Top Tips For Teaching Yoga In Schools - Tip #16: Follow Up, Follow Up, Follow Up

For those of you who are new to the blog, welcome! My name is Emily, and I have been teaching yoga and mindfulness FULL TIME (as a for-credit class) at a middle school in Baltimore for six years now. In addition to my work in the classroom, I also support kids yoga teachers who are either currently teaching yoga in schools, or hoping to teach yoga in schools through my online course and mentorship program. If you’re looking for 1:1 support or are wanting to take the leap to teach yoga in schools but are confused about where to start and who to talk to, I’ve got you!

I know it’s only March, but it’s that time of year where principals actively start the recruitment process for next year. This also means that it’s a great time for you to start reaching out to school administrators if you’re looking to start teaching in schools, or you’re looking to expand your reach in schools. 

This week, I want to encourage you to follow up, follow up, follow up…read more below!

Tip #16: Follow Up, Follow Up, Follow Up

This week’s tip is simple: follow up, follow up, follow up. Think about the conversations you’ve had in previous years with principals. Who was interested, but not quite ready to say yes to you and what you had to offer? Who said no to you simply because of funding? Who didn’t you hear back from at all?

Go back through your list of contacts, and reach out to those administrators again. Even if they said “no” to you months ago, reach out again and express your interest in working with their students for the upcoming school year. 

In the world of education, “no” doesn’t mean “never”. It oftentimes means, “not now.” And, chances are that scheduling or budgeting constraints may change for the upcoming school year.

Get back in front of school administrators early and often. Follow up, follow up, follow up on all your conversations and leads from prior years. Yes, we may still be living in a pandemic, but I promise you that the need for yoga, mindfulness, and SEL programming in schools is greater than it was before. Now is the time to refamiliarize yourself with principals, and let them refamiliarize themselves with you.

Tip Takeaway: Use these last few weeks of March to review your list of principals and school administrators who expressed interest in your program at an earlier time, but for whatever reason, didn’t say yes. Reach out to them about opportunities for next school year. Begin to plant the seeds for a teaching gig for next year. It’s never too early to start. And just remember, that even if you reach out now and don’t get a response, you should follow up, follow up, follow up throughout the spring semester and early summer.