Charter Schools - How to Help Your Staff Think Positive in Your School District

A number of years ago my wife and I attended a Detroit Tiger baseball game. We sat in the left field section just far enough back from the fence that we had a clear view of the field. In the third inning a little old man walked up in front of our section and said, “ Alright everybody, we’re gonna do the Wave.” I said to Elizabeth, my wife, “what’s this guy doing? Does he think he can get all of us to actually stand up and do the Wave?” I would soon find out. This spunky little guy was determined. He launched into his shtick. He went on to say, “That’s right everyone, if you just work with me, eventually we will get this entire stadium to do the Wave.”

I commented to Elizabeth,  “This I’ve got to see.”

Then he continued his routine and said, “Alright here we go. Ahh one, ahhhaa two, ahhhhhaaa three!” and approximately 13 kids jumped out of their seats, waved their arms, giggled, laughed and then sat down. Well, I thought to myself, he had just failed. And now he would just give up and walk away. But, he didn’t. He kept cheering the crowd on to do it again and again. After several attempts, much to my surprise, he was able to get the entire stadium of about 30,000 people, including my wife and I, to do this thing called the Wave. Needless to say I was totally impressed.

I said to myself, “This is a man I must meet.” A few innings later I saw him near a hot dog stand and walked up to him and introduced myself. I then asked him how he able to get the entire crowd to do this thing called the Wave. He went on to explain that he believed when he was able to get  fans to cheer for, and support the home team by doing the Wave, the players performed better. When the team played better the crowd enjoyed the game even more. It created a win-win situation. He went on to tell me that when he walked into the stadium, he knew exactly the results he was looking to attain and he added, “I’m just crazy enough to do what it takes to get those results.”

I learned something that day about life. I learned that was if I wanted to truly get the results in my life that make a difference, I must be determined enough to do what it takes and persist long enough until I get those results.

How about you? Whether you are a superintendent, principal, teacher, bus driver, food service employee, school board member or any other staff person that works for your school district, are you determined enough to do what it takes to create a positive mind set of delivering service to your students and parents? If you are, good for you. If not, why not? What do you need to do to change your mind set?

One key to breaking a negative and pessimist mind set is to look around your school district and  become a detective to discover what is positive and good. Look for what is going right. What are some of the things for which your team can be proud? List a few of them here.
1.
2.
3.

Tom Borg Consulting, LLC.,  is a consulting group that specializes in student attrition,public school consulting, strategic planning, leadership training, team building, and customer culture transformation for public school systems in Michigan and the United States. For more information please call 734-404-5909 or visit our website at www.TomBorgConsulting.com

www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/lori/higgins

Publics Schools Consulting, MI - 3 Keys to Keeping a Productive Attitude

Here are three keys to being more productive at work and at home.

1. Avoid the “I’ll be happy sometime syndrome.” In other words people who suffer from this malady are thinking that a better day will come when something in the future happens. For example they will be happy when:
•    they get a raise
•    spring finally arrives
•    they have their first child
•    their child starts school
•    their child finally graduates from college
•    when they go on vacation
•    when they retire

My point is, these people live their lives on “some day I’ll”. They  are always complaining about the present moment, and therefore, not capable of living in and enjoying the present moment.

2. Next avoid associating with members of the “Chicken Little Club”. These are the card carrying, dues paying bringers of doom and gloom. They will tell you about all the things wrong with your school system. They will go on and on about how bad things are, and how bad they are going to get.

3. Finally, remember there is no Lone Ranger coming to your rescue, but there are Tontos. What I mean by that is, there are people who will help you overcome the challenges your school district is facing. Tontos could come in the form of individuals on your team helping each other. It could come in the form of outside consultants that you hire. It could come from the business community. Tontos could come from a number of different places. My point is, there are people willing to help your school district,  but, no one who will just take away all you problems. 

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

Public Schools Consulting - Keeping a Postive Sevice Attitude in Your School District

When it comes to sustaining a PSA, one thing for sure, thinking BIG is a lot better than thinking small. If you expect good things to happen and do what it takes to make them happen, chances are good things will have a much better chance of becoming a reality.

Many times what prevents a school district team from creating and sustaining a PSA environment is the individuals that play the “blame game.” One person from one department, looks at someone in another department and blames them for creating problems in their department. As a leader you must remind your team that “it’s not who is wrong, but what is wrong, and work together to find a solution to fix it.”

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

Public Schools Consulting - Watch Out for the News Media

The next area to be aware of, that can seriously affect your attitude in a negative way, is getting too much exposure to the news media.

A number of years ago I was the program chairperson for the Detroit Rotary Club. Being in Detroit, we had access to many major people of influence. On one occasion we invited the new editor and chief of the Detroit News-Free Press to come and speak to our club. He accepted and came and spoke to our group of business people. At the end of his talk he asked if there were any questions. One attorney in the group asked, “Why is it that your newspaper paints such a negative picture of the city of Detroit?”

The speaker, somewhat surprised by the question, took a step back, gathered his thoughts, stepped forward and gave this answer. “Well you see, what we do in our business is report on things that are unique. It just so happens that just about everything in Detroit that is unique is negative.”

That was his answer. Bad news sells; sad but true. It seems that the news media, be it, television, radio, on-line print or hard copy has a purpose, and that is to get as many people as possible to view, listen or read their news. The higher their subscription rate, the higher the fees that they will be able to charge their advertising clients.

It is not about providing the “news.” It is about providing the kind of news people will read.

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

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
 www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/lori/higgins

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