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Illinois School Board Journal
November/December 2002

Is this a school or a duck

by William J. Banach

William J. Banach is CEO of Banach, Banach & Cassidy in Ray Township, Michigan.

A young man stands up and comes toward me. He's wearing work boots, jeans and a camouflage shirt. Is this person a hunter, a construction worker, a militia member or a teacher?

Individuals and organizations send out signals - visible and invisible messages about who they are. We all pick up on these signals every day.

These signals trigger pictures - an image - in our mind's eye. The camouflage shirt sends out a signal. Is it the signal of a professional? Could be. The young man might be a professional hunter. We look for other signals. Is he carrying binoculars? Does he have a duck call? Yes, we think, he's a professional hunter.

Yet, powerful as they are, signals sometimes betray us. To make sure that we're getting the right message, they have to be considered in the context of other signals. But who has the time to put all the signals that they receive into a context?

The young man above is really a middle school teacher. Can you picture him? His signal and his position don't match. Do you think he is appropriately dressed for his job? What message does his attire send about his competence? Should we expect that the principal would be dressed in camouflage, too?

As more schools attend to their image and make their initial moves into the world of free market competition, it's common to hear people say: "I don't know anything about marketing. What can I do?" Or they say, "I'm a custodian. How does this image stuff apply to me?"

Well ... let's look at you and your school, and the signals that you and it send.

Let's start by driving by. I see the sidewalk, a marquee, the lawn, the landscaping, the building, the name on the building, and, perhaps, some people milling about. What signals am I receiving?

The signals I attend to depend on what I value and believe. If I believe a school should look well kept and the grass is eight inches long, I attend to signals about appearance. Hence, the signal I receive is negative. If there are dandelions growing through the cracks in the sidewalk, the negative signal is reinforced. Who is sending me these signals? Is it the maintenance staff that hasn't cut the grass or the school board that cut back on the maintenance budget? If you care about my drive-by perceptions, you had better find out.

The example above tells us that the maintenance staff does have a role to play in building a school's image. So, too, does the school board.

Now, let's pull into the parking lot. Kaaachunck! A pothole. It's a subtle signal that this place is not well maintained. (So far - in my mind - the maintenance staff is not having a good day.)

Next, let's walk down the sidewalk that has dandelions growing in the cracks past the lawn (that looks like a shag carpet run amok) to the front door of the school. Does the entry look like a handbill posting area or is it clean and well kept? Is there a sign that welcomes me? Does the sign lead me to the office? What signals am I getting?

Who's responsible for the appearance of the front entry? Probably the principal and the custodian. Does the condition of the entry have anything to do with school image? Certainly.

Now we're inside. Does the place seem inviting? Why? Why not? Who's in charge of making the school look inviting?

Ah, there's the office, my first stop. I'm at the counter with two students. They don't look happy. The secretary is on the phone and another is ringing. The principal is nowhere in sight. Three staff members squeeze by, check their mailboxes and deposit the contents in the wastebasket. They leave without acknowledging my presence.

What are the signals? Kids in need of discipline. An overwhelmed secretary. An absentee principal. Three detached staff members. Not positive. Who has image responsibilities in the office?

It seems as if I've been at the counter a long time, but it's only been a minute or two. The secretary smiles and asks how she can help me. Two good signals. I tell her that I missed parent conferences but have arranged an appointment with my son's science teacher. She tells me the room number, calls the teacher on the intercom to alert him and points out directions to his room. "Go to the foyer, turn left, go past the cafeteria, turn right, and go to the end of the hall," she says.

The hallways look clean. Nice signal. There is student work displayed on the walls. Another nice signal.

Two people, probably teachers, are coming toward me in the hallway. As they approach they turn to one another and begin talking, passing by as if I don't exist. No eye contact, no smile, nothing. Bad signal.

There is no one in the lunchroom, but I can see the cafeteria staff working behind the counter. They're getting ready for 500 students to descend on them.

I'm struck by the hustle of the staff. Cafeteria staff, it seems, are dedicated, caring people who take pride in what they do. Most of them always smile. They know who needs an extra helping. They do good work every day, I think. I wonder how many people who pass through the line today will say, "Thank you."

Have I learned anything about the school curriculum yet? Nope. But I have some perceptions. And now I'm about to find out if my perceptions are accurate.

I knock on the classroom door. A student answers my knock. Two dozen others are looking in my direction. And there he is - the young man in the camouflage shirt, my son's science teacher. What's the signal?

He approaches and extends his hand. "Welcome," he says. "I've been waiting for you. Let's go to my office." Good vibes.

We walk past the students to a room at the back of the class. It's six feet by 10 feet with a desk that's past its prime. There are boxes on the floor and under the desk, and lab samples on the shelves. The place might be described as nearly clean clutter.

There are no phones, copiers, fax machines, computers or other things you'd expect to find in an office.

The young man offers me his desk chair and pulls up a stool. He gives me the plan of work for the science class, and explains its scope and sequence. Then he opens a folder with my son's name on it. "Let me show you where Dexter is and how he's doing," says the teacher.

The more he talks, the more my confidence in the school's educational program soars. I'm impressed with his energy, his obvious competence, and his knowledge of and interest in my son's work.

We conclude our conversation. As my son's teacher bids good-bye he says, "I hope we have a chance to talk again. I enjoyed meeting with you." Good signals distorted only by the camouflage shirt. I think to myself about this bright young man, dedicated to his work and his students, and the first impressions that I had developed on the basis of his appearance.

I walk down the hallway toward the front door as the bell rings. Students empty into the corridors. Most are oblivious to my presence. As I walk past the office, the secretary, still on the phone, waves.

Outside there are a dozen school buses waiting. They are neatly lined up, and the drivers are in position to welcome students aboard for the trip home. Moving billboards, I think, ready to send signals across the community as they make their way through the neighborhoods. I hope that the drivers say something nice to the kids as they get off the bus today.

My visit to your school didn't take long. But I received hundreds of signals during my time with you. They came from custodians and maintenance people and food service workers and secretaries and teachers and bus drivers. They even came from the building itself ... and the sidewalk and the grass.

The hundreds of signals blended together into an image. Some signals were stronger than others. But all were important.

People who work in a school - no matter what they do - are ambassadors for the school. Every one of them sends signals that shape the image of the school. Is it a friendly place? Are the people cordial, well organized, on the ball? Do the school people look like professionals? Does my son seem to be getting a good education? Am I happy that he's here?

The people who work in your schools answer these questions for me and for hundreds of parents like me. They are the people who shape the school's image and reputation by what they do and what they say and how they look ... every day. To most people, in fact, they are "the school."