RUNNING HEAD: ESTABLISHING CULTURE 1

Establishing a Culture

Sarah M. Cowell

Johnston Principal Leadership Academy, NCSU

According to Dr. Kent Peterson, “​school culture is the set of norms, values and beliefs,

rituals and ceremonies, symbols and stories that make up the 'persona' of the school” (“Is Your

School’s Culture”, n.d.)​. ​School culture has a direct impact on teachers and staff: how they

behave, what they wear, their willingness to collaborate and work together, their informal

conversations with colleagues or community members, and how they feel about themselves, their

work, and their students (Deal & Peterson, 2016). In addition, and even more importantly, school

culture has a direct impact on students: Dr. Muhammad (2009) posits, “a positive school culture

is a place where educators have an unwavering belief in the ability of all students to achieve

success, and they pass that belief on to others in overt and covert ways” (n.p).

As the newly appointed school leader of Wolfpack Elementary School, it will be

imperative that I begin my work by assessing the school culture to determine areas of strength

and areas for improvement. Deal and Peterson (2016) claim that “trying to change a culture

without understanding it is a sure-fire recipe for stress and ultimate failure” (p. 224). In addition

to addressing areas of need within the school culture that may be revealed as I get to know and

understand the school and staff better, I will also work to implement the cultural elements listed

in the table below. My goal is to proactively establish a healthy, positive school culture, as this

will serve as the solid foundation for moving the organization forward. ​Sergiovanni (1992)

states, “culture is the most powerful source of leverage for bringing about change in a school‒or

any organization for that matter” (​n.p.​).

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Cultural Implementation Plan or Action Steps Implementation

Element Timeline

Demography / Individual Meetings with Every Staff Member Summer &

Community ● At the beginning of the school year (or before if possible), I will Workdays at
History ask each staff member to meet with me briefly. I will encourage the beginning of
each person to share information about his/her: the year
○ Professional and/or personal life
○ Knowledge of the school/community history, including
traditions, sources of pride, demographics, parental
involvement or perceptions, and/or impactful changes
○ Thoughts about what is going well and what could/should
be improved
○ Overall satisfaction level with daily workings of the school
● These meetings will serve a variety of purposes, including but not
limited to: building positive working relationships with all staff
members, learning about the history of the school and/or
community from multiple perspectives, gaining insight from staff
members about areas of strength and areas for improvement, and
acquiring a realistic sense of the current school culture.

Community Bus Tours August,

● At the beginning, middle, and end of the year, staff will be asked to December, &
volunteer to participate in a community bus tour. We will use an May
activity bus and select three or four local neighborhoods to visit
each time. Prior to our visit, we will let families within these local
neighborhoods know we are coming to encourage both students
and parents to come outside. We will have small seasonal/weather
appropriate items to distribute to our students and their families
(e.g. popsicles or candy canes). This will give staff members an
opportunity to see how our students live, and will send a message
to students and their families that care about them beyond the
school walls.

Shared Vision Create a School Vision Statement August - end of

● In our first staff meeting, I will share my leadership vision September
statement to help staff get a better sense of my beliefs and values
about schooling and leadership.
● All staff members will participate in an activity to identify their top
three values and consider how those values might be exemplified in
their current professional roles; this will serve as a foundational
activity for establishing a stronger sense of community among PLC
teams ​and​ for assisting in the creation of our shared vision
statement.
○ At each grade level’s first PLC team meeting, each team
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member will share his/her top three values and discuss what
“living in those values” within his/her role would entail.
PLC teams will then look for commonalities and work
together to create a common PLC vision statement that will
be submitted to the School Improvement Team as a
representation of the team’s core values.
○ Certified staff members will participate in the same process
within their teams. An administrator will facilitate the
creation of a vision statement with the cafeteria and
custodial staff, and teacher assistants will complete this task
with their classroom teachers by attending the grade level’s
first PLC meeting of the year.
○ The School Improvement Team will review each team’s
vision statement and using the same process, look for
commonalities in terms of values and beliefs. From there,
SIT members will collaborate to craft a vision statement
that includes the common values of the staff as a whole.
○ SIT representatives will share the vision statement with
their respective grade levels and seek feedback;
adjustments/revisions will be made based on feedback, and
the shared vision will officially be adopted.
● If the school already has a shared vision in place, this activity may
serve to improve upon what was already established.

