Transforming School Culture

NORTH CAROLINA MIDDLE SCHOOL ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE 2013

LINDA HOPPING

TRANSFORMING SCHOOL CULTURE

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

participants will learn how to transform toxic cultures into collaborative endeavors

participants will analyze their current school culture and begin the development of a plan to make it more collaborative

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

What would a middle school look like if the culture was inviting,

supportive, and safe for all stakeholders?

HOW BIG IS THE GORILLA IN YOUR SCHOOL?

In most schools, the 800 pound gorilla that impairs performance and stifles change is CULTURE.

CHANGE IN THE GULCH

trailblazers

pioneers

settlers

stay at homes

saboteurs

THREE LEVELS OF CHANGE

Procedural

Structural

Cultural

Leading School Change

RESISTANCE TO CHANGE

• teachers who have seen similar changes fail

•  new teachers who lack confidence to try something unfamiliar

•  lackluster teachers who throw a wrench in the process in an attempt to derail it

FOUR TYPES OF TEACHERS

Believers “Yes we can”

“Tweeners” “I don’t know”

Survivors “Get me through the

day”

Fundamentalists “No way”

School Culture

Transforming School Culture, Anthony Muhammad

WHERE ARE YOUR TEACHERS?

Believers Tweeners

Survivors Fundamentalists

?

FOUR TYPES OF CULTURE

collaborative

contrived

dictator/administration rules

isolated

Where is the culture in YOUR school?

RATE YOUR SCHOOL CULTURE A SINGING VERSION

Toxic

I Can’t Get No Satisfaction Who Let the Dogs Out? I Will Survive 16 Tons Take This Job and Shove It Help! Hard Day’s Night Wrong Again Send in the Clowns The Sounds of Silence Bridge Over Troubled Waters Rainy Days and Mondays Empty Chairs at Empty Tables

Healthy

Stairway to Heaven Celebrate We Are the Champions Top of the World I Am a Believer We Are Family The Hero Is In You Lean on Me Ain’t No Mountain High Enough Imagine One Moment in Time I’m A Believer

THE LOOK OF A TOXIC CULTURE

Toxic

negative values

fragmented

destructive

lack of integrity

and values

negative relationships

pessimistic staff

negative beliefs

Shaping School Culture

HOW DO YOU CHANGE A TOXIC CULTURE?

• be a role model for the change

• realize that the first impression when instituting change is all important

• emphasize that the change is in the best interests of the students

• instill an awareness of both the existing culture and the need for change

• invite teachers to be part of the change

• support positive cultural elements and staff

HOW DO YOU CHANGE A TOXIC CULTURE?

• gather support of the superstar teachers and then bring the others along

• pretend almost everyone is on board

• focus on recruitment, selection, and retention of effective, positive staff

• focus on eradicating the negative

• meet on the negativity head-on

HOW DO YOU CHANGE A TOXIC CULTURE?

• diminish fear and apprehension

• rebuild around positive norms and beliefs

• consistently celebrate the positive and the possible

• develop new stories of success, renewal, and accomplishment

• help toxic teachers make the move to a new school

TRICKS TO DEALING WITH COMPLAINERS

disperse their negative power

do not treat them as a group

realize they cannot influence the believers

remember they complain EVERYWHERE

Leading School Change

TRICKS TO DEALING WITH COMPLAINERS

redesign staff meeting arrangements

meet with them INDIVIDUALLY to discuss plans for change

do not put them in adjacent classrooms, common teams or PLC’s

match them up with trailblazers and pioneers

Leading School Change

Strong, positive school cultures result in increased student achievement and motivation

Guiding Your School Community to Live a Culture of Caring and Learning

SHIFTING SCHOOL CULTURE

•  teaching •  teacher isolation •  pass/fail mindset •  compliance •  curriculum overload •  general goals •  static assessment •  independence •  planning to plan •  time and staff fixed •  learning for most

•  learning •  collaboration •  elimination of failure •  commitment •  guaranteed curriculum •  specific goals •  dynamic assessment •  interdependence •  planning to improve •  learning fixed •  learning for all

FROM TO

BUILDING A POSITIVE CULTURE

“Trust is the glue that holds a collaborative culture together.”

Skillful Leader II

Collaborative Culture

trust

Risk-taking

Absence of threat

Successful Collaboration

common understanding

common commitment

efficiency and effectiveness

data to monitor performance

adjust efforts based on data

SHAPING A SUCCESSFUL CULTURE

focus on a student-centered mission and purpose

strengthen positive elements of existing culture

build on established traditions and values

hire staff who share the values of the culture

use history to fortify and sustain values and beliefs

Shaping School Culture

POWERFUL, POSITIVE CULTURES

collegiality

experimentation

high expectations

trust and confidence

tangible support

reaching out to the knowledge bases

POWERFUL, POSITIVE CULTURES

appreciation and recognition

caring, celebration, humor

involvement in decision making

protection of what is important

honor traditions

honest, open communication

Butler and Dickson, 1987

TODAY’S PRINCIPAL

•  provides an atmosphere conducive to shared decision-making and collaboration at all levels

•  asks questions rather than providing answers

•  facilitates the process of school improvement rather than prescribing how it should be done

•  collaboratively explores alternatives to ineffective policies and practices rather than dictate the ones that will be used

This We Believe in Action

TODAY’S TEACHERS

•  are active leaders in the school learning community

•  participate in instructional discussions within learning communities that are centered on student success

•  are involved members of their teams

•  seek ways to make curriculum integrative, relevant, and challenging for students

TODAY’S TEACHERS

•  share instructional strategies to help meet individual student needs

•  discuss data with their colleagues and use it to inform instruction

•  share their expertise to help the school solve problems, make decisions, and set policy and direction

This We Believe in Action

SCHOOL RITUALS AS PART OF CULTURE

RITUALS

coffee and doughnuts

attendance

dismissal

schedule

SCHOOL CELEBRATIONS AS PART OF CULTURE

Celebration is a key element in building and maintaining a positive, collaborative culture – embrace ALL partners in your celebrations

WHAT DO YOU CELEBRATE? PAIR , SHARE WITH A PARTNER

BUILDING A POSITIVE SCHOOL CULTURE

is everyone’s

respon

sibility

W H A T D O Y O U N E E D T O D O A T Y O U R S C H O O L ?

TICKET OUT THE DOOR

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barth, Roland. (2001). Learning by heart. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.   Burgess, Jan & Bates, Donna. (2009). Other duties as assigned. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.  

Clark, Sally & Clark, Donald. (2008). Leadership that makes a difference. Westerville, OH: National Middle School Association.  

Covey, Stephen R. (2008}. The leader in me. New York, NY: Free Press.   Darling-Hammond, L. (1997). The right to learn: A blueprint for creating schools that work. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.   Deal, Terrence E. (1999). Shaping school culture: The heart of leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.  

DuFour, Richard & Eaker, Robert. (1998). Professional learning communities at work. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.  

Fullan, M. (1998). Leadership for the 21st century-Breaking the bonds of dependency. Educational Leadership, 55 (7), 6-10.  

DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., and Karhanek, G. (2004). Whatever it takes: How professional learning communities respond when kids don’t learn. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.  

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gibbs, Jeanne. (2007). Guiding your school community to live a culture of caring and learning: The process is called tribes. Windsor, CA: Centersource Systems.

Muhammad, Anthony. (2009). Transforming school culture. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.   Peterson, Kent D. (1999). Shaping school culture. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.  

Platt, A., Tripp, C., Fraser, R., Warnock, J., Curtis, R. (2008). The skillful leader II. Acton, MA: Ready Action Press.   This we believe: Keys to educating young adolescents. (2010). Westerville, OH: National Middle School Association.

  This we believe in action: Implementing successful middle level schools. (2012). Westerville, OH. Association for Middle Level Education.  

Whitaker, Todd. (2010). Leading school change. Larchmont, NY: Eye On Education.