plans to communicate these strategies to our stakeholders and our faculties . How conscientious are we about the consistency and continuity of these communications ? Remember the old saying , “ Just because I taught it does not mean they learned it .” For organizational change to be successful , we must embrace that same thought with our stakeholders and faculties and provide ongoing communications on strategy , goals , and outcomes .
Make the Rules Appropriate and Clear
Remember this thought : We teach change every day to our students ! We ask them to try new things , explore new adventures , and to think differently . Why are we so good at teaching change , but resistant to change ourselves ?
Communication Is Critical
Critical to any change movement in an organization is communication . We all know it ’ s sometimes the biggest gap between successful initiatives and projects that fail . As educators , we excel at research , strategizing , analyzing data , and creating plans for ways to improve student achievement , fiscal concerns , and marketing / enrollment needs . We develop
For the most part , people like to know the rules . Rules comfort us during change . People like to know the rules prior to beginning any activity . Even when we try to color outside the lines , we like the lines being there to guide us . What rules will come along with your change process , and how will you communicate them to your team ? Do they know what their role is throughout the course for change ? For people to embrace new strategies and programs , they also want to feel engaged and understand why this change is necessary . They also need to know the path they have to take to help facilitate the change .
Consider Your School Culture
Much of the research on organizational change in K-12 education revolves around curriculum design and assessment . Student learning is a critical piece of school improvement , no doubt . Yet there are many other facets involved in organizational change that sometimes are overlooked . School culture is one important component that directly impacts not only the daily operations of a school , but also the ability to be agile during the change process .
4