Are you a school administrator? Feel like you’re herding cats on a regular basis? Do you appreciate and respect the independence of your staff, yet wonder how to balance that with needing them to fall in line when necessary? With the free-flow of creative energy comes at least a moderate need for the same thing you recommend your staff provide to their students: structure. Read on.

Being left to your own devices in the classroom can be both a blessing and a curse. Teachers have the autonomy to plan and schedule their day in a way that best meets the unique needs of their students. Or do they? Remember that while in your mind something may have been decided and dealt with hours ago, chances are there is a large percentage of your staff who remain unaware. So while as an oh-so-understanding admin you may feel they’ve had all morning to readjust their schedule accordingly, they may have only just found out that you need to pop in with the school nurse for just “fifteen minutes”.

You may also be the fourth or fifth person who has needed to interrupt them in the past ninety minutes. Add a couple of last minute assemblies into the mix, and is it really a great surprise to find every grade level chair in the building knocking on your door in a nearly nuclear state of irritation? Here are a few tips to at least help you grease the wheels of reciprocal understanding:

Screaming fast, wireless internet.

Throughout the building. Not only does this provide total flexibility and efficiency in the classroom, it also promotes the best possible use of specialist periods when teachers are left to float during art or foreign language blocks and yet still expected to be performing their duties to the best of their abilities. Having wireless internet access makes it easier to post online homework assignments, spelling lists, etc. It also allows for more streamlined parent communication via email correspondence. Bonus? If you put out a memo, you don’t have to wait until sixth period to give your teachers a shot at seeing it. Remember, just because you’ve disseminated the information doesn’t necessarily mean it has been received.

Acrylic sign holders.

There are many sizes available, but the 8 ½ x 11 size is the easiest one to design and print classroom signs for, in my humble opinion. It also saves on teacher sign wear and tear and laminating costs. Signs can be created for various themes, quotes, concepts and more to provide professional looking classroom atmosphere. It’s also a much more streamlined look to have all the signs the same size from the hallway, and in a similar position by the door of each room. If teachers want more than the standard one sign, consider having a few for each room. One for the teachers name, another for the class schedule and a final one for individuality. Having the basics done for them before they arrive at the end of the summer gives them more time to get cracking with academic planning and to be available for any meetings you need them for.

Inventory everything by room number.

Actually, this one’s for both teachers and admins. For schools where the staff rotates in and out with frequency (for example on the international teaching circuit) and various circumstances ( typhoons, earthquakes, war evacuations) cause the supplies and equipment to be thrown into chaos, having everything assigned to a pre-numbered room can be a real sanity saver. For that new teacher that is left to rummage through the pile in last year’s supply closet, knowing if she sees something with a particular number that it belongs to her room is a huge relief. Figuring out which three teachers’ names have been assigned to her same room over the past few years is an absolute pain in the neck. Do both parties a favor and inventory by room. Seriously.

Communication boards with attached writing utensils.

These things are fabulous to have on the outside of the door. If a teacher takes the kids outside for an on-the-fly science activity or next door for a shared academic movie with another class, support staff will be able to find them easily. Don’t forget the wipe off cloth and cleaning solution.

Respect their time.

Seriously, respect their time. I know every administrator out there thinks they already do this. News flash? It rarely feels that way from the position of the classroom instructor. Countless last minute assemblies, four separate interruptions during the last hour of school for individual handouts that could have been collated and handed out earlier with the rest of the home communication bulletins, three separate trips to the nurse’s office in one week and support services for students that run late and throw off other group activities are just a few shining examples that come immediately to mind. And don’t get me started on the old “surely you don’t mind me redirecting the time you’ve already donated by coming in early with an unexpected hallway meeting.” It becomes very difficult to be a good sport about every other school employee’s emergency or administrative scheduling conflict when they happen all the time. Particularly if the reciprocal support isn’t there for things like . . . oh, I don’t know . . . let’s go with extreme discipline issues. (Yes, that was sarcasm.)

Cumulative records and class list support.

Personally, in my entire career I’ve only had one school ever do this in a way that was helpful. At the beginning of each year when the class lists were received, they were broken down and coded according to the type of additional support services each child received. Also noted were eyesight and hearing issues, special meds, last year’s teacher placement and general reading levels. From this document it was a simple matter to do appropriate “close to the board” seating assignments, scheduling sessions with specialists, plan initial language assessments, etc. This saved numerous hours of preliminary cum folder research at an already crazy time of the school year. It also made it more difficult for the class placement balance to be thrown off inadvertently when the category totals were already there for the releasing grade level teachers to see at the end of the year when these decisions are handled. (Cum folders are a huge professional issue for me, so definitely look for some follow up articles on this subject in the future. )

Standard, basic issue, equipment kits.

