Moving from Me to We: 8 Ways to Make the Shift to a Positive School Culture
One of the beautiful things about this school is it’s a family. Our family may have gone through a little bit of rough times last year, but we are definitely a family. And we care about each other, so we want to see each other succeed.
– Amy Zilk
INTRO
Roosevelt Middle School principal, Amy Zilk, knows that a new leadership role is both rewarding and challenging. But instead of allowing some overwhelming challenges to steer them off-course, Amy and her team used them to map out a new, and more positive, way forward.
Use this resource to reflect, evaluate, and plan your own school’s process for developing (a more) positive school culture.
OBJECTIVES
- Reflect and evaluate your school’s current culture
- Review the 8 Ways to Move from Me to We for Positive School Culture
- Start planning and implementing your school’s process for developing (a more) positive school culture
ACTIVITY
- Reflect on your school’s culture.
- Create a side-by-side comparison list of positive and negative factors/elements
- It may help to walk around your campus and classrooms to observe current conditions, behaviors, etc. – take notes of your observations
- Review the process outlined in this infographic
- Evaluate your school for each of the eight steps
- Determine where you need to start/what you need to do
- Review with your leadership and start planning for your school’s path toward positive school culture ASAP
TIPS
- Developing positive school culture takes time and work. But that doesn’t mean you can’t jump in and start making progress now. Start with just one thing (even/especially one small thing) that could make some positive impact right now. Then focus your time and energy on the rest.
- There’s a connection between our physical and psychological spaces. Consider how your school’s physical environment (and all that entails & encompasses) plays a role in shaping school climate. Focus on what aspects of this you can change or modify to foster a more positive culture.
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