On April 10, I challenged leaders to make the return to school something special. This is a moment you won’t get back and one you can create so that it leaves a lasting positive impression for all stakeholders of your community.
If you took my advice back then, you’ve spent between 12.5 – 25 hours planning the return to school by now.
Not only do you want to get that moment right, you also want a robust and flexible plan that will communicate a confident reopening of school.
If you could use help formulating that plan, check out this workshop my friend, Jethro Jones, is facilitating. It begins this July and in five sessions you will create:
- A one-page, single focus plan for reopening schools that can adapt to any scenario.
- An FAQ for parents, teachers, and students.
- Surveys to get the right feedback from your community.
- A script for calling parents and talking about the plan.
- A communication plan to make sure everyone comprehends how you’re moving forward.
Jethro ran the same workshop last month. Participants had this to say about the value (and I’ll add a thought about why that’s important):
“Forcing myself to think about what did and didn’t go well in our spring closures.” You’ve been through this before. Learn from your experience.
“The idea of taking the time and talking with parents individually.” This investment in time will really show how much you care and the level of planning you’re taking. This is a good message to have the community spread on your behalf.
“Structure of how things were laid out in the workshop! The ideas here are triggering a bunch of other ideas.” Great ideas spawn other useful ideas. Sometimes all you need is a spark to get into a flow state.
“Having permission to feel like we don’t have all the answers yet. Still can put the foundation in place. Getting permission to do some things I’ve thought about, but was worried I maybe shouldn’t do.” Worry, fear, and analysis paralysis will not help in this situation. Doing the hard work with an expert coach can get you past that hump.
“The spreadsheet idea was helpful and having constraints was important.” Plans will continue to expand unless proper boundaries are made. Antoine St. Exupéry said, “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”
Register for the reopening school workshop here.
