With Auckland’s ever-expanding population, marketing for roll growth is not something a large number of schools have as a priority at the moment. But, what of those schools with a declining roll? Or those that have a hanging legacy to try and cast aside? Getting students through the door and growing a school can, in some cases, be a real challenge. And it’s not just students, what about attracting high-quality teaching staff? Auckland is a prime example of an area that is crying out for teachers. The media is constantly full of articles sharing the stories of teachers who have left the metropolis for the regions. Whether it’s cost of living or simply trying to get onto the property ladder, some of New Zealand’s larger cities are losing teachers at an alarming rate.
As someone who visits a lot of schools, I often find myself wondering what each school’s point of difference is. With my ‘parent-of-a-child-who-is-just-about-to-start-school’ hat on, what is it that would make me send my son to your school? What I’m talking about is a school’s value proposition. In marketing terms, it is defined as ‘an innovation, service, or feature intended to make a company or product attractive to customers.’ In real-world terms, I’m asking to see not just what the school does very well, but also how it is different from other schools around it.
Now, please do not misunderstand me — I’m not looking to start a marketing war between schools with flying accusations of poaching one another’s cohorts. I’m simply wondering whether leaders who are responsible for enrolments and appointments have considered what it is that makes their school special. Of course, most of us value our teaching and learning environments. It’s what makes teaching in New Zealand such a pleasure, knowing that no two classrooms or schools are the same. We have the freedom to develop our own thinking, direction, and culture within our individual environments and at a wider school level. My question is: Has this been formatted into a ‘unique value proposition’?
“Also known as a unique selling proposition (USP), your UVP is a clear statement that describes the benefit of your offer, how you solve your customer’s needs and what distinguishes you from the competition. Your unique value proposition should appear prominently on your landing page and in every marketing campaign.” (Unbounce.com)
Whether it’s your extra-curricular options, your incredible inquiry model, and delivery plan, or sporting success, unfortunately, many prospective parents and employees start at the same place: Decile. With the upcoming system changes and transition to the MoE anonymous targeted funding initiative, or risk index, things are going to change. But, that is never going to extinguish any fires burning from previous negative associations and, until the new system is fully embedded, decile ratings (both past and present) will significantly influence people’s perceptions.
Having recently visited a school with my parent hat firmly fixed on, I left with as many wonderings as when I stepped inside the doors. I couldn’t shake the question, ‘what else?’ Everything I was shown was fine. There were opportunities for growth and learning, steps being taken towards modern learning practice, and dabbling in the ILE world. All was absolutely… fine. So, why couldn’t I shake the question? It’s simple really. Being okay isn’t okay. Teaching and learning under the ‘That’s-What-We’ve-Always-Done’ mentality is just never going to be okay. I don’t for one second think this is the case in the school I visited. I wholeheartedly believe they had innovation and powerful opportunities for engagement and empowerment happening within the school; I just couldn’t see it. Their website touched on it, their inquiry model certainly talked about empowering learners and self-exploration, but as a visitor to the school and prospective parent, it wasn’t in front of me. No matter what question I asked or how subtly I pushed, the school’s uniqueness didn’t shine through. And it made me wonder… Is this what visitors to the school see? Is that okay? To a parent outside of education, what was shown was similar in some ways to the education they received. Surely that wasn’t the school’s unique value proposition?
In the busy life of schools, the must-dos of governance and Ministry requirements are, at the very least, time-consuming. Little time is left for the ‘should dos’, and they are dealt with the best they can be. For example, we should be promoting teaching as inquiry and establishing strong relationships both within and across schools. We should be strengthening our repertoire of skills and letting the ‘pockets of promise’ shine through. But what about the ‘could dos?’ It’s here that schools have an opportunity to push beyond the norm and define themselves as genuine institutions of modern learning. After the charter has been submitted and the data has been analysed, many leaders have little time to engage in purposeful conversations around pushing the boundaries of education. This is by no means a criticism; just the reality of the incredibly high pressured life of a leader in education. So often I’ve seen the pendulum swing away from future-focused education towards governance and accountability. And, it’s here where facilitators and consultants like myself have an opportunity to help make a significant change. Our role is not to show schools the way. We don’t have the map. But we do have the paper with which leaders can draw their own and decide on just what it is that makes them special.
