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One of my primary focus areas is morale. Since my retirement, whenever I see a current staff member, regardless of their position, they tell me I retired at the right time and how terrible morale is within our schools. COVID has significantly changed many aspects of education. We need to find a harmonious way for parents, students, staff, all educators, and the community to work together for the improvement of student advancement. Too often, there is finger-pointing that leads to increased frustration. It is better to work as a whole and find the best solutions.
Accountability is essential. Everyone needs to set high expectations for our students to achieve beyond our schools, whether in the military, college, trade school, or the workforce. Academic requirements were drastically altered to aid students through the pandemic. These changes have continued to impact attitudes toward learning. Students were given a great amount of leeway in attaining achievement during this time, and the expectation for a more lax evaluation lingers, resulting in unreasonable expectations in achievement. This now frustrates teachers who find that students want excellent grades despite being disconnected and performing poorly. There are many distractions for students, and getting them to take full interest in their learning is difficult. Re-engaging students after the low standards set during COVID is not an easy task. Once students leave our schools, expectations will be very different.
Parents need to ask themselves whether their child is working to their highest possible potential. That was a question I frequently asked myself when my children were in school. This does not mean that a student needs all A's, but rather, are they at their best achievement level? If the top level for children is lacking, everyone needs to find the best ways to support them. Our children need to learn to accept challenges at all levels. We must come together as a community to ensure that ALL of our students can achieve.
Morale, even before COVID, was a topic for school improvement. Now, it is more critical than ever. Too many teachers are researching alternative employment. Like much of the country, Garfield has many wonderful teachers who are facing burnout, and my fear is that we will lose these outstanding educators. Older educators are counting down to retirement, while younger ones are looking to other districts where they may find better salaries and more success with students. Younger faculty are even considering alternative employment. Colleges are finding extremely low enrollments for students in education. Our state has even lowered the standards needed to become certified as teachers.
Currently, I am doing considerable research on this topic. I hope to find information that will help guide the improvement of morale in our schools. We should begin by asking what we can do to assist. A new school year is approaching. In addition to assisting teachers, let's help to ensure our children are engaged and looking forward to their learning. Let's work together to create positive learning environments where everyone is successful. Action can be taken without a burden of high expenses; recognition statements such as "You're doing a great job" or "Thank you for everything you do" can go a long way. As I find quality information, I will post those articles.