After a restful summer, the excitement – and weight – of a new school year is upon us. Ideally, the “down time” gave you time to reflect, opportunities to be inspired, and space to recharge so that you are ready to make this school year a great one.

The FolioCollaborative process and pro-active goal-setting can help ease the transition and set a productive course for the new year.

Starting the school year with conversations about goals is an effective way to build meaningful relationships with new teachers and staff or to re-engage with returning faculty. Doing so demonstrates an administrator’s commitment to each team member’s professional development while establishing a common understanding and clear vision for growth.

With the Folio process, goal-setting discussions form the basis for ongoing conversations and growth-oriented momentum.

How can you get started?

If your new Folio Cycle has started and you are a Folio School Admin, the New Year/Cycle Wizard will be in the upper-right sidebar of the Folio Dashboard.

The Wizard will walk you through the steps of setting up the new year: adding/removing users, managing supervisor changes, setting up Workspaces and most importantly, setting up Folio Milestones.

Preparing for Goal-Setting Conversations

Here are some suggestions for how to prepare for goal-setting conversations:

Before the meeting

• Define expectations and protocols for the conversations, such as their length, location, agenda, etc.
• Provide helpful context for the conversation; this could include mission statements for your school or department, focus areas, or updates.

During the meeting

• Focus the conversation on the future rather than the past.
• Ask clarifying and guiding questions that will reveal opportunities and specific goals.
• Listen and seek to understand.
• Notice what us not being said, such as which parts of the conversation most excite a teacher or staff member.
• Use Folio to record what was discussed and decided at the meeting.

After the meeting

• Create and publish a note in Folio.
• Respond to notes that a teacher or staff member composes to acknowledge it.
• Schedule at time for a follow-up conversation or check in.