Developing Positive Workplace Culture by Adam Bailey

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 10:45:38 UTC

When feedback from staff is called for, give clarity with how it is being used/implemented

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 10:46:19 UTC

Share information and updates on the work/conclusions of committees

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 10:48:55 UTC

Make school financial information easily accessible to staff

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 10:49:19 UTC

Publish how the placement of new staff in the relevant salary scale is calculated

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 10:49:47 UTC

Organise comprehensive all-staff meetings to

discuss priorities, celebrate achievements and

create transparency into each team’s work

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 10:49:56 UTC

Involve employees early in decision-making &

strategic planning

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 10:51:52 UTC

Provide opportunities for whole-staff community building activities during in-service days

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 10:52:20 UTC

Develop Peer Coaching Program

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 10:53:17 UTC

Review of the evaluation process. Research into more modern approaches

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 10:53:42 UTC

Employees input for calendar (Vote)

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 10:54:01 UTC

At home Professional Development workdays

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 10:54:14 UTC

Employee appreciation initiatives

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 10:56:35 UTC

Mediation to acknowledge past events

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 10:57:02 UTC

Professional Development for Leadership Team and Coordinators

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 10:57:35 UTC

Review into growing % of absenteeism

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 10:58:25 UTC

Develop strategtic Planning approaches to avoid a “stacking” of initiatives

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 10:58:46 UTC

Job shadowing project - give administrative staff and Board members a chance to shadow a teacher for one or more days, so they will get a real feel for what our job entails

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 10:59:17 UTC

Be as open as you can around decision-

making criteria, strategy and options considered

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 11:00:47 UTC

Create a Staff Wellness Advisory Board

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 11:01:42 UTC

Creating effective and efficient workspaces for shared teaching spaces

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 11:04:10 UTC

Research to develop greater understanding of flexibility in the workplace in the context of schools and education

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 11:04:48 UTC

Funded Staff wellness initiatives such as:

Movement challenges (10k step challenge)
Open Gym use during day and before school
Action groups (walking club, surfing club, hiking club etc)
Staff DOE style expedition (family welcome?)
Beginning of the school year kick off events for all staff = welcome back boat parties and whole school events throughout the year.

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 11:05:13 UTC

Review into growing % of absenteeism

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 11:05:52 UTC

Time given for Stipend positions as well as stipend: take away other duties to create time

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 11:06:05 UTC

Design policies with provisions for staff with diverse needs. ( Age, neurodiversity, level of experience)

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 11:06:22 UTC

Professional goals linked to wellness goals

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 11:07:14 UTC

Take into account the cost of living in the Amsterdam/Amstelveen area when carrying out salary negotiations and deciding on remuneration proposals

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 11:07:55 UTC

Tuition waiver needs to be transparent and equal and fair - open to all. With a transparent list and a cap based on the students on roll

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 11:08:11 UTC

Reduce inequity in benefits between local and overseas hires

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 11:15:37 UTC

Provide social committee with a budget and resources (i.e stipend position)

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 11:16:52 UTC

Create platform for staff and faculty to connect for social and personal interests

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 11:24:41 UTC

Create professional staff shared reading initiative

abailey54 — 2024-03-13 11:26:40 UTC

Increase opportunity to give feedback to supervisor and decide on a whole school format

2024-04-03 13:34:06 UTC

Working from home whenever possible

Increase number of personal days

2024-04-03 14:02:57 UTC

Provide access to/reimbursement for mental health counselling/therapy/etc that is readily accessible and appropriate for the needs of international teachers.

2024-04-03 14:19:14 UTC

Schoolwide system for student behavior and consequences so that employees are adequately supported

2024-04-03 14:21:06 UTC

2024-04-03 14:35:36 UTC

Be clear about leadership salary structures. Perhaps going so far as to state the historical facts regarding any pay freezes that leadership have taken to support the school's precarious financial situation.

To improve teacher well-being, it's essential to address the degradation of salaries by ensuring they are indexed to inflation. This step would provide financial stability and support our dedication to providing quality education.

2024-04-03 14:36:45 UTC

2024-04-03 14:37:45 UTC

Make policies easily accessible. They are either not updated or hidden in a longer policy manual. They should have a separate place where you can click and read individual policies.

Ask questions and seek faculty feedback before proposing/instituting sweeping changes.

2024-04-03 14:41:40 UTC

Actions instead of meetings and surveys

2024-04-03 14:41:45 UTC

support new hires and those who are transitioning into ISA- there is VERY LITTLE support given and almost no ISA community "vibe" or joy.

2024-04-03 14:42:31 UTC

Accept and respond to feedback.

2024-04-03 14:42:46 UTC

New ideas and ways of doing things can be great, but sometimes things are announced without input from the people who will actually implement them - people who will spot complications & challenges on a practical level. If we are just told to do things without discussion, it feels burdensome rather than interesting/exciting.

Ensure that Arbo advices in terms of well being are respected and followed.

2024-04-03 14:43:19 UTC

Utilize HODs as intended! Make sure that they share in decision making and have a voice for their department

2024-04-03 14:44:12 UTC

Freedom to be open and honest

idykes — 2024-04-03 14:44:16 UTC

Teachers - especially those who do not yet have tenure - often feel hesitant about being open and honest with Admin. It would really help to have channels where they don't have to be reluctant to speak out.

Adjusting the timing of certain single subjects classes could significantly benefit both teachers and students. Classes held at the end of the day may not be as effective due to fatigue and reduced attention spans. By prioritizing optimal scheduling, we can enhance the learning experience and overall well-being of both teachers and students.

2024-04-03 14:45:27 UTC

Transparent communication around the Hay System for staff!! We have been asked to accept our new levels, even though (i) most of us have no idea how the level was agreed; (ii) which step we will be put in at (iii) what the transition period will be for the high proportion of us who now earn more than our new level allows and face the possibility of no pay rise for 5-10 years...

2024-04-03 14:47:31 UTC

MYP/DP coordinators

2024-04-03 14:48:06 UTC

How involved are they supposed to be in actually supervising and creating units & IDUs? should they be leading workshops?regularly attending department meetings? They're not very visible at a grade level OR a department level outside of reminders for deadlines/requests to update managebac/spreadsheets.

Avoid obvious hypocrisy: Staff appreciation, a 2-hour meeting on faculty wellness, and an announcement about salary cuts in the same week?

2024-04-03 14:48:30 UTC

can faculty vote for members of the board?

2024-04-03 14:52:44 UTC

Scheduled meetings

2024-04-03 15:13:51 UTC

Ensure that Administrative staff receive an overview of which meetings are for all staff and they are expected to attend. As well as receiving an invitation in timely manner. This will help plan our working day which is from 8:00 to 16:00.

Class Sizes

2024-04-03 15:37:03 UTC

Increasing class sizes has continued in recent years resulting in new scales of value in Middle School for some subject areas. This has not only increased work load but also impacted on the type and nature of the content. This has added to work load significantly and brought additional behavioural issues to bear.

IB recommendations

2024-04-03 20:04:16 UTC

The Director and the Board need to read the recommendations in the IB report on Well Being for school teachers.

Subsidize fruit and veg from George's cafeteria for staff

2024-04-04 09:04:34 UTC