Understanding and

Establishing Positive
Relationships: Building
Trust

Building Trust
I was a Teacher Once, but
Who Are These People?
Trust
The first two months with staff will set the
tone.

Mail a friendly letter to staff containing a welcome back note and

opening activity agenda

Building trust begins with your first interactions with staff members.

Dispel the the change myth.

Keep judgements and opinions to yourself; bite your tongue if

necessary.
During the First Two Weeks of School

Distribute a brief questionnaire to each staff member

Examples:

What are your favorite hobbies or activities outside of school?

Tell me about your family..

What is the greatest challenge in your classroom?

Meet with Every Staff Member Individually

Meet with a teacher for 20 minutes.

Meeting can be done before or after school.

(hire a substitute to cover classes while the teacher meets with you)

Review your schedule..

You may want a picture of the teacher attach to your notes..

Have the teachers files available..

Building Relationships

Celebrate!!!

Create reasons to celebrate..

Existing committee responsible for parties. Showers, birthdays, etc.??

Building Relationship

Through classroom visits..

Schedule yourself to be in classrooms.. Set a target for a number of

classroom you will visit everyday.

Informal visits should be scheduled on your calendar the same as the

formal ones.

Visit classroom continuously, all year long.

Leave a note to the teacher.

Survival Tips
Yes, BUT I STILL have questions (pp. 116-
118)

What should I say in my introductory letter?

Be brief, be yourself, and include a brief outline of the opening agenda

What conclusions can I draw from my meeting with staff members?

Family issues are often the explanation for a staff member who is unusually stressed
by their responsibilities outside school.
Yes, BUT I STILL have questions (pp. 116-
118)

How do I fit in meeting with individuals when it is a huge time

commitment?
Make the time; take the time. Be creative: hire substitute to go from staff member to
staff member in 20-minute intervals.

How do I handle the time commitment for classroom visits?

Classroom visits must be scheduled as important meetings. You set the precedent for
the time you put into this necessary responsibility. How will you establish yourself
as a continuing and interested presence if you are not demonstrating the
importance of watching instructional practices?
Survival Tips (pp. 118-121)

Understand what trust means to your staff (Fusion Leadership, Richard Daft and
Robert Lengel).

Respond honestly to their expectations of trust.

Establish a system so that the receiving administrator knows what the

teacher expects the administrator to do.
For example, have place on the referral for that says, What do you expect the
administrator to do?

Make it standard procedure that you never sit in on a parent-teacher

conference without first meeting with the teacher or team and
reviewing information to determine exactly what each person plans
to say.
Survival Tips (pp. 118-121)

Find out details, the individuals involved,and your expectations for

solving a problem that may result in frustration.
Communicate with individuals, not the group.

Admit when you dont know something and ask teacher for their
suggestions on issues when solving problems.

If there is a negative attitude toward you by anyone on the staff that

lasts more than one month, it is time to have a heart-to-heart about
the real source of the problem.
Survival Tips (pp. 118-121)

Visit a specific number of classrooms every day and keep to your

schedule.
As soon as teachers see you in their classrooms- especially when you leave them a positive note-it
sends a strong message that you are interested in what they are doing. As soon as you start
letting meeting or minor issue interfere with your visits, the message is also clear: You dont do
what you say you will do. If you go into classrooms only for formal assessments, you are
severely handicapped at the formal evaluation time. How will you know the teacher is
consistently competent if you watch a teacher teach only the number of times specified in the
contract?
Summary (pp. 122)

Successful administrators recognize and practice relationship building

within the school environment to create trust among teachers and
between the administrator and staff.

The administrator must demonstrate fundamental characteristics of

trustworthiness, such as being honorable, truthful, fair, and
reasonable.
Summary (pp. 122)

Patience and understanding are important components of the

administrators job.

Building trust occurs when teachers know you are in a position to

support them with their students, parents, and each other.
Summary (pp. 122)

A principal or assistant principal is someone who consistently does

the right thing with the best interests of staff, students, and parents
at heart.