Our school mission has a section that says "cultivate an awareness and respect for other cultures, and empower future leaders of a global society". I believe this sentence is definitely meant to welcome people in general, whether those people are our stakeholders, or people who are just visiting campus for some other reason. At our language academy our students develop an understanding and respect for all cultures. We have 4th and 5th graders who are trained as campus ambassadors and every time we have scheduled visitors, the student ambassadors lead the school tours. Part of being an emerging future leader of a global society means you develop the necessary social skills to be able to communicate effectively, in a welcoming manner, with people of different backgrounds.
*What did you do to assess which stakeholder group (or subgroup) could be more effectively welcomed? And what did you find?
In order to assess which stakeholder group, or subgroup, could be more effectively welcomed, I conducted very brief interviews with different stakeholders as well as informal observations. I discovered that as a school we could work on more effectively welcoming student-teachers, not just once during the formal staff-meeting welcoming, but on a daily basis. I discovered that the most outgoing student-teachers felt more welcomed, and at ease, than the more introverted student-teachers. I also made the observation that less people approach and initiate a conversation with the quieter student-teachers than with the student-teachers who are always smiling and asking questions to satisfy their curiosity, or just simply to learn more during their practicum.
*Future Sphere of Influence: What would you do to improve welcoming this group if you were the school leader ?
If I were the school leader, I would prepare the staff a few weeks in advance, prior to the arrival of the student-teachers, by letting them know the date of their arrival to our campus and generating some ideas, together as a staff, of how we can welcome them on a daily basis. I feel that welcoming them once, is NOT enough. They need to feel welcomed daily. We need to create an environment that they will look forward to being a part of every morning when they wake up. I would encourage my staff, through weekly e-mails, to take the time to ask the student-teachers how their experience is coming along and offer their support in order to create a more inviting campus.
*Current Sphere of Influence: What can you do in your present position to enhance welcoming these stakeholders?
In my current position I can take the initiative and lead by example during lunch time when I see the student-teachers in the staff lounge having lunch together. I can choose to sit with them and ask them how they're doing and offer encouraging words and my unconditional support. I can also take it upon myself to e-mail a friendly message to the staff encouraging them to offer a friendly smile and greeting to the student-teachers and show interest in who they are and what they have to offer to our campus. This can be part of our "Kindness Challenge" that we have school-wide.
*Current Sphere of Influence: Commit to 5 things you are willing to do this semester that will make your school a more welcoming place:
--> Smile and greet everyone with whom I come in contact.
--> Have my students create thank you cards for the recess/lunch/playground supervision staff.
--> Have students create a thank you card for parent volunteers who invest their personal time into our classroom.
--> Have students choose a teacher they have had in the past and write them a letter thanking them for something that they remember learning from them.
-->Take the time to compliment people on a daily basis.