Fireside Chat
As a school administrator, I established a collaborative work environment with the use of frequent, unofficial meetings with teachers. I referred to these meetings as Fireside Chats. Although there was no fireside, I invited a small group of teachers to ‘chat’ with me after-school.
Fireside chats were semi-structured meetings that not only provided an opportunity for me to create a personal connection with the teachers but also allowed the teachers to get to know each other. I quickly discovered that many middle and high school faculty were very segregated, thus, teachers rarely knew anything about teachers outside of their respective departments or grade levels.
Fireside Chats should:
Include Food
Encourage collaboration and interdependence
Establish open and honest communication
Provide an opportunity to give and receive support in a safe environment
Remain confidential
Crystal LaVoulle, PhD.
LaVoulle Group, LLC.
