Changing and transforming a school is a difficult, lonely and frustrating task. Some people will cooperate and accept the changes. And others won’t because they love things the way they are. As a leader, you know that nothing changes unless you change. And change is the only thing that will bring the results you want. If you do not know peoples’ motives, you might end up listening to the wrong people and doing the wrong things. So, who should you listen to and how will you cope with the people around you who are resisting change?

A research conducted by UK Academies showed that out of 411 school leaders, only 62 managed to change their schools successfully. Some leaders managed to change their schools but after they left, the schools regressed back. Only 62 of them managed to transform their schools successfully. These schools continued to improve after they were gone. What were they doing differently from their counterparts? How did they overcome resistance to change?

Most them reported that they successfully transformed their schools by engaging with the people around them, actively challenging the school’s operations and improving how students learn. The road wasn’t smooth as most people would think. But they did it. Here’s how.

Challenge the system with a new plan

Before telling other people about the changes you want to make, you should create a ten-year plan clearly showing how you will change the school and community for the better. When you show this plan to anyone, they’ll know your changes are for the long-term.

It’s important to note that not most people will not trust you or your plans because they’ve been hurt by countless people in the past. When creating the plan, just know that you are not going to leave things halfway done. You need to stick around long enough for you to see the changes. It took an average of five years for the community to change its ways of operation and teaching methods.

Let everyone learn. Reduce the expelling rate

Once you have an actionable plan in place, you have to have a committed community otherwise it won’t work. You should not expel students to improve the school grades. Students and parents want you to assist them.

And you can help them by creating solutions to the current problems. Reducing your expelling rate does not mean you should tolerate or ignore poor behavior. It means expelling students as the last alternative. If you start expelling students everyday, then the community will turn against you.

Work harder. Stay longer

Increasing teaching time for children will definitely have a positive impact on them. Most school leaders did not see or experience any change until the fifth year. The results were astonishing.

Scores jumped by nine points and the schools continued to improve by five percent points every year. Increasing teaching time for students will result in a change of behavior and improved grades. And this will enhance support of the community.

Focus on the staff. Change what needs to be changed

After working on students, now it’s time to focus on staff. Are you afraid of firing teachers? Most Heads are. But then, who are you helping? Your teachers or students? Firing poor performing and incompetent teachers is the best thing you can do for your students.

When you start making tough decisions, everything becomes easier. You need to change an average of thirty to fifty percent of the staff for the school to change. However, do not fire most of the teachers because you’ll end up disrupting the system. And most importantly, start engaging with parents as soon as possible.