THREE CHEERS FOR CHANGE

Enlisting Faculty and Staff: You Can Be Yourself
Just as Multz welcomed parents aboard, he needed to enlist the support of teachers, many of whom had been uncomfortable with the previous atmosphere at the school and were ready and willing to work for change. Multz circulated a coordinated plan for a new decision-making policy that called for shared decision making among teachers and staff rather than the top-down approach. Initially, he gave the plan to a select group of teachers who, in turn, were able to establish consensus among their peers.

To facilitate team building and "buy-in" by the greater faculty and staff, the plan called for the creation of a 'cadre' with representatives from all components of the school staff. Monthly cadre meetings determined faculty meeting agendas, issues of focus and special events. Teachers joined interview committees for the hiring of all new instructional personnel, shared in budget decisions and assisted in the selection of new instructional materials and programs. Perhaps most significantly, the cadre outlined the specifics that moved Greynolds Park toward becoming a full-scale technology school.

Providing each teacher (and staff) with a box of personalized business cards delivered the potent message that the administration recognized its teachers were professionals and should be treated as professionals. Multz also hired a full-time aide to carry "teacher's" requests for photocopies, and he abolished the old system of rationing paper to his teachers. Says Multz, "I felt that it was my job to be a facilitator for teachers by giving them the things they needed to get the job done."

According to Mrs. Toby Arbeiter, a teacher at Greynolds Park for the past 22 years, "David usually got what he wanted, but the faculty and staff were always a part of it ... that gave us a tremendous sense of accomplishment."

Royanne Reusch, pre-kindergarten teacher, United Teachers of Dade Union steward since 1992 was an eyewitness to this transformation, as she reflects in a letter nominating Multz as principal of the year:

"With our newfound sense of self-confidence, we [teachers] began to experiment with our own ideas. The administration encouraged us to participate in workshops and seminars, and provided release time from some of our daily classroom responsibilities for such attendance. Things really began to change based on teachers' input, and suddenly many of us began to believe that we could be ourselves and make significant contributions."

The Miracle of Change
A single attitude stands out as the foundation of the miracle of change at Greynolds Park. I have observed this attitude. I have experienced this attitude. Yet it is hard to know what term to put on it, so I shall use several. I think of it as prizing the players-prizing their feelings, their opinions and their worth as individuals.

In an environment that was adversarial at one time, a new sense of collegiality blossomed. This rebirth was brought about through a shared trust that started at the top and filtered through all levels, down to the students who had come to Greynolds Park to learn.

Resources:

You can reach Joan Kuperstein at joan@castletechnology.com or visit her web site at www.castletechnology.com.

Next month: Greynolds Park develops partnerships with local businesses.

About the author: Click here to see a biography of Joan Kuperstein

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