10 Tips for Super Parent Satisfaction

Two years ago, my patience had one of the most trying days it had ever experienced. I had one job, get my daughter her driving permit, and that was a job that required a whole lot more time and waiting than I was prepared to give.  The steps were simple, so it seemed.

3 Steps and We're Done...

Step 1 - Find all the "required" paperwork.                CHECK

Step 2 - Get my paperwork notarized.                        CHECK

Step 3 - Get the driver's permit at the State Office.    After waiting in line for hours, CHECK. 

#PermitGranted

The most frustrating thing about going through the entire ordeal was the reoccurring thought that I would have to do this entire process again as a parent for my next 2 kids. Even though I was moderately annoyed, I really wasn't mad at the folks who helped me because they truly were working as hard and as fast as they could to help me and the countless other folks get their licenses. The fact was this.   The system didn't work very efficiently, and I couldn't stop thinking about how it could be more customer-focused instead of system-focused. 

But here's the REAL DEAL. 

I didn't want to share my thoughts of dissatisfaction because I just wanted to leave.  My exasperation drove me to resentment for the entire process because I was confident that no one there was interested in how I felt about my experience.  Furthermore I was convinced that this was a systems issue not a personnel issue. After all, what good would it do to offer suggestions or even complain to someone who was clearly a part of the system?

So how does this relate to parents?

The question that we as school leaders must ask is this.

• Do our parents feel the same way about our processes?  
• Do they feel that their thoughts really matter?  
• Do they feel valued as partners in the education process?  
• Do they find our customer service immediate and personal or insensitive and passive?  

To answer these questions, we all need to dig deep and answer this question.

10 Tips for Super Parent Satisfaction

This is a question that every school leader must answer from the perspective of a parent.  If you were a parent, would you feel that your calls were answered promptly and your questions responded to quickly?  If you entered the school doors, would your office staff greet you warmly no matter who you were or what you looked like?  Would your emails be returned promptly?  If you had a suggestion to make the school better, would you feel like the leader or who ever you talked to was open to listening to your ideas?

If you truly believe that all parents matter, don't miss the opportunity to act on that belief.  Here are a
few strategies to make parents feel more valued when they enter your building.

1. Smile and make eye contact as you greet parents no matter what's going on.
2. Don't be so busy that you can't personally and warmly acknowledge them. 
3. Ask questions that offer your concern, your help or your support. 
4. Don't get defensive when they're angry. They're not mad at you, yet.  Be open and listen to their frustration. 
5. Help people understand that they're important and their feedback matters to the school.
6. Before they leave, ask them if there's anything else you can do for them. 
7. No matter what, thank them for coming to the school and wish them a great day.  
8. Reply to parent emails within 24 hours.
9. Acknowledge Facebook and Twitter comments with openness and understanding.
10. Follow up with contact thanking people for taking time to talk to you.

Parents send us their very best; therefore, we owe them our very best. They deserve our efficiency, courtesy, dignity and most of all appreciation. When parents receive this kind of customer satisfaction, they will not only appreciate what we do, they'll actively support us in meeting our ultimate goal, student success. 

Leadership Lessons from the Mirror

Reflection is the difference between excellence and mediocrity. Those who reflect the most, grow the most while those who engage in infrequent reflection, remain where they are. Bottom line, if we want to discover our excellence, we have to take a hard look in the mirror, and we need to do it often.

Don’t believe me?

Check out this tweet I shared a while back.

Would you get ready for work without looking in the mirror? The same principle applies to our reflection as leaders. We get better by looking in the mirror. #WeLeadEd pic.twitter.com/7yYvOaYzrn

— John Wink (@JohnWink90) December 20, 2017

Mediocre Leaders

1. Glance at the mirror if they look at all.

2. Make excuses for what they see. 

3. Blame others for their imperfections. 

4. Ignore what needs improvement. 

5. View blemishes as weaknesses

6. Refuse to see themselves for who they really are. 

Excellent Leaders

1. Analyze themselves in the mirror frequently. 

2. Seek out imperfections. 

3. Figure out ways to repair what they don’t like. 

4.  Experiment with new “looks” 

5. View blemishes as opportunities for growth. 

6. Refuse to accept their work as their best effort. 

Reflection is the key to finding your excellence.  Without it, you won't be able to acknowledge your opportunities for growth, i.e. blemishes, messed up hair, or even the sleep in your eye.  But what's worse is that those you lead will notice your inability to pursue growth, and that will do nothing but impede your ability to inspire them to learn and grow by looking in the mirror.

Take a look in the mirror.  Not only will your leadership improve.  Your organization will thank you for it.

What are We Doing to the Future of Education?

What is the future of education?  No wait... Perhaps that is the wrong question.  To get closer to the heart of my initial question, maybe I should pose a different question. Where is the future of education? Now that not only asks the question but answers it as well.  The future of education is sitting in the seats our classrooms today, so how is the  future of education doing?  Does the future of education even want to accept the challenge of becoming the future of education?

I had the opportunity to hear the presentation about the future of the teaching profession in Texas from TEA Deputy Commissioner, Martin Winchester. In his presentation he shared a starling statistic.

Did you know that only five percent of high school seniors showed an interest in becoming a teacher?

Yes only 5%!!!

That means that 95 percent of our students are completely turned off to education as a viable career choice. I have to admit that I am one of those 95 percent. When I was in high school, I had no desire to become an educator. In fact I had a teacher that regularly told his class that the worst profession ever is the field of education, public education specifically.

Now think about this. 

What profession do students get exposed to more than any other profession? The answer is education. They see everyday the stress, hard work, and frustration that teachers deal with on a daily basis. They see the way the system works, and could it be that very reason that 95% of our students do not want to even consider a career in education?

There are many reasons that students don’t choose a career in education. The first reason is money, and that is something that our government and our country must address if we want the future of education to improve. Teachers deserve to make more money than they do.

Secondly, the teaching profession is belittled on a regular basis. Think about every movie about the education profession that you’ve ever seen. The setting is a disastrous school with horrible students, and only one teacher, the main character,  cared about education while the rest of the educators did not. Furthermore, the media perpetuates the false narrative that education is failing.  Nothing could be further from the truth, but the negative perception is the reality of education, and it influences our students every day not to choose the noblest profession as a career.

But I think the last reason (and more important reason) that students don’t choose education as a career, is that we, educators, fail to market the profession as a noble profession. Think about the way we speak about education.  Think about the interactions that we have with our peers about problems in education.

Our students are listening. Our students are watching. Our students are being influenced daily about the profession we have been called to.  Do our words, do our actions, and more importantly do our reactions influence our students to come to the profession or run from it as fast as they can?

COULD WE BE THE PROBLEM?

The last point that I would like to make has to do with education leaders. What are we doing to our teachers that makes our students see teaching as an awesome profession. All of the work that we ask teachers to do, does it help them or does it overwhelm them? Are we asking teachers to do the right things, or the cliché things that ultimately don’t lead to positive results or more importantly excited and empowered teachers?

Our students are watching. Our students are listening. And our students are being influenced by the way we leaders value or devalue our teachers and support staff. 

THE FUTURE IS NOW!!!

The future of education is sitting in our desks today. Everything that we say, everything that we do, and more importantly everything we don’t do is helping or hurting the profession. We must challenge ourselves to get real about the profession that we profess is so important.  We should ask ourselves these questions. What are we doing that makes students run to the profession, and what will we stop doing that is making our students see education as a horrible profession. The answer to these questions are the clues that will lead us to the next step that we must take to convince and recruit the next generation of educators.

The future is now, but will we be present enough today to pay attention to that future?