Trust Matters: Leadership for Successful Schools | Dr. Megan Tschannen-Moran
Program Description
The program consists of a day-long workshop in which participants learn about the dynamics of trust in schools and deepen their appreciation of the importance of cultivating a community rooted in trust. Research demonstrates that trust impacts not only to the level of communication, collaboration, and openness in a school, it affects the school's bottom line: student achievement. Participants will engage in reflection and discussion of trust in their own school setting, as well as a skill-building exercise on the conversations necessary to rebuilding damaged trust. Follow-up building surveys and individual coaching are available.Virginia Standard(s) Addressed
Communication & Community Relations (ISLLC Standard 4) and Professionalism (ISLLC Standards 5 & 6)Program Goals and Objectives
By the end of this program participants will demonstrate the ability to identify the five facets upon which trust is built and reflect upon how these play out within their own school communities. Participants will reflect on the structures, policies, and practices in place or that need to be put in place to foster greater trust as the basis for a high-performing school culture. Participants will come away from this session with a deeper knowledge of the conditions that set the stage for betrayal, the stages of betrayal, and victims' motivation for revenge. Participants will learn about the commitment required by the arduous process of rebuilding trust, as well as the roles of both the betrayer and the betrayed in that process. Through role plays, participants will practice the often difficult and uncomfortable conversations that must take place as part of the process of rebuilding broken trust.Program Format
This session will engage participants in conversations about the challenges of building and maintaining trust among multiple constituents. It will also address the dynamics and aftermath of betrayal. We will employ a combination of presentations and large- and small-group discussions. It will also include a skill-building segment in which participants will practice the conversations necessary for rebuilding trust.
Introductions (5 Minutes)
Trust: A Brief Overview (45 minutes)
Discussion of Participant Experiences of Trust in Schools (30 minutes). Sample small-group discussion questions include the following:
- How can an understanding of the five facets of trust help bolster the culture of trust in your building? What disciplines, habits, and techniques can help you focus on the facets of trust during the school day?
- What are the signs that trust is either present or absent in your school? What are the effects you notice of the presence or absence of trust? What are some of the costly structures, systems, and practices at your school that could be reduced or eliminated if there were more trust between parents and the school, teachers and administrators, and teachers and students?
- What actions did you take when you first arrived at your school building and how were they received? Was there a mismatch between what you intended and what people perceived? How has trust developed, or failed to develop, over time?
- How has lack of knowledge of one another's culture created challenges for the development of trust in your school?
Break (15 minutes)
Betrayal and the Need for Revenge: Overview (25 minutes)
Discussion of Participant Experiences of Betrayal and Revenge in Schools (30 minutes). Sample small-group discussion questions include the following:
- When have you felt betrayed at work and what was your reaction? Did the violation stem from a damaged sense of civic order or from a damaged identity? How did you interpret the motivation of the perpetrator? Was trust ever restored? How?
- What instances have you witnessed where a sense of betrayal has lowered people's commitment, interfered with their performance, and increased their desire to leave the school?
- To what extent does the culture in your school discourage betrayal through norms of openness, trust, and respect? Or is the culture of your school characterized by conflict over goals, negative internal politics, and shifting coalitions that lend themselves to betrayal?
- What would it take for you to help your teachers overcome distrust in order to create a culture where teachers feel free to visit one another's classrooms and to foster professional discourse where teachers discuss teaching methods despite possible disagreements and differences in teaching philosophy?
Break (1 hour)
The Long Road Back. Presentation of the Process of Rebuilding Trust (25 minutes)
Role Plays of Conversations and Agreements to Rebuild Trust (45 minutes)
Break (15 minutes)
Between a Rock and a Hard Place. Discussion of the balancing act for school leaders to maintain trust with multiple constituents (20 minutes) Assessing Trust in Your School. Presentation of survey tools that can assess the level of trust in a school and provide a starting place for important conversations (25 minutes).
Wrap-Up Discussion (20 minutes). Sample small-group discussion questions:
- What specific actions can you take to foster a greater level of trust as the basis of a professional learning community at your school? What structures can be put in place that will bolster trust?
- What is the greatest area in need of attention to trust within your school community? What could you do to improve the level of trust?
Target Audience
School leaders at all levels. The primary audience who will benefit are principals and assistant principals at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Central Office personnel and school board members have also benefited from this program.Self-Selection and/or Identification Through School Division
Yes/yes. Much of the content is available in a book by the same title as the workshop. Each chapter included questions for reflection and discussion. This program would be useful for a group of administrators from the same school division to participate in together. There is also an option for individualized coaching of a school leader who is faced with a low-trust school community.Duration of Program
One 6-hour session (with breaks) or two 3-hour sessions. A follow-up session for the presentation and interpretation of school trust survey results is also available. Individual coaching on leading in a low-trust school and rebuilding broken trust can be arranged.Outcomes Measured
School leaders who choose to can administer one or more surveys to assess the level of trust in the school. The Faculty Trust survey assesses Faculty Trust in the Principal, in Colleagues, in Students and Parents. The Principal Survey assesses Principal Trust in Teachers, Students and Parents. The Parent Survey assesses Parent Trust in the School and the Principal, and the Student Trust Survey assesses Student Trust in the Principal and School. Each of these surveys is norm-referenced for comparison to other schools. Surveys are available for download at www.MeganTM.com.Program Evaluation
Program evaluation will be based on a survey of the participants about the value of what they have learned about their school leadership practice and their intention to implement some of what they have learned.Contact Information
Megan Tschannen-Moran
College of William and Mary
School of Education
PO Box 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
757-221-2187; 757-345-3451
mxtsch@wm.edu