Safe &Welcoming Culture

Safe &Welcoming Culture

Johns &Patrick Johns &Patrick
Presentation Expectations Presentation Expectations
Honor each others time
Actively listen:
turn off laptops, iPods,
cell phones; avoid side
conversations; put aside work
Interact professionally:
avoid sarcasm, eye-rolling,
blaming students and families
for systemic failures
Numbers such as test scores, daily attendance,
school rankings, grade level reading proficiencies,
and drop-out rates only tell part of the story
A school is much more than a number
it is a community with its own culture.
Numbers such as test scores, daily attendance,
school rankings, grade level reading proficiencies,
and drop-out rates only tell part of the story
A school is much more than a number
it is a community with its own culture.
Why Culture is Important Why Culture is Important
Positive learning can only take
place in a positive culture.
A healthy school culture will
affect more student and
teacher success than any
other reformor school
improvement effort currently
being employed.
Positive learning can only take
place in a positive culture.
A healthy school culture will
affect more student and
teacher success than any
other reformor school
improvement effort currently
being employed.
Gary Phillips
Culture is Defined By: Culture is Defined By:
A groups shared beliefs, customs, and behavior.
Its the unwritten rules which drive how people
interact, solve problems, and make decisions.
Thats just the way we
do things around here.
Thats just the way we
do things around here.
School Culture Examples School Culture Examples
Schedules
Curriculum
Policies
Social Interactions
Benefits of a Positive Culture Benefits of a Positive Culture
Fosters effort and
productivity
Improves collegial and
collaborative activities
Supports successful
change and
improvement efforts
Deal and Peterson, 1999. Shaping School Culture: The Heart of Leadership.
Benefits of a Positive Culture Benefits of a Positive Culture
Builds commitment
Amplifies energy
and motivates:
staff/students
Focuses attention
and daily behavior
on what is important
and valued
Deal and Peterson, 1999. Shaping School Culture: The Heart of Leadership.
If you intend to introduce a change that is
incompatiblewith the organizations culture,
you only have 3 choices:
If you intend to introduce a change that is
incompatiblewith the organizations culture,
you only have 3 choices:
1. Modify the change to
be more in line with
the existing culture
2. Alter the culture to be
more in line with the
proposed change
3. Prepare to fail
David Salisbury & Daryl Conner, 2004.
School Culture is Established Through: School Culture is Established Through:
Expectations
Relationships
Curricular focus
Extra-curricular activities
Decision-making processes
Graduation requirements
The culture makes up the unwritten rules
of how to think, feel, and act.
The culture makes up the unwritten rules
of how to think, feel, and act.
A Different Way to Think
About School Culture
A Different Way to Think
About School Culture
Values
Beliefs
Norms
Rituals
Traditions
Culture is Key to Productivity Culture is Key to Productivity
Affects focus
Affects motivation
Affects willingness of
staff & students to put
time into continuous
improvement
Toxic School Cultures Toxic School Cultures
Expectations are low:
teachers, families, students
Relationships are negative:
staff to staff, staff to students,
students to students
Staff blame students
for not being successful
Community blames the
school for poor outcomes
Toxic School Cultures Toxic School Cultures
Exhibit a sense of
depression/frustration
Lack a shared sense
of purpose efforts
are fragmented
Staff dont believe they can improve the school
or themselves as professionals.
Staff dont believe they can improve the school
or themselves as professionals.
Features of a
Positive School Culture
Features of a
Positive School Culture
Purpose and values
are widely shared
A commitment to
continuous learning &
school improvement is
evident
Student outcomes are
the measure of success
Staff relationships are collegial and collaborative
Staff development is aligned
with values and goals
Features of a
Positive School Culture
Features of a
Positive School Culture
Shaping the Culture: Transforming
the Negative &Building the Positive
Shaping the Culture: Transforming
the Negative &Building the Positive
1. Read the culture
2. Assess the culture
3. Evaluate the rituals
and traditions
1. Read the Culture 1. Read the Culture
Become a historian:
Research the history
of the school
Understand the major
events which shaped
the school culture
Seek to understand
the hiddenbeliefs
1. Read the Culture 1. Read the Culture
Become an anthropologist:
Understand relationships
between staff
Watch dynamics during
staff development:
interactions & efficiency
Listen to how staff
describe
the culture
2. Assess the Culture 2. Assess the Culture
Understand the positive
aspects of the culture which
need to be enforced
Celebrate/reinforce the positive
Understand the toxic aspects
of the culture which need to
be addressed
Establish committees to directly
address the identified problems
3. Evaluate Rituals &Traditions 3. Evaluate Rituals &Traditions
Determine how/if
positive actions are
acknowledged
Determine if core
values are supported
and reinforced
Without ceremony, no community can sustain.
Without ceremony, no community can sustain.
If we dont have schools
with the kind of heart, soul,
and spirit that our students
deserve, we are not going
to have the kind of
productivity that we
hope to achieve.
If we dont have schools
with the kind of heart, soul,
and spirit that our students
deserve, we are not going
to have the kind of
productivity that we
hope to achieve.
Shape the Culture Daily Shape the Culture Daily
In every interaction:
staff/staff, staff/students,
staff/community
In every location:
classrooms, office, hallway,
cafeteria, everywhere
Communicate the values:
The culture will either energize or undermine
the schools vision for improvement.
The culture will either energize or undermine
the schools vision for improvement.
Collegiality
Experimentation
High expectations
Trust and confidence
Tangible support
Knowledge base
Appreciation and
recognition
Cultural Norms which Affect
School Improvement
Cultural Norms which Affect
School Improvement
Caring, celebration,
and humor
Involvement in
decision making
Protection of whats
important
Honoring traditions
Honest, open
communication
Cultural Norms which Affect
School Improvement
Cultural Norms which Affect
School Improvement
Recipients feel noted
and appreciated
Reinforces shared
values and signals
what is important
Provides real life
examples of the
schools values
in action
Fuels momentum
The Importance of
Celebration &Culture
The Importance of
Celebration &Culture
Each time a man stands up for an ideal,
or acts to improve the lot of others,
or strikes out against inj ustice,
he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope and
crossing each other froma million
different centers of energy and daring,
those ripples build a current which can
sweep down the mightiest walls of
oppression and resistance.
Robert F Kennedy, 1966
Each time a man stands up for an ideal,
or acts to improve the lot of others,
or strikes out against inj ustice,
he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope and
crossing each other froma million
different centers of energy and daring,
those ripples build a current which can
sweep down the mightiest walls of
oppression and resistance.
Robert F Kennedy, 1966
Suggested Professional Readings Suggested Professional Readings
Shaping School Culture:
The Heart of Leadership.
Terrence E. Deal, Kent D. Peterson
(1998).
The Shaping School Culture Field
Book. Terrence E. Deal, Kent D.
Peterson (2002).
Transforming School Culture:
Stories, Symbols, Values & The
Leaders Role. Stephen Stolp&
Stuart Smith (2001).
Measuring School Climate:
Let Me Count the Ways.
H. Jerome Freiberg (1998).
j ackie.patrick@sbcusd.com
j ackie.patrick@sbcusd.com
Contact Information Contact Information
suzy.j ohns@sbcusd.com
suzy.j ohns@sbcusd.com