What is your school's story?

By Maureen Cohen, Assistant Superintendent, Mendon-Upton Regional School District

As many of our districts are immersed in preparations for Open House, it is a prime opportunity to engage our larger community in the shared beliefs and vision we hold for our students.  Beginning with the invitations to parents and guardians to come to Open House, continuing through who is greeting them at the door, what messages are we sending? 

• Will the story be steeped in mystery, where parents are unsure of where to go, what to bring, and what to expect?
• Will the story be based in fear, where teachers outline how many points students will get off if they don’t capitalize or turn an assignment in on time?
• Will the story be one of hope and inspiration, where student and teacher dreams and aspirations are on full display?

As a parent and as an educator, I have personally witnessed numerous plots with twists and turns as schools and educators welcome parents to their open houses.  On the one hand, I’ve been greeted at the door by name by the principal who shook my hand, asked me how I was doing, and told me how my child seemed to be off to a great start.  On the other hand, I have also been at school where no one is there to greet parents as they arrive at the door, no signs were posted, and first-time parents wandered about confused on where they had to go.  Which of those two stories would you want to continue reading?

As parents move to classroom presentations and meet their child's teacher for the first time, what will be the dominant narrative they hear?  Will it read more like story #1, story #2 or story #3 below?

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School Story #1:  Our school is focused on....

Wow! There are a lot of you here tonight.  I have to be honest, I didn't prepare anything."

"This year your child really needs to learn how to be organized and they have to turn everything on time as we don't accept late work.  It's usually a shock to their system at first. We have to prepare them for middle school next year."

"Here is a list of the units we teach.  They don't usually like the first couple of units, but when we get to this one, this is my favorite to teach."

"You will need to talk to your child about grammar and punctuation.  It counts this year and I will be taking points off if they don't capitalize or put periods. You'd be surprised how many still don't do that. They learn quick."

School Story #2:  Our school is focused on...

I just love working here. I have worked in a lot of different schools and this is one of the most caring and collaborative environment I have been in.  The teachers really care about students here."

"It is a privilege and honor to work with your children. Thank you for entrusting them to our care.  Here we are focused on creating a safe and inclusive environment."

"I love being a middle school teacher.  There is nothing more exciting than working with middle school students, with all of their energy, excitement, passion, and especially how they begin to find their voice."

"We have an exciting year ahead of us.  We began with our students identifying their hopes and dreams for this year and I'd like to share my hopes and dreams for the year with you as well."

School Story #3:  Our school is focused on...

We are looking for opportunities to engage our parents and community members to bring their experiences in to support our students.  Please sign-up if you are interested in volunteering or can speak to our students about your own work experience."

"We feel that is important to support our student's agency and voice in their own learning.  They will have time throughout the year to follow their passions through independent and/or collaborative projects on topics of choice."

"We are looking to engage our students in real work that matters and will be working within our community to create learning opportunities that extend outside of our classroom."

The quotes above are not pulled from fictional tales of classrooms, but are real-life examples of statements teachers have shared at open houses that I have personally experienced over the years.  Which school would you want to send your child to if you had the choice?  

From classroom teachers to school leaders, we have to be cognizant of all of the messages we are sending out to the community, because these interactions and communications, whether big or small, create a larger narrative about what we believe is important.  

Resources on Storytelling

If you are looking to learn more about how to change the narratives in your schools, check out the following resources:

• ​We Choose the Stories We Tell
• 10 Stories Great Leaders Need to Tell​
• Creating a Shared Story
• Why Storytelling in the Classroom Matters