are facing a leadership crisis—not because there are no strong leaders in schools but because school leaders often do not connect with the most powerful learning moments happening in their schools, nor celebrate them. Most school leaders feel overwhelmed, overworked, and overcommitted. With the ever-increasing responsibilities of the school principal, it should be no surprise that in 2012, the Center for Public Education found that the average principal stays on the job for five years or fewer (Hull, 2012).
A school leader’s job often involves putting out situational fires, responding to urgent needs, or satisfying the requests of a multitude of stakeholders. It’s no wonder that school leaders must battle for time to enjoy the best parts of school—being with the students and teachers who experience amazing moments of learning and celebrating them.
Even as school leaders learn to prioritize time for the most meaningful moments of school, difficult or negative situations often make it into conversations, social media, or mainstream media. As a result, the public gains a mistaken perception that schools are generally failing.
In Richard DuFour’s (2015) book In Praise of American Educators, he explores this popular but misguided notion that schools are failing and cites a Gallup poll asking parents how they would grade American schools:
The majority of parents gave Ds or Fs to U.S. schools. But when these same parents were asked how they would grade their own local school, the overwhelming majority assigned As or Bs … slightly more than 1 percent have indicated the [local] school is failing. (DuFour, 2015, p. 18)
Why is there such disparity between the perceptions of schools at large and particular local schools? Part of the reason rests with how the media generally portrays schools negatively. Also the current political divide in the United States has created incentives for politicians or lobbyists to emphasize negatives that work to their political advantage. Regardless of the reason, these larger perceptions drive public opinion. Public opinion drives public policy. And public policy provides or doesn’t provide resources for our schools. Schools are providing amazing service to students, but that message is not always making it beyond the school or local community. What would happen if a movement began among school leaders to make messaging a higher priority? Imagine a different scenario for the larger perception of America’s schools.
■ What would happen if school leaders prioritized the incredible learning opportunities, the meaningful human connections, and the powerful engagement of their schools while strategically promoting, publishing, and celebrating those moments?
■ What would happen if school leaders across a community, state, nation, or the globe committed to the same goal of encouraging and sharing positive moments?
■ What would happen if you influenced the perceptions of your school or district based on overwhelming positive outcomes rather than negative, isolated incidents?
■ What would happen if you were able to brand your school or district, promote your successes, and build the public’s perception based on the good outcomes instead of the negative ones?
If you will ever be able to prioritize these positive moments and shift the direction of public policy in support of schools, you might start a national or global movement. But to do so, you must address two leadership issues.
1. You must prioritize and strategize time for doing what matters.
2. You must believe that messaging matters by understanding a comprehensive approach to building healthy school cultures and overwhelming others with the positive performances and celebrations of your students.
A New Era of Messaging
I wrote this book with the school principal in mind when I was a school principal. But the ideas in these pages can help all school leaders: superintendents, directors, instructional coaches, and teacher leaders. If you are reading this book because you simply want ideas for innovative communication tools, you may get more than you bargained for. My definition of messaging is much more extensive. This book is a comprehensive approach to building healthy schools that requires digging deeply into the motivations of your leadership, the value of listening to others, and the power of seeing your school through the eyes of others. It also involves building a collaborative community in which you consistently cultivate an environment of mutual respect, goal setting, and celebration. At the same time, this book is practical. I will share plenty of ideas on actions and tools you can begin to use immediately to improve your messaging.
After more than two decades as an educator and more than half those years in school administration, I’ve witnessed the positive and negative perceptions that school leaders can create among students, teachers, parents, community members, and colleagues. As a principal, blogger, author, podcaster, and speaker, I’ve also seen the powerful connections, growth, and energy of other leaders who have learned to maximize their communication platforms.
My own story is just one of many. I have taught in large and small schools. I began my career as a high school English teacher. I eventually began working on a master’s degree in school administration and became a high school assistant principal in a school with fourteen hundred students. During the writing and publication of this book, I was principal of Skiatook High School in a city north of Tulsa, Oklahoma. (As this book went to press, I transitioned to the position of executive director of the Oklahoma Association of Secondary School Principals and Oklahoma Middle Level Educators Association.) With 750 students in grades 9–12 at Skiatook, messaging became an important part of my leadership. Each year we strategized with student leaders and teachers on mottos, announcements, and celebrations. We provided constant feedback on the wins we saw every day in student learning and activities. We worked hard to create a culture of collaboration, engagement, and positive entanglement. Skiatook has more than eight hundred parents who subscribe to weekly newsletters. It uses a variety of social media channels to promote a culture of learning and excellence. As a result, I like to describe the school community as raving fans of the school.
Over the years, I have spoken and presented to many groups of aspiring principals, school leaders, and student leaders. I also reach out to thousands of others around the globe through blogging, writing, podcasting, and posting on social media. Of all the interactions I have with others, the most common are those with my school community members and colleagues about the learning, activities, and celebrations happening in our school—not the drama, discipline, or difficulties. I believe this powerful form of messaging can benefit every school. That collaboration, relationship building, and celebration can be the norm for any school leader committed to the power of sending a message about school culture.
An Opportunity for Positive Entanglement
Today we have incredible capacity for building positive entanglements with members of our school community and celebrating our schools. Using social media, blogging, publishing, networking, and marketing are no longer tools or skills limited to corporate or business interests. Schools have amazing opportunities to leverage all these tools as well. But the journey begins by investing in your teachers, students, parents, and community through meaningful connections. That makes the message you have to deliver authentic and worth celebrating.
Perhaps you’ve already caught the wave of messaging power for your school. Or perhaps you are reading this book because you are interested in why messaging matters. Or maybe you want more strategies for improving your own communication influence. In the chapters that follow, you will find more than just tips on using digital tools. You will find strategies for effective communication, but more important, you’ll discover why messaging matters. When you make a commitment as chief communicator to your students, teachers, team members, and community, amazing things begin to happen.
■ Negative interactions can become the exception instead of the rule.
■ Students and
