acts as a counter to the bad news that often makes its way into the general
media. It is a useful addition to the school’s PR packet for the next school
year. See appendix D for a sample of a “highlights” publication from a
New York City school.
Previously, the school leader was advised to volunteer to write the meeting
summaries of the school’s leadership team to be sure they are clear and
concise and provide the outcome of discussions rather than descriptions of
disagreements along the way to consensus. A school leader should handle
the summaries of all meetings he attends—cabinet meetings, supervisory
staff development meetings, academic or vocational affairs committee
meetings, Parent Association meetings, and union consultation meet-
ings—in the same way. As long as he is factual and deals with conclusions
and decisions, he will rarely receive complaints. In most cases, he can
count on the fact that few people want to take notes, prepare the summary
of a meeting for review, revise the summary, and then prepare copies for
distribution. So everyone will be pleased when he volunteers. Once again,
the school leader will be controlling the communication.
At one time or another, every school is visited by auditors, quality review
teams, district personnel, and state certification teams. First impressions
often determine how such reviewers respond to and rate the school. All
such visitors should be greeted at the door by members of a trained student
team, who guide them through the sign-in procedures, bring them to the
principal’s office, and answer any questions they have along the way.
Breakfast or lunch should be ready for them in this office, as well as a PR
folder that includes recent school newspaper issues, a copy of the literary
magazine, the highlights of the previous school year, any recent articles on
the school from other publications, and the latest school statistics.
After the good impression made by the students, a PR folder gives the
reviewers a fairly good sketch of the school. The savvy principal will also
find that by adding a knick-knack left over from a Teacher Appreciation
Day—a pen with the school logo, a school T-shirt, and so on—the visitors
approach the remainder of their day with a positive attitude. If this principal
also has all the items they need to review in organized folders, he can be
fairly certain that the school will have a good review. When a school leader
monitors communications well, he can safely use them as necessary.
142 Chapter 10