School Culture Rewired

1. School culture shapes behavior and performance more than written rules

When it comes to school culture, unwritten rules always trump the written rules.

Culture defines normalcy. A school's culture determines what behaviors and attitudes are considered acceptable, often overriding official policies. It provides an unspoken blueprint for "how we do things around here" that new teachers quickly absorb. This cultural framework shapes everything from how teachers interact with students and parents to how they approach curriculum and professional development.

Powerful but often invisible. Culture exerts a profound influence on day-to-day operations, yet it can be difficult for those immersed in it to recognize its impact. Like water to a fish, culture surrounds school staff but often goes unnoticed. This makes intentionally shaping culture both challenging and essential for school improvement efforts.

Key elements include:

• Shared values and beliefs
• Rituals and traditions
• Common language and stories
• Unspoken norms and expectations
• Heroes and role models celebrated by the community

2. Climate reflects short-term attitudes while culture represents long-term values

If culture is a school's personality, climate is its attitude.

Climate is changeable. A school's climate refers to the prevailing mood and attitudes at a given time. It can shift quickly based on events like a snow day announcement or the arrival of a new principal. Climate changes are often temporary unless reinforced over time.

Culture is more entrenched. Culture encompasses the deeply held beliefs, values, and assumptions that have developed over years. It is much more resistant to change, acting as a stabilizing force. While climate can be altered through short-term efforts, reshaping culture requires sustained, strategic action.

Relationship between climate and culture:

• Positive climate changes can eventually shift culture if maintained
• Culture determines the range of acceptable climates
• Climate provides a window into underlying cultural values
• Efforts to improve climate without addressing culture often fail long-term

3. Collaborative cultures foster trust, innovation, and student achievement

Help, support, trust, openness, collective reflection, and collective efficacy are at the heart of a collaborative culture.

Characteristics of collaborative cultures:

• Teachers regularly observe and provide feedback on each other's practices
• Professional development is valued and actively pursued
• Decision-making is shared and teachers feel their input matters
• There is a strong sense of common purpose focused on student learning
• Risk-taking and innovation are encouraged and supported

Benefits for students and staff. Research shows collaborative cultures correlate with higher student achievement. They also tend to have higher teacher satisfaction and retention rates. The open exchange of ideas leads to continuous improvement and adaptation to student needs.

Challenges to collaboration. Many schools have comfortable-collaborative cultures that emphasize getting along over pushing for growth. Others have fragmented or balkanized cultures where collaboration occurs only within small cliques. Moving towards true collaboration requires intentional effort to build trust and structures for meaningful teacher interaction.

4. Toxic cultures perpetuate negativity and resist positive change

A toxic culture may not be immediately evident to visitors because one of its hallmarks is the ability of staff to hide their beliefs.

Signs of a toxic culture:

• Cynicism and blame are the default responses to challenges
• New ideas are met with immediate skepticism or hostility
• Low expectations for students are justified by external factors
• Ineffective practices persist despite evidence they don't work
• A small group of negative influencers wields outsized power

Self-perpetuating cycle. Toxic cultures create self-fulfilling prophecies by lowering expectations and effort. Initial failures reinforce negative beliefs, leading to further reduced effort. This cycle can be difficult to break without decisive intervention.

Hidden toxicity. Many toxic cultures maintain a façade of professionalism that masks deeper dysfunctions. Staff may even take pride in "toughness" that is actually harmful to students. Recognizing and addressing these hidden issues is crucial for improvement.

5. Cultural change requires patience, persistence, and strategic leadership

Cultural change must be a school-wide movement, not just an individual effort.

Long-term process. Meaningful cultural shifts typically take 3-5 years at minimum, with some experts suggesting up to 15 years for deep changes. This requires sustained focus and effort beyond quick fixes or isolated initiatives.

Stages of change:

1. Creating awareness of need for change
2. Building a guiding coalition
3. Articulating a compelling vision
4. Empowering broad-based action
5. Generating short-term wins
6. Consolidating gains and producing more change
7. Anchoring new approaches in the culture

Balancing pressure and support. Leaders must apply consistent pressure for change while also providing the necessary support and resources. Too much pressure without support leads to resistance; too little pressure allows complacency to set in.

6. Leverage points like crises and new initiatives can accelerate cultural shifts

Cultures try to build a present based on what has happened in the past. Even the best schools promote a nostalgic view of how they became effective.

Natural inflection points. Certain moments in the school year cycle provide natural opportunities to introduce change with less resistance. These include:

• Start of the school year
• Arrival of a new principal
• Implementation of new state mandates
• Major events like graduations or award ceremonies

Crisis as opportunity. While traumatic, crises can create openings for rapid change by disrupting established patterns and increasing willingness to try new approaches. Effective leaders frame crises as opportunities for growth and improvement.

Piggybacking on initiatives. New programs or policies mandated from outside can be leveraged to introduce broader cultural changes. Rather than treating them as burdens, savvy leaders use these initiatives as vehicles for advancing their vision.

7. Influential teachers are key to spreading and sustaining cultural changes

People are much more likely to buy into ideas because their friends urge them to do so than simply because it is a good idea.

Identify key influencers. Every school has teachers who hold outsized sway over their colleagues' opinions and behaviors. These may not be the most senior or outspoken staff, but those with strong informal networks and credibility.

Characteristics of effective change agents:

• Respected by peers for their teaching skill
• Well-connected across different groups within the school
• Open to new ideas while understanding school traditions
• Able to translate leader's vision into practical classroom implications

Empower and support. Provide influencers with resources, information, and opportunities to lead. Create structures for them to share successes and mentor colleagues. Celebrate their efforts to model desired cultural shifts.

8. Leaders must articulate a compelling vision and model desired behaviors

Cultural change is not an exact science; it is messy, unpredictable, and, often, uncomfortable.

Paint a vivid picture. Effective culture change requires a clear, inspiring vision of what the school could become. This vision should connect to core values while pushing beyond the status quo. Use stories and metaphors to make it memorable and emotionally resonant.

Walk the talk. Leaders' day-to-day behaviors send powerful messages about what really matters. