It is part of my personality, but it is also good business practice to ensure that your students and families feel valued, seen and included. I have heaps of small things I do within my business to help achieve this goal and I want to share some of these:
Create a weekly award - this was very important when I first opened my dance studio and wanted to create a family type culture that was positive and inclusive. I created an "In the Spotlight" award that I display in my waiting area. It recognizes students for things that I want to highlight as values of my school. This could be a whole class for making a new student feel welcome or for an individual student for showing persistence when learning a particular skill. The possibilities are endless. I do not give the recipients anything material (ie. trophy or gift) for receiving the award but I give lots of praise in front of the class and/or their family.
Ask students for input into class planning - This is a really simple way to show students that you are there for them and that you care about how they feel and what they enjoy. This can be as simple as asking students which song they would like to listen to during the warm up or an in-depth conversation about what skills they enjoy, their strengths and weaknesses and their interests.
On arrival, ask students something personal and LISTEN - when students arrive at class I made an effort to individually acknowledge every one. This might be a generic "tell me the best thing that happened today" or can be tailored to something you already know about them such as "did you have fun with grandpa on the weekend Julie?". Aside from building a relationship with students and making them feel seen and heard, it also helps me gauge the general mood of the students and if there is anything I need to be aware of and proceed with the lesson accordingly.
Personal notes - at both mid year and end of year performances, I had out personalised notes/cards to every student. I write different things to every single student. Things I am proud of, things they are good at, things I notice. With a lot of students this is not easy or short task but I think it is a very important thing to do to show students and their families that you value them and see them as individuals.
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