cold ventilated classrooms we now find ourselves in.”. When the number of cases started to rise steeply, a school community hammered out a routine. Morale is likely low during this time because of the uncertainty it has created. So many staff morale boosters. By now, your people are adapting to the temporary COVID-19 working conditions and/or shutdowns. It is not feasible for an administrator to try to implement every strategy on this list. How Principals and District Leaders Are Trying to Boost Lagging Teacher Morale During COVID-19. GCSEs 2021: Teachers don't want to mark external tests, 13 clever teaching hacks for Microsoft Teams, GCSEs 2021: Teachers to mark exam board questions, Schools may not fully reopen after half term, warns PM, Pupils ‘can’t hear or see lessons’ on DfE laptops, Tea and meetings: My family sees me in teacher mode now, Ask teachers if exams are fair, IB is told, Banned: Primary school teacher found with cocaine, Union takes action over filming of online lessons, Coronavirus: 141 free resources for home learning, Exclusive: Attendance ‘increased greatly’ this lockdown, Why school bubbles will burst staff morale, Coronavirus: Teachers exchange gifts to boost morale. A kindergarten teacher tweeted about a few of her restorative activities: reading, trying new tea, and cooking lasagna. He added: “Performance-related pay. Updated: 354 free K-12 resources during coronavirus pandemic December 17, 2020. Here’s how to do it: 1. Don’t attempt to hide problems or avoid conversations when morale is low. Some students haven’t turned in any work at all. Added to a solid base of instructional leadership, experts say they could provide important sustenance while teachers aren’t together in their school buildings. He said that at his former trust in Blackpool it was ditched and “staff just got the pay rise”. Thu., January 21, 2021, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. By April 8, that figure rose to 69 percent, and by April 23, it reached 72 percent. Hosting weekly or periodic video conferences to keep employees up to date on COVID-19 facts is essential. See more ideas about morale boosters, staff morale, teacher. ET, As districts, schools, and families navigate a new normal following the abrupt end of in-person schooling this spring, students’ learning opportunities vary enormously across the nation. But since SnackNation just facilitates the service, it’s of no cost to the company, and still provides a morale-boosting amenity that our team appreciates. 2. The panel discussion also heard how Covid-19 has changed the way schools deal with the issue of pay. Despite this new normal, there are plenty of ways to keep morale up and ensure that employees don’t feel isolated during these difficult times. By Catherine Gewertz — May 08, 2020 7 min read. “All of these things matter.”. John Hardy, chair of the Schools North East network and a primary school headteacher, revealed that his school has developed an old-fashioned solution to improving staff morale at a time when teachers cannot move around the school. “When you impose your preferred work style on others, you risk upsetting people who have different strengths and need different levels of support from you,” Moran explains. They need coaching support to teach their students, but they also need explicit messages from administrators about taking care of themselves. Herb Cox, principal of Midway Middle School in Hewitt, Texas, credits stringent safety measures for the low number of coronavirus cases at his school. Ways to boost morale are just one web search away! Andy McGill, K-12 assistant principal at West Liberty-Salem Local School District in Ohio, includes coronavirus response among his administrative duties. Written by Catherine Gewertz | Education Week. 11 Ways to Boost Employee Morale . By remembering there’s no “one size fits all” when it comes to motivating and improving teacher morale, you can garner better results. Will Napier, a special education teacher at Artesia High School, southeast of Los Angeles, appreciates the things his school has done to boost teachers' morale, like passing out these lawn signs. 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