Graceful Leadership

Synonyms: confidence, humility, responsiveness, flexibility, taking charge, proud

Analogy: A teacher who is like a sturdy oak tree – rooted in humility, branches of confidence swaying with responsiveness to the winds of change, yet flexible enough to bend without breaking, while always firmly taking charge of their students’ growth.

Example: We had a situation where almost overnight we lost 3 staff and 20 students.  Three staff stepped up into roles outside of their normal, outside of their comfort zone, outside of their knowledge-base, and helped fill the gaps in these other classes with smiles on their face and embraced this challenge, giving the Admin team time to find a more permanent solution.

Example 2: Our 4-man Admin team was cut down to 3; we reassessed and reassigned roles to cover all aspects of that person’s responsibilities.

Anti-Value: Egocentrism, Not ‘Giving Tree’, ‘Not my job’ mentality

Unwavering Acceptance

Lifelong Learner

Radiant Enthusiasm

Synonyms: passion, positivity, upbeat, drama free, nurturing, supportive, collaborative

Analogy: You have a little ball of light within you – it shines on those around you and lifts everyone, raising their spirits and outlook! 

Example: A teacher was scheduled to be a second teacher in the young preschool class.  As she approached and entered the classroom, she was met with chaos: children were screaming, one was swearing, the teacher was trying to transition from cleaning up breakfast to Circle Time, there was oatmeal smeared all over the table and most of the chairs, one student had it dripping down around his ears, the serving spoon was under the table, the peaches were leaking into the serving bucket, and one student was crying and hanging onto the teacher’s shirt.   Instead of throwing up her hands and expressing utter disbelief, she jumped right in, helped calm down the big emotions, took over cleaning up the food messes so the other teacher could begin Circle Time on time, and then joined the group, inserting herself amidst the rowdiest part of the group to help engage and gently correct their exuberance.  This teacher maintained her calm, realized that any negative emotion she might have shown would have exacerbated the situation, and instead helped the classroom pivot and take on a positive outlook from a chaotic, difficult breakfast time.

Anti-Value: Candle-blower-outer, ‘It’s just a job’ mentality, jealousy

Commitment to Ethical Excellence

Anchored Accountability

Synonyms: reliable, professional, punctual, consistent, dependable, committed, communicative

Analogy: Accountability is like an anchor for our school.  Just as an anchor keeps a ship steady and prevents it from drifting off course, accountability helps our Admin team stay anchored to our core purpose and helps our teachers maintain a stable and reliable learning environment for our students.  Without anchored accountability, our preschool community can become unbalanced and unpredictable.  With anchored accountability, we can ensure we all consistently meet our responsibilities, creating a safe and supportive space in which children and adults can learn and grow.

Example: We once had an opener who was very reliable and consistent.  She had a morning where she wasn’t feeling very well but knew that the preschool must open for parents who were relying on her to be there to accept their children so they could go to work and provide for their family.  The other coworkers were depending on her to be there to start the daily processes for the day, that the Admin team was relying on her to be on time to her shift so that all the other staff’s schedules would follow as planned to avoid overtime and over burden.  She got up, dressed, and came to work to open, then as soon as Admin was able to find a solution, they sent her home.  

Example 2: A teacher who knew she had an annual family vacation coming up followed the procedures to request time off.  Once it was approved, she made sure she had a written plan for whomever took over her class for the three days she was going to be gone.  The children’s learning was not disrupted and her substitute didn’t feel overwhelmed because there were clear instructions about the curriculum and schedule, with a few contingency plans. 

Example 3: A while ago, a teacher asked an Admin if they knew why for the past few days her classroom several toy animals had been left out when she came in in the morning.  She said she had completed her classroom closing checklist, but there was consistently a mess for her in the morning.  The Admin was able to look into it, looking over all checklists and camera activity and determined that another staff had used the same classroom later in the day and filled out the checklist as if all cleaning tasks had been fully completed, but the cameras proved the teacher was not having the children clean up their toys before gathering their belongings to go home for the day.  Admin reminded the second teacher of their responsibilities, and the teacher explained that she was struggling for control of her class. Admin was then able to provide additional training and help resolve this matter to ensure all rules and responsibilities were being followed and met.

History: Accountability has not been a primary focus, which could contribute to the historical burnout and teacher turnover we have experienced.  If we can improve the accountability of our culture within our educational community, perhaps we can turn the tide and reduce stress levels as a teaching staff together, making a longer lasting difference in the lives of the children and families we serve.  

Anti-Value: lazy, dishonest, pass the buck (refuse to accept responsibility), carelessness