Change is Hard!

     As we have read this week, it is very difficult to change.  You have to be on board with the change to feel somewhat comfortable.  Change is hard for everyone.  It is so easy to continue on with what you know or are comfortable with.  Nobody wants to have to take risks and be taken out of their comfort zone, but that is a requirement of change. 
     I have recently gone through an organizational change within my school.  We had a change of administration after 8 years with the previous administrator.  This was very difficult.  It caused a lot of anxiety and feelings of  uncertainty.  We were used to how things operated.  The expectations were set.  We all worked very hard to accomplish our goals and expectations.  We had an open communication between staff and administration.  Our school was staff run through our SITE team, made up of staff representatives from all grade levels.  We wrote SMART Goals and implemented them.  We collected data and used the data to drive our day to day instruction as well as to be sure we were on target with our SMART Goals.  Our school had won a Maryland State Literacy award for our achievements in the way we were teaching our students to read.  We felt like our school was on top and we as a whole staff worked hard to get us there under the guidance of our administrator.
     When our new administrator arrived, we were fearful of change.  Most of us tried to take a positive approach to the change that was beginning to happen, but there was a lot of apprehension.  Our school, after all was on top and was a model school.  What was going to happen now?  Would we continue on the path we were on or would the new administration have a new vision with new goals and expectations?
      As expected, our anxiety was not unfounded.  Change was occurring rapidly.  Understandably, the new administration wanted to make the school vision her own.  We were about to make some changes and the resistance was building.  It was a very emotional time and a very uncertain time of what the expectations were.  We didn't feel communication was helping to clarify our function or roles and the new expectations being set.  We all knew we needed to comply and accept the changes, but it was hard! 
     We are all learning how to work together and to meet the expectations required of us now.  It is a learning process and a time for having to collaborate with others to build an understanding of the expectations.  Yes, it is hard indeed, but through active learning and collaboration, we will all be able to adapt, take the risks as necessary, and we will become an effective staff who are back on top again.