There have been several studies that have shown the positive impact that greeting a student at the classroom door makes on a classroom culture. As an administrator, I think it is important to do the same for students when they first come to the door. Greeting them as they enter the building has a similar effect!

Every morning I go to our front door and greet our students when they come in. I say hello or good morning to all of them as they begin their day, in our school, this is over 400 good mornings every day. I think it is really important for them to start the day with a positive greeting, and it makes my day better too! It is a quick and easy way to be highly visible to students and have at least one positive interaction to get their day going. Our teachers also appreciate not having to do outdoor bus duty, especially on the bad weather days!

This serves to give me an idea of who is in the building today (or who is missing), which can be a predictor of how my day is going to go. Similarly, if I notice a typically cheerful student looking like they are having a rough day I make a point to check in on them, or have someone who they are connected to check on them, before too long. This proactive approach lets our students know we notice and that we care. The catch is though, you have to notice. It requires active engagement to collect our students as they come in rather than simply going through the motions.

At the end of the day our assistant principal usually does the same. She says goodbye to them and sees them off to the buses. This way students get to see both of us daily and end with a positive interaction. Also, if we have concerns about trouble brewing at the end of the day someone is on hand to help deter it. 

This is one of those tasks that have both the leadership and management aspects to them. On the leadership side we are collecting and connecting with our students, trying to help them feel like they belong. On the management side it helps us to identify potential issues during the day and our presence can be a deterrent for certain behaviours. For leaders, we often find ourselves thinking in terms of leadership vs management, whereas tasks like this can be both depending on how you approach them.

Book-ending the days for students gives them a sense of familiarity. Parents who drop their kids off appreciate seeing a familiar face I think and it helps give them a sense of comfort knowing that their kids are looked after. They often hand them off from one caring adult (themselves) to another (us) which helps to put a face on the school.

Although time is always a precious commodity, it is a very easy and effective use of a few minutes each day that can have a great impact.