How can you create a sense of community and belonging among your faculty?

Be present...do pop ins to classrooms on walkarounds that aren't note taking fault finding Be available... You can always find 5 minutes for someone in need Be a listener... Sometimes staff just want to vent safely or ask questions without fear Be humble... No one is always right. Be fair firm and flexible... Rules need to fit situations sometimes. Be active... Don duties, greet everyone coming in, smile a lot! Be supportive... Give credit to others first... ALWAYS. Be... On time!

Sharing vision and recreating it with the team. Being there for them Walk your talk Empower Reflecting with the team when there are obstacles Celebrate success together

Cultivating a sense of community and belonging among faculty is crucial for fostering a positive and productive work environment that promotes well-being, collaboration, and institutional success. Promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI): Actively seek to recruit and retain faculty from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Promote psychological safety: Encourage an environment where faculty feel safe to express their opinions, ask questions, and make mistakes without fear of judgment or repercussions. Encourage vulnerability and authenticity: Foster a safe space for faculty to be vulnerable and authentic, sharing their personal experiences and perspectives.

An amazing feature of Prodigy Leadership Academy that fosters a strong sense of community is the professional autonomy of our educators. They are trusted to do their best. In addition, we provide focused, facilitated professional collaboration time weekly for our lead teachers. Within this time period, staff members are affirmed and encouraged to focus on what helps them stay at their very best in their role of supporting students. This time has reflection questions built in for teachers to carefully consider and honestly share. They are seen, heard, and empowered. It is extraordinary and teachers have often made statements like, "What I do here makes me a better person in my home life," and, "I have never felt so connected as a teacher."

It takes considerable effort to establish a sense of belonging and community. I would like to add a few points: Encourage an environment of mutual respect and trust by promptly and openly resolving disputes. Promote cooperation and cross-disciplinary coordination. Plan social gatherings.

it is also important to celebrate diverse achievements; and to avoid a single or hierarchical list of 'worthy' outcomes. Some people will contribute in ways that are different to others, but still valuable. In universities, for example, publishing an article is valuable; but so is teaching excellence; and so is providing outstanding administrative support.

The celebration of contribution as well as victories and successes is vital. The whole Team needs to know how vital they are to the eventual outcomes of the students.

Educational faculty remains some of the most under-appreciated and under-celebrated professionals. Teaching is an extremely demanding profession. It makes a great difference to a teacher to know that their efforts in the classroom are being recognized. We also notice appreciation and celebrations being directly linked and confined to student examination performance. But a teacher can make an impact in so many different ways not only to students but also to faculty members.

Everyone needs to hear how they are doing in their job or life. Give genuine feedback. Celebrate their achievements and give them the platform to showcase their skills and knowledge.

With every meeting our department has, I start with a moment of gratitude which can include kudos and celebrations for achievements. Rattling off birthdays or participation in commonly recognized campus events are not a bad start, but if a faculty member has achieved a goal or received merit for an accomplishment and you share your enthusiasm by recognition, you can tangibly see a boost in overall morale.

In my experience positive emotional leadership sets the bar. Modelling high status behaviours with tolerance and integrity towards staff and all other stakeholders then cements a positive culture.

Excellent question, and generally a daunting task. By being a fair and consistently high-quality high integrity leader demonstrating everyones value to the school!

It is crucial that the institution's culture encourages collaboration among teachers through its values. However, more than that, collaboration needs to be ingrained in the curriculum of the programas. Traditional curriculum models based on courses, on the other hand, promote the creation of silos, with each professor confined to their course or, at most, their department. When adopting curriculum models based on transdisciplinary projects, such as Project-Based Learning (PBL), collaboration becomes an integral part of the process, and not just beautiful phrases hanging on the walls.

The best CPD for departments is in protected meetings time. It is vital to meet once a week (ideally) - and this meeting shouldn't be focused on admin - it should be on teaching and learning. Can you get other members to chair the meeting/share best practice etc?

Creating teams to solve problems, provide answers, etc does foster learning and knowledge of others. By working with others to benefit the whole team they receive recognition and grow in commitment to the work center.

Listen to them and allow them to brain storm the alternative in solving the invasaged problems. Let them try out their ideas and thoughts. Provide support in their endeavours. Build good rapport which will foster trust between faculty and you as well amongst others.

Instead of exit interviews, why not consider annual "stay interviews" where we meet with each staff member to discuss feedback. Ask: what can we do to retain you? What are we doing extremely well? Listen to feedback. Here's the key: be intentional by acting on the feedback; action will garner powerful influence within the organization, and show professionals' voices matter. Repeat this process every year. Schools will never be utopic. The good news: we can constantly work to get better and grow!

Foster a sense of community within your faculty by actively seeking and acting on their feedback. Utilize tools like surveys, focus groups, or online platforms to collect opinions, suggestions, and concerns. Transparency is key; share results, implement changes, and provide explanations for decisions. This approach not only enhances satisfaction and engagement but also builds trust and accountability.

Firstly, take time to listen to them and even if you dont always agree show them that you will support them in practical ways. Secondly ask them how they want to develop in the next few years and put them in a place where they can see that their goals and the schools goals can be achieved together. Helping them to see that you value them as a member of the community will probably transform them as a person never mind as an employee.

Acknowledge and leverage the diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences within your faculty. Foster an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and comfortable expressing themselves. By promoting diversity and inclusion, you enrich the overall learning and working experience for your faculty, creating a culture of respect and belonging. This approach not only enhances collaboration but also reflects a commitment to equity and equality within your academic community.

Build trust - trust which permeates all relationships: leaders, teachers, students, parents...everyone. How? In short, do what you say you are going to do. Do it consistently and with integrity. Do it when it's hard; especially when it's hard. Trust is both given and earned. Having a shared purpose is one thing, living it a challenge. People need to trust that the purpose matters, to everyone. Do the small things daily. Do the difficult things too; run the hard miles with (and sometimes for) staff. And when you fall short (and you will), apologise and own it. Trust can build a community, just as quickly as a lack of trust can undo it. Build trust. Do what you say you are going to do.

Belonging comes when everyone in the learning community is able to bring their authentic professional self to work every day. An environment that promotes meaningful collaboration, recognises the value of cognitive for success, clearly defined ways of working and regular opportunities to exchange ideas, feedback and recognition of everyone’s contribution is key.

A sense of community should be a way of life. If we embrace it as a way of life, every step that we take towards community spirit will feel less like an effort and more like being a kind human being.

Community building should be built in to, the majority, or within every interaction in the school environment. The school should be known for adding to the students and their progress at home and in the community projects. ie; Fundraisers, events (with families). The student body benefits when they SEE connections are being made.

It is a well-known trend that many colleges and universities, especially in the US, have been relying more on adjunct faculty or part-time faculty. These individuals are hired on a contractual basis, are not on a tenure track, receive no benefits, and may not be included in faculty meetings, committees, and shared governance. Include them.