Culture

Culture: What impact does the creation of a positive school culture have on school reform?

“A school culture influences the ways people think, feel, and act.” (Peterson n.d.) School culture is very important in many ways. One way is making the school an inviting and welcoming place. Without a positive school culture, school reform would be very hard. The students, teachers and administration have to work together to make a school an interesting place to grow and learn. My school is divided into different areas. My area is Area III where there are two sixth grade content area teachers, and two students with disabilities teachers. When I walked into the area, the color on the bulletin boards and the teachers rooms makes me smile, I was happy to be there. I feel, just Area III, we have a positive culture for the kids to learn in.
I feel school culture and school reform go hand in hand. In the SEDAL Voices from the Field: Success in School Reform , the narrator states, “An environment of trust is vital for the risk taking that is not only inherent, but also encouraged in successful school reform programs. School leaders are often the most important people in setting the proper atmosphere for learning. They are called upon to listen and pay attention to what is happening at every level inside the school. Dr. Hord goes on to say, “Leaders are highly important in the establishment of a context for change. While they do not do all the work by themselves, what they do is to engage the staff with them in sharing a vision of where they want to go and how they're going to get there so that they learn together."
I feel you cannot have one without the other. In Marzano’s Doing the Right Work he quotes Elmore. Elmore states “that the school reform effort in the United States is plagued by falsehoods, one of which is that schools fail because teachers and administrators don’t work hard enough.” (Elmore 2003) This is where I feel a positive school culture comes in. Staff has to work together to be successful.
"Culture does not change because we desire to change it. Culture changes when the organization is transformed; the culture reflects the realities of people working together every day."Frances Hesselbein
The Key to Cultural Transformation, Leader to Leader (Spring 1999)

References:

Peterson.K.D. Positve or Negative. JSD Summer 2002 National Staff Development Council 15

Marzano R. Two Types of Change. School leadership that Works from Research to Results;
McREL 2005 Denver Colorado

SEDAL Voices from the Field