By designating time to reflect, school leaders can set the stage for more meaningful goal-setting in the fall, determine what did and did not work over the past year, and create opportunities for celebration. Help your team recognize the positive – insights, growth, improvements to keep for next year.
Start with our free End of Year Reflection Resource, then schedule time to share out in pairs or small groups. Finish by celebrating the work done over the past year. Use the information gathered to create action plans and evaluate school initiatives as a leadership team. Follow up with faculty and share your own reflections.
As an admin team, go through your faculty and staff members’ list and assign an Administrator each individual to Spotlight during the last week of school. Share specific and personal appreciation for the work that person did over the school year. Highlight times they brought joy to school and made positive impacts on the community.
Create blocks in your calendar for faculty to book a time to come for an end-of-year chat. Ask them about their year – high points and low points – and what they are looking forward to in the next school year. Allow faculty and staff space to say what is on their mind. This is how you will learn more about your team members in order to make genuine connections.
Use prompts in the Community Feed to encourage connection amongst faculty and staff before summer break begins. Don’t forget to add your own responses to get momentum going. Here are some examples of prompts:
Isn’t laughing the best? And it’s important! Work together as an administration team to have some fun and create space to laugh at your end-of-year meetings. A favorite end of year tradition at one of our team's former schools was staff sharing a list of phrases heard in the main office throughout the year (with identifying information removed). Whatever you do, have fun and laugh!