Latest / Chatting with The Experts with Paula Okonneh / Healthy School Cultures: The Future of Education

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Healthy School Cultures: The Future of Education · Chatting with The Experts with Paula Okonneh

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Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Chatting with the Experts
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with me, Paula Okonneh, the host where I speak with women from Africa, from
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the Caribbean, and in the diaspora.
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They share with me my mission, which is to educate and empower
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and inspire women globally.
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And the women that I'm speaking with, who are my guests are
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solopreneurs and professionals who are successful in this space.
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Today, our title is Healthy School Cultures and the Future of Hybrids, and
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my guest who will be joining me in a few minutes says that she is passionate about
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shaping the future of education by helping schools build healthy school cultures.
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She explores how hybrid and micro schools are changing education
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and why strong cultures matter.
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She's had 20 years of experience in education and brings a dynamic
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approach to learning that blends tradition with innovation.
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From the classroom to administration, she served as a teacher as also a
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reading interventionist and gift-endorsed educator shaping the future of students
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through personalized learning strategies.
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She's very passionate about hybrid education and empowers schools,
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teachers and families to navigate the evolving landscape of education
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with expertise and vision.
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And with that, I want to welcome to Chatting with the Experts, Dana Thompson
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of Britt Thompson Education Consulting.
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Welcome, Dana.
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Hello, how are you?
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I'm excellent.
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Thank you for joining me today and those who have joined us because this is such
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an interesting topic, Healthy School Cultures and the Future of Hybrid.
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Yes.
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Thank you for inviting me.
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Absolutely.
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So why is healthy school culture, the cornerstone of
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effective teaching and learning?
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Well, you know, culture shapes everything we do in society and it's no different
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within the framework of a school building.
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So, you know, it's that invisible curriculum of sorts that's there
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that students and teachers are involved in with every single day.
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So we have to make sure that we're providing opportunities for that healthy
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school culture so that there's trust that there's respect and high expectations
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are established for all, whether it is the staff and faculty or the students
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and even the parents who are involved.
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And really truly without healthy school cultures it's almost like you are
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designing a program to not be successful.
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So you gotta start with the health of a school in mind whenever you're working
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through it, establishing it, starting a new school year, whatever it may be.
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Wow.
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I agree.
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I agree.
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But you know, one thing that I didn't know about you told me about
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it and I've done some research is
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hybrid and micro schools.
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Yeah.
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And so yeah, tell us a bit about that and why the rise of these
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schools are so important in the future of education, especially
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within the classical Christian model.
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Let's talk a bit about that.
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Sure.
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Yeah, absolutely.
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Well, as part of my background, I'm a formerly educated public
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school educator, administrator.
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But I have been very blessed to have been the head of school for a
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small Christian private school in North Charleston, South Carolina.
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It's a Lowcountry Christian community school, and that's where I got my
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first taste of a hybrid environment.
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And a lot of people, when they talk about a hybrid environment, they think only of
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kind of those COVID days where you know, it was the technology-enhanced platform
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used at home, and then oftentimes, you know, the kids are in the school building
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for a period of time, maybe three days.
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Well, that's not the only structure of a hybrid environment for a school setting.
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You also have, for instance, that particular school is three days in
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the building with teachers who are teaching using a robust curriculum
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for math, English, and so on.
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And then at home, those teachers are also providing lessons, but the parents
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are carrying out instruction with the students at home, almost like a homeschool
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component, but it's hybrid because you're mixing the in-school, the brick and
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mortar component with that high school, excuse me, that homeschool environment.
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And with the classical aspect of it, while technology may be used
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in the classroom, it's not used as often as people would think.
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Matter of fact, paper and pencil is the mainstay for the
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educational process that's set.
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And that's a good thing because, you know, let's be real, we still
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have to write certain things.
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I know we use computers for a lot of things but children need to understand
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how to write things, how to write legibly.
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So you know, that's something that's very important.
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And so, with that hybrid environment that I was exposed to, I have also
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been able to work with another school and I I work with them now and they
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are called Hope Scholars Academy.
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And this is the high school portion of it.
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So where I was before is a K-8 environment and where I am now, working
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with them about one day a week, is a high school setting and they really
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embody that classical education as well.
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Making sure that yes, of course we know grades have to be entered via a computer.
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Work has to be pushed out to the students via a computer.
