We’re all going to work out more and eat healthier this year right...or that’s the goal. Here are five things not to do this year.
1. Don’t be a hero
Unless you’re a school with one administrator, don’t do it all yourself. There’s a reason they say it takes a village, so delegate tasks and ask for help. Ask for help at home, from colleagues, and don’t forget about tech support. No one wants a stressed out vibe when they walk into the administration office (unless you’ve just been sent to the principal). It’s also ok to outsource when needed!
2. Don’t waste time on redundant tasks
Personally, COVID taught my household to automate a lot of processes, such as grocery pickup, Amazon deliveries, and regularly scheduled at home date nights. Any redundant processes that can be automated, such as scheduling news articles, social media posts, and subscribing to relevant calendars, so you aren’t always checking what’s happening, will save you time.
3. Don’t engage
Don’t engage with bad parent communication, find a better way to cope. But really, if you are able to C.O.P.E. (create once, push everywhere) then you won’t be engaging in the parent drama of I never got that email, text, social media alert, etc. You’ll be doing the work once, and the information will go to the parents through the channel they use most. Best part of all—parent engagement will start to flourish.
4. Don’t compare yourself to others
We always heard this growing up, but it applies to your school as well. With schools competing for enrollment, it’s hard not to compare. Your school is unique, because the students who are enrolled are unique. Your traditions, leadership, and school spirit just needs an outlet to communicate their message to the larger community.
5. Don’t wait for an audit
Is your website ADA compliant? Be proactive on your ADA accessibility and website security. Make sure there’s a way to preview the page with accessibility errors before publishing. Whether a company is managing your hosting for you, or you are doing it yourself, make sure your site login has two factor authentication, and your domain name has an SSL certificate. Did you know that an accessible website also helps with your SEO ranking? It's just an added bonus for being accessible!