Tips to Identify Quality Schools

If you are a teacher and looking for a teaching job, you will want to know if a school you applied for a job is right for you. There are many ways you can use to find out if this is a good fit for you before accepting the offer. Here are some of the critical characteristics of a quality school:

The attitude of the staff

You will first interact with the staff when you first enter the school gate. The actions and the way you are treated will set the tone of how things will turn out to be for the rest of your stay there. The first impression is always the last. If their front office staff has good customer service, then the school has good leadership. However, if the staff in the front office are gloomy, rude, and unhappy, you should begin to question and think twice before agreeing to the offer. Things hardly change for the best.

The attitude of the principal or administrator

You will finally have the chance to meet with the top administrators before accepting the job offer. They set the pace for the overall attitude and how people interact internally and externally. The principal should offer support and empower staff and provide an opportunity for each one of them to grow each year. Principals who are often absent at the workplace or who do not accept innovative ideas from their juniors will be hard to work with. It will always result in disgruntled staff, and you will not want to be part of that, move on.

Veteran and new teachers

The quality of a school depends on the diversity of the staff it has. A mix of veteran teachers and new teachers blends well. New teachers come in full of themselves aiming to make a difference, while at the same time, they have a lot to learn about management from the veteran teachers. A mix of veterans and new teachers can help a school achieve its goals and motivate each other to achieve what is best for themselves and the school in general.

Student-centred

The system must be student-centred, and the principal is the one to create such an atmosphere by sharing core values with the staff and involve the staff in crafting the themes and values that are student-centred. In every aspect of decision making, the question asked should be, ‘how is it benefiting the students?’ When such values are embraced, infighting is minimized, and the school will focus on the business of imparting knowledge to the learners.

Mentoring programs

Most successful and established schools offer mentorship programs to new teachers. Some are formal, while others are informal; however, the quality of a school depends on how it values its staff and new teachers. Mentorship programs for the new teachers will help them learn the culture of the school and equip them with knowledge on how to navigate bureaucracies that exist in the education system.

Minimum politics

Departments in every school have its drama and politics, but these should be kept minimum. There will be a scramble for resources in the departments with senior teachers claiming larger shares, leaving the rest with themselves to blame. The management of the school should not tolerate such heinous acts and behaviours if they are to make any meaningful strides in the right direction.

Ipswich Grammar School can be the right school for your child.