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But when the students are completing the work, that's
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when we want the paper pencil.
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But of course, when, you know, say it's a writing assignment, then they're
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going to use a computer in order to type it and print it out and all that.
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But for the most part it's that paper and pencil.
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It's the discussion, it's the hands-on learning that's there.
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That's not technology-driven.
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Okay.
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So I'm sure other people have the same question as I...
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sure.
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I do.
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So it's hybrid in that it's three days in the building, two days at
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home with the parents' help, right?
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Correct.
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And with high school, you know, it is that accountability, that independence,
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that hopefully is at that point where the parents don't have to be involved,
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but they still need to be because they need to know what their student
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is doing and that they're doing it.
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So, yeah.
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Okay.
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So I think that was the other question I was gonna get to, is that the
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hybrid model, is it primarily for high school or could it be mixed
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with middle school ? Middle schools can do it as well as high school.
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Oh, absolutely.
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Or could it go from three A?
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Okay.
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It can go from the youngest grades, from kindergarten to high school.
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Matter of fact, where I was before at LCCS, it is a K-8 school.
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So it's kindergarten through eighth grade.
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And then Hope Scholars is ninth through 12th, getting them ready for
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the next level, getting them ready for college, whatever type of environment
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or you know, from school to work, whatever, getting them ready for it.
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So, yeah.
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Yeah.
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Alright.
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Now I'm clear.
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Mm-hmm.
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Alright.
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Yeah.
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So what about the micro?
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Yeah, well, micro schools.
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If you could kind of picture for those of us who are from that era of the
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little house in the prairie watching it kind of growing up a little bit and
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you think about that one building, you know, you got that one teacher and you
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have the littles and you, they go on up to the teenage, and it's kind of
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like that, kind of like that setting, like anywhere from five to 20 children
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in a personalized learning environment where it's project-based learning.
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But the beauty in a micro school, 'cause some people are like, oh my gosh, all
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those ages kind of mixed together.
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Well, the olders, you know, the older kids, they can help the littles as
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they're working on their work, building those leadership skills in them.
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And then the young ones have the opportunity to see from the older
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ones how things should be done.
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There's still a teacher there.
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There's still a teacher.
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There's still a curriculum.
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There's still expectations that are there as it is in a regular school environment.
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It's just that it's more opportunities for the one-on-one for those families
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and for those students specifically who really, really need that.
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And maybe just maybe because, you know, public school can serve a great purpose.
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But for those who feel like they need something else, that's
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also a good opportunity for them to explore micro schools.
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And maybe they don't want the hybrid environment at all, so, yeah.
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Okay.
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So they're mutually exclusive in that it's either hybrid or micro.
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Because I was gonna say, can you have a hybrid base within the micro, or no?
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Well... I mean, you probably could.
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I don't see why you couldn't, but you know, you have to structure it in such
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a way that it serves that purpose.
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But I know like for instance, some of the homeschool environments, right?
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They have co-ops where they might meet once or twice a
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week or for a specific subject.
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So, you know, you can still kinda fuse that into even your hybrid model where
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you're offering that co-op so other people can come, but it's only maybe
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for one subject or what have you.
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Mm-hmm.
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So I would say yes, but you have to do it very delicately, you know,
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making sure that you are still meeting the needs of everyone there.
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And structurally it can get kind of, off kilter a little bit.
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Mainly when you're looking at who you're putting in place to do
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the instruction for the students.
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So you gotta take into account all of that.
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But again, that's where I come in and I can help those, maybe looking at maybe a
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combination of those structures in order to implement it and implement it well.
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I got you.
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And you said that's where you come in.
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So that's kind of like your specialty.
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Yes.
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I can go in and I can help with various aspects of a school whether it is.
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The professional development at the beginning of the year, end of the year,
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throughout the year, I can come in and help those who are wanting to start a
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hybrid school or a micro school and give them some pointers and guide them along
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the way, not just give them pointers.
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I can also, help them with various aspects of school cultures and what that needs to
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look like and what they want their school, their mission and their vision, and how
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that will be put in place when we're talking about healthy school cultures.
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So, yeah.
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If you see me looking away, that's because I'm taking notes.
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Yeah, yeah, you're good.
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This is all new to me.
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You're good, you're good.
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Well, if you see me looking away, I might be taking notes too, you
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know, just from the conversation.
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So, yeah, no problem.
