The best school offices adjust the sails:
10 ways to prepare for a COVID return.
“The pessimist complains about the wind.
The optimist expects it to change.
The leader adjusts the sails.”
(John Maxwell)
Of course, most of the phone calls and queries will come through the school office and, as per usual, a warm demander school secretary will jump into action much like an air traffic controller, hoping to provide clarity and all of the information needed to arrive safely.
A warm demander school secretary calmly gets everyone and everything in the right place at the right time, while taking care of details we don’t ever think about or see. Exceptional school secretaries can find and choose a kind voice in even the most difficult and confusing times, and this year certainly ticks off all boxes for difficult and confusing times!
There is little doubt that there will be nervous and anxious parents, staff, and students who are going to need that calm and reassuring re-entry into the school environment. School offices will need to prepare differently and tap more deeply into their inner warm demander leadership skills, calmly explaining the safety precautions that the school has in place.
While coaching school administrators and secretaries we've learned and we put together
10 ways school offices can adjust the sails.
- Most schools have an online registration option on the web page for parents to safely complete. Add an online signature app like Sign Now that eliminates the need for pieces of paper touched by multiple people.
- Make welcome calls to new families. Answer any basic questions from a script to ensure consistency and set up a zoom meeting with an administrator to confirm registrations and offer comfort and information about school start-up.
- Create a spreadsheet with family names and phone numbers. Timeblock all appointments in the principal’s calendar, with a link to the scripts that have been created.
- There will be many people with questions and they will be apprehensive about sending their child to school. These people will share information around the community and inform others. Check with administrators to be sure that all staff have the same information. Create a short script for everyone and provide ample copies of easy to read handouts for new and returning families.
- Frequently update the school phone messages and social media to proactively answer the most frequently asked questions by parents and staff. If you’d like to create an even deeper connection with parents, take them on a virtual tour of the school and the safety precautions with a video message created by administration and office staff to address these FAQs.
- Track all incoming and outgoing messages to identify themes and improve responses. Bcc yourself on every email you send and save these emails to save yourself time. There will be many opportunities to repurpose emails throughout the year. Questions are data and you will communicate more effectively if you are categorizing and saving these messages and your responses.
- Use a Bring Forward System to ensure effective follow-up with all questions and concerns.
- Develop a system for cumulative and confidential files to be accessible by staff without them entering the school office. This may mean relocating files to a safe place outside the office or creating a system for staff to request files electronically and have them delivered. As always, files must all be in the same order with no duplicates and organized to make it easy to locate items quickly. For example, copies of birth certificates are always put at the back of the file.
- When ordering supplies, work with administrators to order larger quantities to minimize deliveries and traffic on school grounds.
- If you haven’t yet, move your newsletter online. There are many great newsletter tools like Smore or you can use tools from your Microsoft or Google suite. Make it easy for parents to find procedural information and updates using this simple tip: People generally scan newsletters and webpages for information with their eyes moving around the page like the letter “Z”, from top left to top right, diagonally to bottom left, and over to bottom right.
The ideas offered above can be easily adapted to meet the needs of any school as administrators and secretaries adjust the sails.
