Developing a strong charter school culture and climate

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Escuela Verde school, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

This module guides a school team on the value and process of creating a strong school culture based on their mission, vision and community values.

What is culture and why is it important?

Why focus on school culture?

1. Establishes a positive and productive workplace
2. Increase staff and student retention
3. Increase achievement
4. Increase engagement
5. Significant ROI
6. Facilitate change and innovation

Why school culture is important?

Watch the video

(approximately 14 minutes)

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An interview with Dr. Kent D. Peterson, author and national leader in school culture

Books by Dr. Kent D. Peterson (bio)

• Principal’s Role in Shaping School Culture F (1990)
• The Leadership Paradox: Balancing Leadership and Artistry in Schools (1994)
• Shaping School Culture: Pitfalls, Paradoxes, and Promises
• Shaping School Culture Fieldbook 2nd Edition (2009)

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Defining Culture in an organization/school

• Read the following definitions

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• Willard Waller (1932) every school has a culture of its own

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• Peterson and Deal (2009) define school culture as “the unwritten rules and assumptions, the combination of rituals and traditions, the array of symbols and artifacts, the special language and phrasing that staff and students use, and the expectations about change and learning that saturate the school’s world”

1. Waller, Willard (1932) The Sociology of Teaching, Russell & Russell

2. Peterson, Kent D and Deal, Terrance E. (2009). The Shaping School Culture Fieldbook. Jossey-Bass education series

Culture is the sum of many elements (Iceberg model)

Some of these elements you can see clearly, some you can barely see and others are invisible

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E. H. Schein (2009), p 22.

Citation: Schein, E.H. (2009). The Corporate Culture Survival Guide, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Optional Deeper Dive

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Organizational Culture by Edgar Schein

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https://youtu.be/wd1bsxWeM6Q

Published on May 10, 2017

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Edgar Schein wrote about the levels of organizational culture in his 1991 article, "What is Culture?" His model of organizational culture looks at, among other things, artifacts, values, and underlying assumptions.

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Reflection: Choose a school or an organization that you have been a part of

• Describe a cultural artifacts that you have seen.
• Describe a value or attitude you experienced
• If possible, describe an underlying assumption, unconscious or taken for granted belief.
• Lastly, what was positive about this culture and what would you ideally change?