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Oh.
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Okay.
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Okay.
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So we are learning together.
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Yes, yes.
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Yeah.
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Growing and learning together.
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That's what it's about.
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You know, it really is.
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That's what it's about.
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Yeah.
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I tell everyone I learn something new every day and it's more than one thing.
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At the end of the day, I need to start having a notebook of what did I learn new
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today so that I can compile it, you know,
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Uhhuh
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to have it at your fingertips.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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So I know when we spoke offline, you mentioned that there were some
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common pitfalls that derail schools.
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Yeah.
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Now I am as can we talk a bit about that?
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Because I'm assuming with the hybrid and the micro schools, you may be
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saying that as an educator you help people, you know, you help educators...
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Right.
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Avoid these common pitfalls.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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So there are a number of pitfalls that can take place such as
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neglecting school culture.
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You know, you can't expect something to be healthy if you're
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not putting in healthy components.
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So while the emphasis of school is to teach children.
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Just focusing on the academics themselves does not produce a healthy school culture.
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You've gotta look at nurturing relationships, whether they're
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relationships between the adults in the building or between the adults
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and the children, or between the parents and the adults in the building.
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The parents and their own students because sometimes students come to
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school and they're broken, right?
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And you figure out what's going on by way of a conversation that maybe
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something happened at school or what, excuse me, at home or what have you.
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And you have to intervene very delicately.
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You know, because these are families and they cherish their privacy, but at
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the same time, you want them to know that you are there, you're a viable
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part, or you want to be a viable part of the solution as to why their child
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now is not wanting to participate.
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They don't want to socialize with their friends.
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They don't want to answer questions in the classroom.
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There could be a very basic reason, very basic solution.
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That can be put in place.
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But if all you're focusing on is the academics and not the
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relationship building, you can't build a healthy school culture.
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You have to have relationships and they have to be good relationships.
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Yeah.
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Alright.
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Because we are human.
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We are made.
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We were made for that purpose to live in community.
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And in community.
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It's that communing together.
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It is that conversation.
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It's that all of that that goes into relationship building and living and
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working together and growing together.
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All those things.
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Yeah.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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And especially you pointed out, you know, because it's kind
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of the micro and the hybrid.
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Well I know with micro you said old school house kind of thing.
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Yeah.
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And maximum 20 children.
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I see how it's easy to to see as an educator or administrator to see,
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you know, if there's a change in a child's behavior and you know,
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then be able to approach that.
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But like in the hybrid where you have kindergarten, all three
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elements from the youngest to probably about 18, 19 dependent that
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make it a little bit complicated.
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But that's where you come in, you said?
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Well, yes and I think about honestly, with the way that a hybrid school
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is made up when you're in that school building, it's actually.
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And I don't wanna say no different, but in some ways it's no different than that
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child being in a public school in that moment because they're sitting in a desk
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or you know, at a table, what have you.
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However the teacher has structured the classroom to be, but they're in there
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and they're with the teacher and they're with their fellow classmates who are of
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the same grade level of the same age.
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Okay.
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And so you have that opportunity to build community even within that
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specific classroom environment, just as you do even in a public school
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setting, which should be done and which honestly a lot of teachers are doing,
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even in that public school setting, because they want their classroom
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to be an extension of their home.
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They want it to be a family enriched environment.
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Where in which they're pouring into the students and the students are all
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honestly, giving them some things.
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'cause we learn from students too, you know, all the little...
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Mm-hmm.
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The games and whatever that goes on within society, within their homes.
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But within that hybrid community in a classroom, you still have that opportunity
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to get to know those individual students especially if you're teaching
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all subjects in a K-5 environment.
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What a great opportunity it actually is when you can go from subject to subject
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and these kids are talking about things and you're getting to learn about them,
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their siblings, their pets, their hobbies.
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All the things that they want to definitely talk to you about.
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But then there are some teachers who don't really know how to
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pull that out of the students.
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And then there are some leaders who don't know how to show
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those teachers how to do that.
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And so I can do that as well.
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I can help with that.
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Gotcha now.
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Yeah.
17:13
Gotcha.
17:13
Gotcha.
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Wow.
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Yeah.
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Just in my mind's eye, just picturing, you know, both the hybrid and the
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micro and how you can get involved.
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Yeah.
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Because as you said, relationships make us human and God created
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us in that way, you know?
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Exactly.
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To go with each other.
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Yes.
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To co-exist, to be in relationship with each other.
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Absolutely.
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And then there's the other pitfalls of like overloading teachers, and
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we'll talk about that a little bit.
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Ignoring student voice.
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And then when you have inconsistent communication and reactive
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leadership, those can be pitfalls as well, because you're not actually
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doing the things you need to do in the time that you need to do it.
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So when we talk about overloading teachers, I mean
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... mm-hmm.
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Let's think about that word overloading.
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We all know what that feels like to be overloaded, to be stretched and spread
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so thin that you can't get it all done.
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Now we know that there are different things that have to be done.
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Those non-negotiables within a classroom setting, for the teachers
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that they have to get the grades done, they have to get the grades in.
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But piling on various initiatives, especially all at one time,
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that's never a good thing.
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You know, we talk about best practices within education, and that's no different
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within a hybrid school or micro school.
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You just have to figure out what those best practices are within those
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particular environments and implement them in the way that they need to
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be implemented versus how it may be implemented in a public school.
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But when you're piling on initiative after initiative, and you're not
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providing direction or clarity or support.
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You are asking for those teachers to feel overloaded and neglected.
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You know?
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So you gotta give them time, you gotta give them the support, you gotta give
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them the roadmap to take when you're implementing these new initiatives,
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and don't give them so many at a time, because that's overwhelming.
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I mean, how do we feel when we're given task after task, after
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task, after task with no clear direction, but to get it done?
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So, you know, that's a definite pitfall in any school environment,
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be it public, be it private, hybrid, micro, whatever it may be.
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Because you have to think about your who, when you're dealing with all that.
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And that's one of the things, well my mentor, and she's been my mentor since
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I started within education and she's just phenomenal and I still talk to her.
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She would always say, you gotta know your who.
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Yes.
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And because there is a one person who's different than another, that doesn't mean
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the job doesn't still need to be done.
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You've just got to, as a leader, know how to direct them in the
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best way possible to get that thing accomplished, whatever that thing may
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be, whatever that initiative may be.
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And that's when even as leaders, we have to personalize how we do things with our
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educators in the building, we talk about personalized learning for the students,
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but there's personalization that needs to take place even for the teachers
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there so that they can be the very best that they can't be in those settings.
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And so then you know, stop me whenever you want to, but I was just gonna go
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on into the next one about ignoring...
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Yes, please.
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Voice.
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Yeah.
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When we ignore student voice, that doesn't mean that that student is controlling
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the environment in that classroom, but what that means is they have an
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opportunity to engage with one another with the teacher using their voice.
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Not just in a answering questions kind of setting.
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'cause again, academics is important, but we're still building relationships and
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how can you build relationships if one particular person within that relationship
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building community doesn't have a voice?
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So you can't ignore student voice.
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Now, you have to put things in their proper perspective, especially
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when you're well with all of them.
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But when you're getting into high school, for instance, you know, it's
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even more important to them that they're heard, especially during
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certain types of conversations, whatever the subjects may be, within
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whatever setting, they wanna be heard.
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They want to know that their opinions are valued, their voice matters.
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That their voice matters.
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So we gotta make sure we do that.
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Now, on the flip side of that, in an elementary setting,
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their voice still does matter.
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But that's where the teacher has to really help guide them
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to even owning their own voice.
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Sometimes kids won't say anything 'cause they're not even used to
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hearing their own voice out loud.
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So they're not gonna contribute to whatever's happening because maybe
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in their environment at home or wherever they may be when they leave
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the school building, they don't really have a voice, so they're not
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gonna have a voice in the classrooms.
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So that classroom environment being set up where it is conducive to
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learning, but it's also conducive to building community within that
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classroom is still very important so that they know that they are part of
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something special that's being built and established for that school year.
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And that's something that has always been important to me.
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I started as a fifth grade educator.
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And I remember one year, I had a group of students and I
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team-taught this particular year.
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And so my homeroom students, they would check in with me and then they would go
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over to the other teacher's classroom.
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Well, you know, it was all morning.
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These are fifth grade students.
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And they would come back to me right before, you know, I went into the
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lesson or what have you, and we had maybe an hour or so before we went
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out for recess or lunch or whatever.
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'cause I really don't remember the specific schedule, but I do remember this.