With as much money as teachers end up spending on their own classroom, I personally think it’s more than fair to expect that some basic infrastructure be both provided and restocked when necessary. A few items on my list? Chalk, glue sticks, single and three hole punches, stapler with staples, teacher and student scissors, eraser, white board supplies if appropriate, widget, staple remover and PE supplies such as a playground ball, hula hoops and jump ropes.

Distribution boxes.

Attached to the wall, and somewhere close to the door on the inside of the classroom should be some sort of container to hold memos, book club forms and other home to school communication. It should also house a slot for communication the admin offices want returned to them and the admin staff should be the ones to both distribute and collect these communication bulletins. For those who are about to remind me of the teacher mailboxes, I have to jump in ahead of you with the following: I can count the number of times admin was finished handing out bulletins to me by my last trip to the teachers’ room on one hand. In my entire career. On one hand.

I know some schools are doing their part with online postings of school issues and parent email lists, but the reality is many districts are just not there yet. Additionally, the old run down to the classroom at the last minute to hand the teacher a separate piece of paper that you interrupt her class time to explain and then in turn ask her to explain to her class really doesn’t cut it Gilligan, I’m here to tell you. It’s a double interruption and highly annoying.

Seemingly simple ideas? Yes. But you’d be surprised how often schools fail to set up these systemic types of support systems, thereby increasing the classroom stress factor exponentially. Most every suggestion on this list can be incorporated very affordably. Consider it an investment in the overall occupational health of the professionals you lead. Additional ideas? Sound off in the comment section below.

Photo Credit: Kim Howarth

Let’s tell it like it is. High school professionals tend to get the short end of the stick when it comes to cool idea resources. In fact, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard the complaint. So secondary teachers, this one’s for you! Read on for a list of unexpected and high income generating ideas to raise money with your high school students.

Candy Vending.

No, I’m not talking about adding another junk food dispenser to your school. (Although if your facility is already loaded with them, chances are one fancy red jar of quarter accessed gumballs isn’t going to make that much difference.) What I am talking about is having your PTA support you by approaching businesses around town to let you place candy vending machines at strategic places. Chances are they’ll be thrilled with not being hit up for cash. Again. Assign rotating responsible students to restock the candy machines and collect the cash. The reason candy vending is so profitable and popular among many regular professional vendors is because the candy is dirt cheap to buy and lasts quite a long time in the machines before needing to be restocked. Bonus? The machines are smaller and less expensive as well.

Auctions.

Already having a fund raising dinner? Work in a silent auction that same night.

Art Gallery.

Got some talented students and an oh- so- fabulous art specialist or industrial art teacher? Open up a small gallery for student-produced furniture, welded scrap metal art, paintings, pottery, etc. Don’t forget to include consumable art items based on student art work like notepads for the desk and fridge, blank greeting cards, candles, stationery and calendars. I’ve seen this done with street children at a beach gallery in Cambodia to fund their school tuition and supplies, as well as in the Monte Verde Cloud Forest of Costa Rica where all the craft and art items for sale at a particular shop were produced by children. It definitely takes someone to ensure there’s a system for providing only top notch work for the inventory, but the results as I’ve seen are well worth it!

Salvage Yard / Flea Market.

Got an extra space and some folks willing to help put up even a basic Quonset hut style structure? Consider having a regular (not just once a year) place for people to drop off left over or recycled building supplies, yard sale items, etc. Then, once a month have a Saturday where parents and students volunteer and the community can show up for a chance to get some great affordable second hand items. There was a small community in Arizona that did this only it wasn’t for a school. It was to benefit programs throughout the entire town. Retired volunteers staffed it, and they were open every morning except Sunday. Every single item in their inventory was donated. Their average annual haul? Over one point three million. What could your school do with even half that amount of money?

Event Concessions.

When I was in high school, the French club sold hot dogs and snacks every day at lunch to fellow students, as well as hot dogs and popcorn at all the basketball games. If you haven’t already thought of this, give it a whirl. If you have, consider taking it to the next level and letting the senior class each year have a stand at one or two large fairs and community events. One successful week at the state fair could bring in enough to fund most of that year’s projects. Think about it.

Coffee Shop / Bakery.

This is probably most effective if your school already has a food service program for vocational students. But if you have a place that can be set aside with tables and wireless access that is close to the school supply store, this could turn into a decent money maker. Students, teachers, parents and community members could hang out, munch and get some work done. We met a really interesting gentleman on a trip to Cambodia once who was working with a girls’ orphanage and school in Poi Pet. They had started a bakery at their school which was right next to either a bus or train station. At night after everything stopped running, this place turned into the night bazaar, which is where they sold their baked goods. It raised necessary funds for the facility’s operation and taught them a vocational skill as well. Fabulous!

That’s all for now. As always additional creative ideas are welcome below. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Flickr Photo Credit: Vagawi