On seeking the advice of a very experienced and highly-regarded, forward-thinking principal recently, he shared his insights on the direction he felt schools were headed. So many of his colleagues and fellow leaders were so preoccupied with governance, property, and finance (their must-dos), that their ‘should-dos’ received just a fraction of their time. It left nothing for the big questions. Where were they going? Where did they see their school in 5, 10, or even 20 years time? How were they providing learners with purposeful, agentic learning and focusing on the skills sought by businesses and future employers? Were they focusing on the key competencies and values within The New Zealand Curriculum and promoting communication, organisation, and collaboration (see here for a 2016 article via Linkedin)? The list of questions was endless and all were very much in the wider, strategic direction space. I, like many of his colleagues, simply had no answer.
There are many great thinkers and edutainers out there. They enthrall us with their vision of the future and incredibly simple explanations of the most complex concepts. But, just how often does it transfer into genuine change? So, I direct my final comments to leaders who are asking the questions but simply don’t have the capacity to find the answers. Find your map. Collaboratively, creatively, and with the support of colleagues both within and outside of your organisation. Sometimes that means someone like me has the honour of coming along with you on your collective journey, and sometimes it’s just a case of finding the time to prioritise your could-dos. Whatever you choose, whatever it is that makes your school shine, sing it from every rooftop and do it with pride.
Whāia te iti kahurangi ki te tūohu koe me he maunga teitei, Seek the treasure you value most dearly: if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain.
References
Images
- Feature photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash
- If you do what you’ve always done… By BK under CC BY-SA 2.0
- Do more of what makes you awesome by Koka Sexton under CC BY 2.0
When you look at the diagram, lifted straight from the document, it makes sense that about a third of the content is dedicated to Learning Areas. It could be argued that about a third of learning is assimilating knowledge in specific content areas. But what of the other two thirds?
As we continue striding forward and into the unknown, many of those following do not realise the challenge a leader faces. In turn, the leader plasters on the smile and buries the challenges, both personal and professional, in the name of strong and stable leadership. And before we know it, it’s too late. The sleep has been lost, the irrational conversations have happened and we find ourselves lying at the bottom of a cliff, wondering when it all came crashing down. Hiding our struggles has a place. Not everyone needs to know or, indeed, cares about the trials and tribulations of our lives. Just remember those who do. If you’re hanging onto the edge or already halfway down, it isn’t too late to accept a rope — we simply have to remember to ask those we are closest to, to throw one down and hold on tight. And remember — if you choose the right person, they’ll never let go.
One question that seems to resurface regularly is ‘Do you need to be creative to create something?’ Again, we need to return to the simple definitions of the two terms and highlight their differences. One is clearly a verb (to create) while the other is an adverb (creatively) but is this enough? Sure, you can create something with relative ease. It is a process. Something that can be tracked and talked through. A fine example of creating is the simple act of following a recipe. If followed correctly, the outcome has been predetermined and will be successful. However, if we look at the very heart of what it means to be creative, the use of imagination and original ideas, then I would argue that following a recipe is not. Should you choose to deviate from the recipe and experiment with different textures, flavours, and spices, then you should expect a more unplanned outcome.
The second question puzzles me. A well-known children’s author, Maggie Tokuda-Hall, wrote in her book, ‘Also an Octopus’, that a good story ‘…starts with a little bit of nothing...’ and beautifully followed up with, ‘and everyone has a little bit of nothing.’ My point is simply that to be creative in its purest form, we often start from nothing. When not starting from nothing and building on the ideas of others, much of the challenge around ‘starting with a little bit of nothing’ has already been tackled. So, to answer the question in a roundabout sort of way, I truly believe that every child has a little bit of nothing and that every child has a wonderful imagination. It’s just a question of finding the right catalyst to ignite the fire — and the right tool to enable the flow.
In 1965, John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote a track which Lennon deemed to be one of his most honest works of all time — 
A good coach is worth their weight in gold. You go to them with needs and specific skills and their role is to focus on getting you to the place you’ve identified you need to be. Coaching is often described as being ‘future focused’ in its nature. It’s a role that aims to move you forwards through a journey of discovery and supports you in taking risks. In the sports world, the coach is there to get results, drive the team forward and keep momentum going. A good coach listens and reacts to situations; however, their focus is forwards, fixed on progress and achievement.