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I remember they came in and they were just like lethargic, just nonresponsive.
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And I just stopped teaching and I said, what is wrong?
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What's wrong?
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And they just sat there for a minute and I said, I'm not talking until you talk.
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And so come to find out, you know, they, they started raising their hand.
23:12
Ms. Dana, I'm hungry, I'm tired.
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I said, oh, okay.
23:15
We have a quick fix to that.
23:17
You can bring a snack.
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You can't bring something where it's a full course meal, where it's a
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fork and knife, but you know, you can bring a snack and we can eat it.
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And then I told him, I said, we'll see about, you know, changing our recess
23:30
schedule so that we can go out so that you all can have a little bit of a break
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before we move on to anything else.
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And even if we couldn't do that, I just made sure they had just at least
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a little break in the classroom.
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Well, they had voice there.
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I gave them an opportunity for their voice to be heard so that I
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knew what was going on with them.
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And then I also had this little box and I actually still have it.
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I thought I had it here.
23:53
That's why I'm looking.
23:54
And I may somewhere, you know, when the bedazzling, you know, that was taking
23:58
place where they were putting all the rhinestones on everything, you know?
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Oh.
24:02
And when the students made me a little box that was basically a wooden box, like an
24:07
index card box, and she put my name on it.
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And so I used that in the classroom that if they needed to tell me something,
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but they didn't feel safe enough to say it out loud they could put it in there.
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And I would look at it, you know, I would read it.
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And respond to it in the way that it needed to be responded to.
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That's another way where you're giving them voice, because some of
24:27
them, let's be real, they're quiet, they're never gonna talk out loud
24:30
too often too, you know, too much.
24:33
So you gotta make sure that you're providing even opportunities
24:36
for them where they feel safe and expressing themselves.
24:40
And so then as far as communication, communication...
24:45
Is that number four?
24:46
Yes, number four.
24:48
Communication in relationships.
24:51
Communication.
24:51
Okay.
24:52
I mean, you know, inconsistent communication, ineffective communication,
24:56
all of that can be a great pitfall.
25:00
And maybe I should have put that one as number one, because communication
25:04
oftentimes can be the it's like the Achilles heel, you know?
25:09
It can be great, but when it's not, it's not.
25:12
And when it's inconsistent, that brokenness doesn't allow for growth.
25:19
It doesn't allow for those adults in the building to have conversations
25:25
where they are producing, you know, they're moving forward.
25:30
It's like they're stuck.
25:32
In whatever it is that they're talking about.
25:34
So it has to be consistent.
25:36
It has to be a certain fluidity and a bit of transparency, even from the leadership
25:41
and saying, Hey, yeah, I got this wrong.
25:44
Let me fix this.
25:46
You know, there's a way to communicate that produces the
25:50
results that we all need in order to grow and thrive in an environment.
25:56
And then there's communication that doesn't allow growth.
26:01
It actually creates a fractured environment and we don't wanna do that.
26:05
Yeah, yeah.
26:06
And you know, as you said, so I'm just thinking if it's all about relationship,
26:10
we say as human we are built to relate to each other relationships.
26:14
Yeah.
26:15
So relationships without communication...
26:18
Mm-hmm.
26:20
Means there's no relationship.
26:23
A relationship.
26:24
Yeah.
26:25
There's no relationship.
26:26
You know.
26:26
There's no relationship.
26:28
Yeah.
26:28
And then if the communication is inconsistent, you know,
26:31
that person doesn't know, okay, can I go to her or him today?
26:35
You know, what's their temperament like?
26:37
What's their this?
26:38
So this that inconsistent communication because you don't know how to approach
26:42
a person because you don't know what you're gonna get at any given time.
26:46
Or it could just be maybe they're unavailable, you know, you're
26:50
going to that particular leader and they're always unavailable.
26:54
Well...
26:55
mm-hmm.
26:55
While we know that the leaders in a building are truly busy, that's a thing,
27:00
but leaders still need to make sure that they're available so that when
27:04
the teachers or when the staff, when the students need to talk with them,
27:08
they can create that space, that safe space where they can come and talk.
27:13
Will it be all the time?
27:14
No, because as I said, leaders are very busy, but if you're a
27:18
visible leader, I mean, they can catch you in the hall instead of
27:22
behind closed doors all the time.
27:24
You know, we know meetings exist and you have to go through them.
