Middle School Mission, Vision, And Resistance To Change

Change can be hard for anyone and in any situation where change occurs there will always be people resisting and coming forward with concerns. To make people with concerns feel more comfortable a leader needs to have effective communication with all involved. They need to be able to listen and communicate productively. To help support the districts vision of moving forward in changing from a junior high philosophy to a middle school philosophy the first step that needs to be done, as a team, is creating a mission and a vision statement. A successful leader can participate; collaborate with anyone experiencing the change and get groups of people to work together in attaining a mission and vision statement. Using a collaborative leadership style …show more content…
By having a mission statement the vision statement can come together with clarity and lack of ambiguity, paint a vivid picture for everyone involved, have realistic and achievable goals, and also align the organization values and culture. Once a vision and mission statement has been created the start of the change can begin. Even after coming together there will be conflict and concerns. An experienced leader will view any struggle that comes their way as a moment to improve the departmental …show more content…
Strong leaders will seek to understand before they seek to be understood. Covey (1985) Listening to and receiving information first allows the leader to understand the whole picture. By listening to all parties you are helping them feel that they are a part of the change. You must be able to design and manage an effective communication system. While talking about the change emphasize that everyone will be taking ownership for their own actions. Reiterate to them that the changes’ happening fits the philosophy, mission, and culture of the school. Unfortunately, things will come up and sometimes monitoring and adjustments will occur. Transitioning to a middle school will not happen in the blink of an eye. It will require different phases until it is complete. The remodeling of the school will happen over the summer and into the school year, because of this, facility, stakeholders, and students will need to be flexible. Until the remodeling is completely finished there may not be enough space for sixth, seventh, and eighth graders to attend. During the first year phase incorporate change only to seventh and eighth grade, due to not having enough space. Everyone will need to help everyone and everyone will need to have a clear and open communication with each other. Everyone will have plans, evaluations, and adequate resources always available to them. Some of these adequate resources