School of Choice-The Power of a Positive Service Attitude in Your School District

 Like all journeys of life, it starts from within. It begins with an attitude of realistic optimism. This means not dwelling on the past, but, looking ahead to the future and focusing on positive action in the present moment, that individually be taken by every member of your team. We refer to this as a Positive Service Attitude (PSA).

What is a good definition of a PSA? In the consulting and training programs we conduct, this is the first question we ask when we cover this topic. The answers we have received include:
“Looking for the best in every situation.”
“Having a ‘Can Do’ Attitude”
“Being a problem solver.”
“Looking at what could be, not what can’t be.”

Whichever way you slice it a PSA is going to position your school district to take advantage of the opportunities that come with change and transition. While everyone else is focusing on what they are losing, smart leaders help their team to focus on which opportunities are becoming available.

There are several benefits to having you and your team possess a PSA. Here are just a few.
    It is a more pleasant place to work.
    Students and parents like to be around people who have a “Can Do” attitude.
    Things get done more smoothly and effortlessly.
    Students and parents are attracted to and want to be part of this kind of school environment.

Between the optimist and pessimist
the difference is quite droll.
The optimist, the do nut she sees,
the pessimist, only the hole.

                 - unknown

Pessimists seem to enjoy it when things go wrong. They seem to have a rain cloud that follows them around. They seem to find glee in problems that overwhelm other people. As far as they are concerned, they are happily discontented with being negative about life.

On the other hand, the realistic optimist, despite what seems negative, looks for what is positive and then persistently takes action to get the kind of results that benefit all involved.

When one stops to think about what it takes to get and maintain a PSA, it is like using the analogy of an old fashioned balance beam scale to weigh beans. The more beans you place on one side the more it will tip it in that direction. So it is with a PSA. The more positives you put into your mind, the more it will cause your mental balance beam scale will tip in the direction of being positive. If you put more negatives into your mind, it will tip your mental scale in the direction of being negative.


Tom Borg Consulting, LLC works with public schools to help them increase student retention and minimize student attrition. They do this through their consulting and training programs that  create better internal and external communication and a  more dynamic service culture. For more information on our services please contact our office at 734-404-5909 or visit our website at www.TomBorgConsulting.com
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Student Attrition-Two Factors that Must Be Addressed by Public Schools

Two of the most important factors that must be addressed are the areas of attitude and action. Public school leaders and their teams must acquire and maintain the right attitude in response to the sea of changes in which they are immersed.

Dr. Hearsill Wilson said, “The things we do that we do not have to do will always determine what we are when it is to late to do anything about it.” In other words the things you and your staff do now will influence where you end up later. The choices and actions taken in the present moment will define where your organization will be in the future. 

Can your efforts totally change the direction of the movement of parents and their children to a school district other than yours? No, they can’t, but what you and your team can do, by thinking the right thoughts and making the necessary changes, is that you can keep many more students in your school district and attract new ones.

Whichever way things go in the future, the school districts who satisfy and even exceed the needs and wants of their parents and their children will be in far better shape than those school districts that do not.


Why is this so important? Because keeping students in your school district means revenue from the state. To understand the full impact this has, let’s look at what the lifetime monetary value of just one of your students really is.

Here is a formula that you can use for determining the lifetime monetary value of a student. In this scenario we will use the amount of $7,000 to represent the amount of state funding per student.

Determining the Lifetime Dollar Value of one Student:

     $7,000 per student per year  X  13 years = $91,000

Ideally you would like to retain that student for the full 13 years they are attending elementary, middle and high school.

When you take into consideration the potential financial contributions as a lifetime alumni, it could far exceed this amount of $91,000.

The loss of just 25 students in one year would equal $175,000. When you multiply that times the 13 years they would have been part of your school system it equals the staggering sum of $2,750,000.

Needless to say, it is imperative that you and your team do everything possible to exceed the expectations of your student and parent base and retain them as lifetime clients.

For more information on how Tom Borg Consulting, LLC can help your school district attract and retain more students, please contact our office at 734-404-5909 or visit our website at:
www.tomborgconsulting.com

 2. Source: The U.S Postal Service Nears Collapse, Bloomberg Business Week, May 26, 2011
 gomasa.org

Student Retention - Public Schools Are In Transition

Public schools in the United States are in transition. Government funding has been and will continue to be cut. The expectations of the parents and their children have been changing. As all organizations that are in a transition, public schools can try and resist the changes or they can become part of the changes. The latter is a much better approach.

For more information on how Tom Borg Consulting, LLC can help your public school district attract and retain more students please contact our office at 734-404-5909 or visit our website at
www.tomborgconsulting.com
gomasa.org