27:27
You have to attend them and conduct them, but it's important that you're
27:31
still visible and that's gonna create that opportunity for communication
27:37
and for consistent communication.
27:40
Consistent.
27:40
And what's the last one?
27:41
Number five.
27:42
Active leadership.
27:43
Look, we have to make sure that we're not waiting active chips to fall.
27:48
We're not waiting for that crisis.
27:49
We have to think about and be proactive.
27:54
You know, not reactive.
27:56
Now there are some things that you are going to have to react to, but you
27:59
still should have within your frame of thinking, within your structure, within
28:03
your organization, some tools that are just readily available that you can put in
28:08
place for you to respond to a situation.
28:12
There should never be a situation where it is just totally reactive, because
28:18
that's not gonna make the teachers, the parents, or any of the stakeholders feel
28:24
safe because you're always reacting.
28:27
You never have a plan.
28:28
You never, you didn't think about X, Y, Z. You gotta think about X, Y, Z.
28:33
Ahead of time.
28:34
Yes.
28:35
Ahead of...
28:35
Planning, planning, planning.
28:37
Yeah.
28:37
Yeah.
28:38
Yeah.
28:38
Woo.
28:39
Yeah.
28:39
So before we wrap up, are there any practical ways that, you know, leaders can
28:45
create balance, also support you, teachers and administration, and of course, main
28:52
thing being to drive positive students' outcome based on what you've said.
28:59
I've always been one to model the behavior I want of my teachers and my students.
29:06
So let's talk about me modeling for, or talk about me or teachers, other
29:12
teachers modeling for their students.
29:14
If you don't want that child to yell down the hall, then
29:18
you don't yell down the hall.
29:20
Like that's something, but we think as adults, oh, 'cause I'm talking
29:24
to Miss so-and-so down the hall.
29:25
Yeah.
29:25
Okay.
29:26
Walk to her and talk to her.
29:28
You know, if it's where you want the kids to always close
29:32
the door when they're coming.
29:34
Maybe it's a building that has different pods, for instance, and
29:37
you have to go walk out of the building and go back into another.
29:40
Well, if you are walking with a group of teachers or whatever, close the door.
29:46
Don't leave it open.
29:48
You're modeling behavior 'cause you don't know what child is standing
29:51
there looking at what you're saying.
29:52
Looking at what you're doing rather.
29:53
And then the types of conversations that we have with each other.
29:57
One of the things I absolutely, it's a non-negotiable for me, likes.
30:03
Teachers don't need to talk about the performance of another student or
30:06
what have you in a hallway saying they you know, we can't do that because
30:11
you don't know who's listening and who may misinterpret because it can
30:14
be a purely innocent conversation where you are really discussing the
30:18
needs of a particular child, but someone else is overhearing that.
30:23
You don't know how they're gonna take the conversation.
30:25
So you gotta make sure those conversations are done in the proper
30:29
setting, in the proper, you know, way.
30:31
You can't assume that those listening ears aren't listening.
30:35
'cause they oftentimes are, and then you have to set boundaries.
30:41
One of the things...
30:42
Very important.
30:43
It's absolutely important.
30:44
'cause one of the things I try not to do with my teachers is
30:48
contact them after 8:00 PM.
30:51
Really I try not after seven.
30:53
'cause I don't want people contacting me.
30:56
Unless it's emergent, right?
30:58
Because I have to decompress.
31:00
I have to have time with my family.
31:02
I have to have time to do some of the things I enjoy doing, so
31:05
then I'm not gonna contact them.
31:07
And then sometimes you have to send certain messages out, but
31:11
it can't be where you're sending a message out on a Sunday.
31:15
'cause let's be honest, a lot of schools, they roll out their
31:18
announcements on a Sunday afternoon because they know parents are home and
31:22
they're gonna listen to the messages.
31:24
The teachers are there, they're gonna listen and read the messages,
31:27
but don't send something out where you need an immediate response.
31:30
And it's on Sunday and this thing is due on Monday morning.
31:33
No, no.
31:34
No, no, no.
31:35
No, no, no.
31:38
Because that's not respecting their time.
31:40
That's not respecting their time with their families or
31:42
time doing anything else.
31:43
Even their time to grade the papers.
31:45
'cause let's be honest, teachers take work home all the time.
31:48
They're grading papers or hearing grades are all the things.
