I’m honored to welcome Dr. Jason DeFalco as a guest blogger. Dr. DeFalco is currently serving as the Superintendent of Blackstone-Millville Regional School District. Under Dr. DeFalco’s leadership, the “District of 1 – 2,000 Strong” is moving from good to great. His efforts to keep the main thing, the main thing, have resulted in significant growth and impact from pre-k through grade 12.
Like most superintendents, Dr. DeFalco works tirelessly to recognize the efforts of educators as they work smarter, not harder, in service of every student. Read on to learn more about his newest approach: “The Daily Three @ 3”.
Thanks for joining me today on the blog. I can’t wait to learn more about ‘The Daily Three @ 3’. Can you tell me a little bit about what that is?
Thanks for allowing me this opportunity, Kerry! Well, you know, educators have a million things to do on a daily basis, and sometimes stopping to recognize the good work of others isn’t always on the top of the list. We all know, though, that it should be. To help with this, I have decided to be very intentional about blocking time each day to make sure I give real and positive feedback to at least three staff members across my very talented team of about 300 staff.
Wow, what a great idea. But, I have to ask – how and why are you carving out time every day to provide feedback?
Like most of us, Google Calendar keeps me organized and moving! Every day at 3 pm, I schedule just a few minutes to stop what I am doing and be sure I focus on sharing out at least three pieces of real and positive feedback. We know if it doesn’t get on the schedule, it doesn’t always get done. This is one way I am trying to protect my time to make sure I am feeding others that feed so many.
So, what advice or tips would you give to other superintendents who would like to do something similar but don’t yet know how to get started?
Just do it. Sometimes we overthink stuff. Don’t overthink this one. Just block the time and connect with your staff. We can’t do what we need to do without a team. And the members of that team need to know through real and positive feedback how much we value them.
It might be helpful if our readers could see an example of this feedback. Do you have a model you’d be willing to share?
Thanks for sharing, Jason! While this may seem like one more thing, it’s making an impact.
Thank you for recognizing that communicating your appreciation matters, counts, and makes a difference.
Kerry
