A few years back, I wrote an article Teacher Appreciation is Not One Week of the Year. The premise was simple: Teachers can take control of being undervalued and unappreciated.

I offered six ways to do this:

1. Appreciate Another Teacher
2. Call Parents with Good News
3. Gather Your Own Student Growth Data
4. Help Out Another Teacher
5. Have That Difficult Conversation
6. Add Value To Your Campus

That article explained these six in details, but here, I’d like to offer school leaders a perspective:

How can you craft a school culture to makes these 6 ways of being a habit?

Really, they’re more than just a feeling of appreciation. They’re empowering ways of being and empowering ways of working.

Empowerment might not really come from a mantle or a position. It might actually come from a culture that has empowering ways of being as its norm.

PS – I don’t recommend sending this in a general reminder to your staff – that might have the reverse effect.