There's magic that happens at the end of each academic year.

Graduations.

From one grade to another.

From one school building to another.

From one stage of life to another.

Why are graduations important?

For students, graduation marks the end of one big step in their life and the start of a new one. It's an occasion that makes students feel proud of themselves and confident they can take on new challenges.

For teachers, watching their students graduate reminds them why they chose the important job of being an educator. They get to celebrate their students' success and feel renewed motivation for the work they do.

Celebrating this transition creates a strong sense of community between students, teachers, and the school.

These positive effects of graduation and the end of the school year are great, but they only happen once every twelve months.

What can we learn from this as leaders that can help us build engaging workplaces, schools and communities throughout the year?

1 Tap into the "fresh start" effect

While the end of the school year brings a natural "fresh start" mindset, savvy leaders can tap into this motivating perspective year-round. Just like graduations mark major transitions for students, staff milestones provide renewal opportunities for educators. Leverage moments like new hires, role changes, work anniversaries, or transfers as catalysts for reflection and goal-setting.

Facilitate collaborative activities that balance reviewing past successes with co-creating a vision for future growth. For example, when an educator moves into administration, celebrate their teaching achievements but also envision how to inspire excellent instruction as a leader.

By purposefully creating these "fresh start" moments, you promote a growth mindset and culture of continuous improvement. Staff feel re-energized, invested in their development, and committed to the school's mission. Whether end-of-year or mid-year, utilize milestones as psychological reset points that boost motivation and innovation.

2 Celebrate achievement together

While individual accomplishments are important, there's great power in celebrating success together as a school community. When students, teachers, staff and administrators share in each other's achievements, it creates a stronger sense of unity, belonging and team spirit.

Make celebrations participatory by having different groups showcase their milestones. Students can present projects, teachers can share innovative lessons, and principals can provide updates on goals met. Engage everyone in the planning too - students can decorate, teachers can give ideas, parents can volunteer. Giving all stakeholders a role builds collective investment.

Most importantly, tie the achievements recognized back to your school's core values and mission. Highlight skills like perseverance, creativity, or community service that you want to promote. These shared celebration experiences become cherished memories bonding the community. The collective pride propels everyone to achieve more together as a unified team.

3 Recognize contributions

According to Gallup's research on employee engagement, staff who receive great recognition are 20 times as likely to be engaged as employees who receive poor recognition.

Make an effort to frequently acknowledge teachers' and administrators' efforts - both big achievements and small wins. Thank them for going the extra mile, trying new approaches, or simply bringing positive energy each day.

Broadcast their great work through newsletters, social media shoutouts, or meetings. Peer-to-peer recognition is powerful too, so facilitate ways for colleagues to commend each other.

Importantly, ensure recognition is specific, sincere and tied to the school's values. Generic praise loses impact. Simple acts recognizing people's unique contributions cultivate a culture where all feel truly valued.

Graduations are a lot of work...

But they create memories that last a lifetime.

What is your favorite graduation story? I'd love to read it, hit "Reply" and share it with me.

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CT (CheeTung) Leong

Find me at k12.engagerocket.net