|  | | MESPA Home > Resources for Principal Leadership > Best Practice articles |  | Change: The Impact of Directed Change in the School Workplace
 | | Kraig Konietzko |
Best Practices in Instructional Leadership (September 2008)
Kraig Konietzko, principal
Moose Lake Elementary School, Moose Lake
"School personnel need to be open and accepting to possible changes in their lives and careers."
In May 1954, the United States Supreme Court unanimously rendered a landmark decision that drastically changed segregation and our school systems forever. Although the Supreme Court's Brown vs. Board of Education decision did not abolish segregation entirely, it did lead 21 states to abolish their public school segregation practices in favor of inclusive classrooms. This milestone case immediately changed attitudes and practices not only in public schools but also within the culture of the American people. This change paved the way for the end of segregation and the beginning of inclusion in regard to aspects of diversity.
Personnel changes like the ones you may be encountering in your school may not be significant from a state, national, or historic perspective, but they are significant to the lives of the individuals they affect. In our educational system today, many Minnesota school districts are still facing declining enrollments that lead to reducing budgets, programs, and eliminating staff positions. School district officials find that due to stranding or district “right sizing,” some senior staff members may find themselves assigned to new and unfamiliar positions. During this upcoming school year you may find you are faced with opposition to certain staffing decisions or restructuring that occurred the previous year. No one can argue that change isn’t difficult, but remember that in many of our district situations, the altering of schedules and personnel assignments needs to take place for budgetary and fiscal reasons.
Many of us will experience change in our educational careers such as transferring to a new school building, district, classroom, or grade level. These changes can be an emotional rollercoaster for some staff members: initially scary, but worthwhile and rewarding as people adjust to the change. As principals, we too could be the ones experiencing a change element and, therefore, should be receptive to how our staff members respond to these different situations.
School personnel need to be open and accepting to possible changes in their lives and careers. History has dictated that change comes in many different shapes and forms and sometimes without notice. History also dictates another certainty: without a doubt, change is inevitable. I certainly can’t argue that valuable lessons indeed have been learned from the past; still, many decision-making processes and organizational practices have not changed over the last five decades. It’s difficult to imagine conducting certain “personnel business” today as it was done 50 years ago. Keep in mind these words from Charles Darwin: “It’s not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
|
|
