Increasing Campus Morale Matthew Pratt Assistant Principal Whitehouse High School

Considerations Definition of Morale (Vocabulary.com) Morale is the spirit a group has that makes them want to succeed. It's a sense of well-being that comes from confidence, usefulness, and purpose. Todd Whitaker; Motivating and Inspiring Teachers, The Educational Leaders Guide for Building Staff Morale “Positive staff morale is essential for any school to be the best it can be. However, it is important to understand that two morales exist within a school that require balance”. Staff and student morale

Supporting Data Important Conclusions Staff Morale Boosting Techniques In the Spring of 2013, a study by Pratt titled, Teacher Morale, Effectiveness of Morale Boosting Techniques, and Student Motivation, was conducted at Whitehouse High School. Important Conclusions Staff 45% believed there was a morale issue, however no direct cause was identified. 57% do not feel empowered due to a lack of team decision making opportunities. 97% agree that being recognized is important and encouraging to them. Morale Boosting Techniques “Teacher of the Week” was rated as somewhat ineffective in the way that it was carried out. Students Students were sensitive to their teachers enthusiasm and motivation for teaching, however it did not directly affect their motivation for learning.

Implications Action must be taken that, respects the balance between staff and student morale, while simultaneously reflecting the data gathered.

Plan of Action Three step action plan Empower Recognize Innovate Each action will help to increase campus morale.

Empower Empower stakeholders to participate in decision making by… Including teachers and students in planning, shaping, and sustaining solutions for boosting morale. Scheduling time for teachers to meet, plan, and discuss solutions to issues facing their classrooms, departments, campus and education in general. Then follow up with teacher groups by listening and implementing their solutions. Seeking input from the “Superstar” teachers when considering implementation of new ideas, programs or procedures.

Recognize Recognize great teachers and students doing great things inside and outside the classroom by… Praising teachers and students on the great things they are doing. Rewarding teachers and students for doing great things. “Raise the Praise, Minimize the Criticize” Todd Whitaker “Morale is contagious“ Devi & Mani, 2010, What is Morale?

Innovate Innovate the Current Morale Boosting Techniques by… Enhancing “Teacher of the Year” by adding a special ceremony during the last faculty meeting of the semester or year to recognize many teachers for outstanding performance in different categories. (Attendance, recording attendance, scanning in, EOC results, most lesson plans turned in, etc…) Improving “Teacher/Students of the Week” with special announcement of exactly why this teacher and students are receiving this recognition. Utilize Survey Monkey to nominate and vote on the teacher and student of the week. Continuing the tradition of recognizing student organization accomplishments at faculty meetings and expanding it into teachers sharing what other teachers are doing that go unrecognized.

Final Thoughts Principal Les Potter, in an article titled How to Keep Good Teachers Motivated, explains; "Developing a positive school climate is critical to an effective school… Morale is a very tentative issue. You can do 99 things right and make one mistake that will shoot morale forever.“ Implementing new strategies must be done collaboratively, with care and consideration for the best interest of the entire school.

Questions?

The End Thank You If you would like me to email you a copy of my research paper and data collected. Please email me at prattm@whitehosueisd.org