For administrators who care desperately about enhancing staff morale, an article on the Edutopia website proclaims that,  “School leaders can help sustain early grades teachers’ job satisfaction with strategies that foster their joy in working with young children.”

The article encourages administrators to consider these questions:

“How and when do you ask teachers to reflect on the personal strengths that they bring to their work and that contribute to the presence of joy in the learning environment? Do you identify and acknowledge the joy that each educator has brought to children and families, and to you? Do you name moments of joy that you notice among your staff?”

 

And in the Exchange Essential article collection, “Motivate Your Staff,” the following idea was contributed by Patti Buehler of The Growing Tree Child Care Center, Whitehall, Pennsylvania:

“In a central location for staff we post a piece of paper with the title of 'Kudos to You — Dos.' This is for any staff or director to write something positive about other staff to give recognition for anything seen, heard, or done that other staff noticed, liked, appreciated, etc. Sometimes the page is filled up quickly with comments from and for our 30 staff. We take it down and put up a new paper when that one is full. As director, I will then cut the comments apart and file each one into their personnel file. These are nice to have to refer to when doing evaluations. They can also be made into a little book to give to each staff member on Teacher Appreciation Week.”