Collaboration Professional Learning Communities August

● Each PLC team will designate one protected planning period each
week to collaborate on student learning targets, evidence of
standards mastery, effective instructional strategies, and how to
meet the diverse learning needs of students.
● The instructional coach and/or an administrator will attend and
participate in weekly PLC meetings to offer support, guidance,
coaching, or additional resources.

Extended PLC Data Days October &

● After major benchmark assessments, each PLC team will be February
provided with substitutes or class coverage to participate in a
half-day data analysis session. These meetings will include EC and
ESL teachers, and any additional specialists who serve students in
specific grade levels (e.g. target tutor, MTSS coach, and school
psychologist).
● Administration and the instructional coach will facilitate these data
analysis sessions; specific protocols will be used to elicit a
thorough understanding of the data and assist in the development of
data-based action steps.
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● The goals for these meetings will include: in-depth data analysis to
determine areas of strength and areas for improvement for ​every
student, creation of instructional plans in response to what the data
reveals (e.g. adjusting guided reading groups or implementing math
centers), and collaboration between regular classroom teachers and
specialists to ensure ​every​ child’s academic and behavioral needs
are being met.

Performance Student Recognitions

Focused ● ImPACKful Student of the Month ​- This award will be given September
Rewards monthly to one student in each classroom who displays exemplary
character.
● Quarterly Classroom Award Ceremony​ - At the end of each Quarterly
quarter, each classroom will host an awards ceremony to recognize
students who have shown growth and/or success in the areas of
academics ​and​ character.

Staff Recognitions
● ImPACKful Teacher of the Month - ​This award will be given to September
one teacher each month. A Google form will be linked on our
weekly staff newsletter and on our website for teachers, parents,
and/or administrators to nominate teachers who deserve to be
recognized for their commitment to our students. The teacher who
is selected will be honored at the monthly staff meeting. After the
meeting, all teachers who were nominated will be notified; this is a
simple way to remind teachers of their value!

Empowerment Tap into Teacher Talents/Teacher-led Professional Development September

● Teachers will be surveyed to determine their greatest strengths in
terms of teaching and learning. Staff members who are willing will
be asked to partner with the instructional coach to co-create and
facilitate professional development sessions on early release days.
● Prior to each monthly staff meeting, two teachers will be asked to
prepare a best practice to present during the meeting.

Peer Observation Opportunities October

● Teachers will have the opportunity to conduct peer observations in
pairs or trios at least once per quarter. After each observation,
pairs/trios will be expected to debrief and reflect on the experience
with the instructional coach.

Digital Platform to Showcase Learnings from Various Workshops August

● After attending a workshop or specialized training, teachers will be
required to work with administration, the instructional coach, or the
technology specialist to create a short video discussing their
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greatest takeaways from the professional development.

● The video will be featured in the principal’s weekly newsletter and
placed in the staff team drive for future reference.

“Make Leadership an Everyday Act” Initiative August

● Based on the video shown at the first staff meeting of the year,
teachers will strive to make leadership an everyday act and work to
create “lollipop moments” for both their students and colleagues.
● The “Everyday Leadership” video will be shown to all fifth grade
students during Morning Meeting within the first month of school.
Students will be encouraged to demonstrate qualities of leadership
in their daily lives and challenged to create “lollipop moments” for
others.
● Forms will be available in the office for teachers ​and s​ tudents to
submit “shout outs” to those who have positively impacted them in
some way (no matter how big or small); these “shout outs” will be
featured in the weekly staff newsletter, for teachers, and shared on
the morning announcements, for students.

Student Leadership Team September

● Fourth and fifth grade students will have the opportunity to be part
of the Student Leadership Team. This team will offer input, when
appropriate, on school decisions, serve as safety and flag patrol
representatives, and participate in community service activities
throughout the year.

Conflict Morning Meetings First week of

Resolution ● Morning Meetings will take place daily in every classroom to build School
a strong sense of community, promote character development, and
model positive interactions with peers and adults.
● Administrators will take part in at least one Morning Meeting each
week.

