A school is not just a learning ground or a place to improve knowledge, skills, and self-developmental habits. It’s also its own community where teachers and students can showcase and enhance their social skills and relations. Any school needs a good sense of community that promotes positive interaction, better learning, and healthier routines.
After all, school administrations would always want their students to have a positive experience, which is also an integral part of success. It also allows the learners to reach their full potential in academics and extracurricular.
If you’re running a local school, private or public, take note that creating a community culture requires meticulous planning and daily practice.
Maintaining a positive school climate will also involve the participation of both teachers and parents. Continue reading to learn about the simple ways to create a community culture in your school.
1. Prioritize Communications
Effective communication is an integral part of any school community. Teachers, students, and parents should be able to interact with each other without barriers or hassle. Besides sending emails and messages, newsletters and paper flyers are still effective for creating a local school community. After all, most parents these days might have crowded email inboxes. You can also organize actual or virtual scavenger hunts and activities for better engagement. Many school administrations also use websites and social media pages to connect with students and parents.
If you’re planning to use online communication, consider upgrading your tools, particularly the teachers’ computers. You can invest in high-performing mini computers, which you can customize based on your industry and unique needs. Mini PCs are worthy investments if you expect to handle many school administrative tasks and multiple communication channels. It prevents delays and errors that could jeopardize your school’s productivity and efficiency. The last thing you want to happen is for your students to receive incomplete and late lectures and materials or for parents to have difficulty communicating with you in real-time.
2. Plan for Weekly Class Meetings
Regular class meetings are an essential strategy for promoting the school community. You should at least have it once a week. The main goal here is to check on your educators and students about how they are doing. The class meetings do not have to be lengthy, but they should cover all the current and future school concerns. You can also encourage some students to share highlights of their week or ask a classroom-related question.
In addition, you can discuss your students’ career goals and how the school and educators can help in meeting those goals. Nonetheless, the topics you can discuss in the class meetings vary. Considering your students’ age group can help you in deciding on the weekly meeting’s content.
3. Make Parents More Involved
Establishing a school community isn’t just about the engagement between the teachers and the students. Parents also play a vital role in creating a sense of community in your learning environment. They must feel a sense of trust when they’re sending their children to school. If you want parents to approach school-related situations without anger, you need to start building strong school culture.
Eliminate feelings of hostility or mistrust by involving them in your community in a meaningful way. Besides the parent-teacher meetings, think of other ways they can voice out their opinions and concerns. You can host interactive workshops or organize monthly “town hall” meetings for better parent and school engagement. These simple steps can establish trust between the school administration and the families of your students.
4. Set Policies for Safe Learning
You can’t create a positive school community without providing a safe learning environment to your students. Your administration should develop clear policies on approaching concerns such as bullying, cyber safety, and positive body image. The guidelines should be accessible to students and their parents. You can display them in the classrooms and hallways or publish them on your digital communication platforms or website. Most importantly, ensure that the policies will be put into action when someone violates them. Create and implement fair and consistent disciplinary actions that foster learning instead of excluding the violators or victims in the school culture.
There’s nothing wrong with teachers being busy with their lesson plans or the administrators managing the daily school workings. However, ensure that there’s also time and money invested in developing a healthy and engaging community in your school. In doing so, you’re also fostering a welcoming environment that boosts the students’ self-esteem and provides them with a sense of belonging.