31:51
So set those boundaries, those healthy boundaries.
31:53
And it's okay to say no, you know, a healthy no.
31:57
A respectful no is better than a yes where it's laced with, oh my gosh, I
32:04
feel overloaded, but I'm gonna say, yes, I feel overwhelmed, but I'm
32:07
gonna say yes, no don't do the thing.
32:10
Have a conversation and say, I can do this part of it, but maybe not the other part.
32:15
Maybe we need to get someone else involved, set boundaries, and then
32:18
prioritize professional growth.
32:21
Professional development is so very important.
32:24
At the beginning of the year, schools, school districts that have that time
32:28
where they have in-service with their teachers talking about all the things
32:31
they need to do for the school year, what they need to do immediately,
32:35
what they need to do a month from now, six months from now, what have you.
32:39
But that professional growth time is important at the beginning of the year
32:42
and periodically throughout the year.
32:45
You have to determine what works best for your school environment
32:48
based on the needs in your building.
32:51
And that's one of the things you have to always make sure that you are
32:53
aware of the needs in your building.
32:55
So doing like a survey of some sort to say, okay, what are you working on
32:59
this year that you may need help with?
33:02
And then determining from that what you need to do in order to do that.
33:07
And so celebrate wins and then listen and adapt.
33:11
You gotta celebrate the wins.
33:12
Don't just look at what's going wrong and listen and adapt.
33:16
Listen for the purpose of really understanding, not for the purpose
33:20
of you talking, but you understanding so that you can give feedback in
33:25
the way that it needs to be given.
33:27
So yeah.
33:28
That's really very helpful.
33:30
You know, very helpful tips . Modeling, be aware of the type of conversations
33:36
you're having with the students and not, and with the students, you said with
33:40
the teachers, but with the students too.
33:42
Yeah.
33:42
Doing the teachers.
33:43
Yeah.
33:45
Healthy boundaries, professional growth and development.
33:48
It's so important.
33:49
For many years, I don't think that was the culture, not just in
33:53
school, but just, you know, overall.
33:55
Oh yeah.
33:55
You didn't think, you know, you learn sometimes you just kept with
33:58
that, forgetting that things change.
34:00
Mm-hmm.
34:00
You know?
34:01
Mm-hmm.
34:02
And celebrating wins.
34:03
Yeah.
34:04
Absolutely love this, Dana.
34:06
You know, you talked about you bring a dynamic approach that blends traditional
34:12
with innovation, and definitely from all the things we've addressed
34:15
today, that's what you have done.
34:17
Hmm.
34:18
So for those in the audience who will have a chance to talk with you,
34:22
they'll have a chance to talk with you.
34:23
But for those who are watching later on.
34:26
Listening to this later on as the podcast, how can they get in touch
34:29
with you because you've shared so much.
34:32
Yes, yes.
34:33
Well, email of course, is one of the best ways.
34:37
Contact@btdconsulting.com.
34:42
That's Britt Thompson Education Consulting.
34:45
I'm also on Facebook, Britt Thompson Education Consulting,
34:48
and I'm on LinkedIn, same name.
34:51
Instagram, same name.
34:53
So, yeah.
34:54
All right.
34:55
All right.
34:56
You are easy to get in touch with.
34:58
Very easy.
35:00
And for those of you who have listened to Dana, I mean, I'm blown away.
35:06
I still have a lot more questions, but we'll do that during the Q and A session.
35:09
If you would like to be a guest on Chatting with the Experts and you are
35:14
professional or entrepreneur woman from Africa, from the Caribbean, or
35:19
in the diaspora, you can reach out to me on chattingwiththeexperts.com,
35:25
which is my website.
35:26
I'm also on LinkedIn as Paula Okonneh.
35:29
I'm on Instagram.
35:30
My handle there is at chat_experts_podcast,
35:35
Facebook as Paula Okonneh.
35:38
And we have a YouTube channel that you can subscribe to too.
35:43
As I said, these women share my passion, which is to educate,
35:48
empower, and inspire women globally.
35:51
And that's exactly what Dana has done today.
35:56
So Dana, as we get ready to open up the floor, to those who
36:00
have joined us, I wanna say a big thank you for educating me.
36:06
Oh, you're very welcome.
36:07
What do
36:08
You're very welcome and thank you again.
36:12
Thank you.
36:13
Thank you.