Restorative Justice August

● Staff will receive training on Restorative Justice to understand its
value and effectiveness in helping students understand how their
actions impact others.
● Restorative Justice will be utilized by both administrators and
teachers to help students learn appropriate ways to deal with
conflict and misbehavior. This method will ensure students feel
valued and supported as they grow and learn from their behavior
choices.

Collaborative School Improvement Team August

Decision ● In an effort to ensure the “right” people are on the School
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Making Improvement Team, I will clearly articulate the important

responsibilities and expectations of the team and describe the ideal
qualities or characteristics of SIT members to my staff. With that
information in mind, teachers and staff can determine who is best
to represent their department.
● When making decisions, the School Improvement Team will utilize
the Team-Initiated Problem Solving (TIPS) framework.
● On each weekly staff newsletter, there will be a link for teachers to
provide anonymous feedback, including issues or concerns. When
appropriate, these items will be addressed at SIT meetings.

Parent Advisory Council September

● At the beginning of the school year, I will ask for parent volunteers
to serve on an advisory committee. My goal will be to get a diverse
group of parents who come from a variety of backgrounds; this will
ensure there are multiple perspectives represented.
● The Parent Advisory Council will meet bi-monthly to provide input
and/or feedback on school decisions and initiatives, and to discuss
effective strategies for engaging and supporting families in the
school community.

Systematic Internal Communication

Communication Weekly Staff Newsletter August
● Every Sunday evening, I will send out a staff newsletter to
highlight upcoming events, recognize staff accomplishments, share
school and district news, and provide a weekly challenge or
inspirational thought/video.

External Communication
Social Media & School Website August
● One administrator will serve as the social media liaison; this person
will be responsible for keeping our school Twitter and Facebook
accounts updated with school happenings and positive news about
our students.
● The technology specialist will keep the school webpage updated
with school and district news and upcoming events.

Class Dojo August

● All classroom teachers will utilize Class Dojo to keep parents
informed about academics and student behaviors. Teachers will be
expected to update their class story at least once per week with
information about major topics of instruction, classroom activities,
and upcoming events.
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Positive Communication Log September

● All teachers ​and​ administrators will be expected to make at least
two positive phone calls each month. These calls will be
documented using a brief Google form.

Communication Protocols August

● The two major communication expectations in our building will be
as follows:
1. The 48-Hour Rule: Generally, parents and/or colleagues
should receive a response to an email or phone message
within 48 hours or less; very important issues should be
addressed prior to leaving the building for the day.
2. The Accountability Rule: If you have an issue with
someone, go to that person ​before​ discussing the issue with
others; this rule includes administration. Creating a culture
of mutual trust and respect requires professionalism and
honesty from ​all​ employees.

Diversity International Day March

Considerations ● In an effort to learn about various cultures from all over the world,
the school will participate in an International Day. All third
through fifth grade classes will select one country to study
in-depth, being sure that every country from which our students
come is represented. Teachers and students will work together to
learn about the culture, traditions, food, music, and lifestyle of the
people within their country, and will prepare a visual display (and
more if desired) for our International Day. Community members
will be invited to participate in this special event.

Specialized Trainings October

● In order to help staff be more conscious and considerate of the
diverse backgrounds, needs, and perceptions of the students in our
building, staff will participate in the following professional
development over a two year time period:
○ Cultural Proficiency Training
○ Poverty Training

Curriculum Nights Quarterly

● Our school will host curriculum nights once per quarter to
showcase what students have been learning. Interpreters will be
present to ensure ​all​ families feel welcomed and able to participate.

Social/Emotional Learning and Support End of

● All teachers will complete a universal screener that focuses on October
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potential social, emotional, and behavioral needs for ​each​ student

in their class.
● Data collected from the universal screeners will be used to
determine school counseling groups and mentor/mentee pairings.
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References

Deal, T. E., & Peterson, K. D. (2016). ​Shaping school culture​ (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John

Wiley and Sons Incorporated.

Is your school's culture toxic or positive?​ (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2019, from Education World

website: https://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin275.shtml

Muhammad, A. (2009). ​Transforming school culture: how to overcome staff division​.

Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Sergiovanni, T. J. (1996). ​Moral leadership: getting to the heart of school improvement​ (1st ed.).

San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc..