Improving School Culture

(Nurture a Positive C.U.L.T.U.R.E.)

Strategies to try...

Understand and Be Intentional About Working With Different Generations

• Generational Values
• Generational Differences (Generational Profiles, Language & Communication, & Collaboration and the Generations)
• Advantages & Challenges of the Different Generations

Feed People

• Facilitate informal conversations by bringing people together with food. Being together around food helps people get comfortable, they'll linger and share information. Ideas: keep bowl of candy in office, getting bagels for breakfast, ordering pizza for lunch, etc.

Define the Status or your School's Culture

• Start conversations with staff. Survey: (1) What is culture of our school? (2) What makes our school different than any other school? (3) What feelings and emotions are evoked when you think about our school? (4) How can we continue to shape the trajectory of the culture in a positive way?
• Talk explicitly about your school culture with members of community.

Share the Communication Plan with Families

• After defining school culture with staff, decide how you will communicate it with all other amazing things happening with your families. Determine constant flow of communication. Use digital tools.

Name Social Media Interns of the Week

• Have classroom teachers help name students to be the "Tweeter of the Week" or "Instagrammer of the Week". Have students tell their stories of their educational opportunities. Set parameters such as "teacher must approve any post before it goes live".
• For younger students, make a "photographer of the week", where students capture images that an adult will share on social media posts for them.

Build Ongoing Communication with All Stakeholders

• Share your findings about your school culture with a message explaining "this is who we are" and "this is where we are headed together" in emails, newsletters, video updates, and face-to-face encounters. Share at PTA meetings, faculty gatherings, and social media.

Educate Families and Staff

• Some families have negative perceptions about social media. Educate them. Hold Twitter 101 sessions at times that are convenient for families and staff. Show them how it works, how it will be used, and give them time to set up an account and explore the platform themselves.

Ask Questions

• Pause and ask questions of those around you on how the message is resonating with them. Take the temperature of the how people are responding to the school story. Ask for feedback at drop off/pick up areas, before or after PTA meetings, while passing through faculty lounge, or via short surveys (no more than 3 questions that take less than 5 min). Take a reading of the culture 4-5 times/year.

Hand the Microphone Over to the Community

• After the school culture is in a positive state and everyone is aware of common vision, empower all members to share the school's story from their perspectives. For example: 6 elementary students from each class research what's happening at each grade level and film their updates to share on school's youtube channel.

Hone the Vision

• Enlist your Dram Team of students, teachers, and families to help hone the vision by generating a list of priorities for continued growth and revising the plan according to progress.

Meet With Individual Staff Members 2 Times/Year

• Sit down with individual staff members at the beginning of the year and again at the end of the year. Get to know them. Ask them about what's going well and what they'd like to see improve. Listen for themes and act on their suggestions. At the end of the year meeting, see if you've made progress on their suggestions based upon how the respond at the end of the year. (They can fill out a 3 question survey ahead of time and then meet with you to discuss it.)