Secure Sponsorship and Buy-in
Getting Staff on Board
Next you will need to gain buy-in from those who will be teaching the lessons and using the skills directly with children. Buy-in from staff members and families is critical for the success of implementation and transfer of learning.
- Before choosing the program you would like to use, invite staff members to be on a curriculum-selection committee, where they examine a variety of programs and choose one to implement school wide.
- Revise or create school policies and procedures that will reinforce and support the program concepts.
- Align the program with your vision or mission statement.
- Do a site visit to other schools/classrooms using the program or invite a panel of staff from another school to speak with your staff about using the program and the results they have seen.
- Conduct a needs assessment.
- Disseminate research findings documenting the effectiveness of the program.
- Provide information about Committee for Children program awards and endorsements.
- Get the PTA/PTO or other parent/community organizations on board to "talk up" the program.
- Send out promotional/informational fliers to staff members.
- Ask the principal or superintendent to talk about the program at a staff meeting and address staff concerns.
- Create a support team to provide ongoing leadership and coordination of the program. Support team members can include classroom teachers, staff, counselors or psychologists, social workers, school nurses, and parents.
- Give staff an opportunity to make decisions about the pieces of program implementation that affect them directly: what day(s) to teach it, when to start it, and how they will reinforce it.
- Allow preparation time in the school day for learning how to use the new program.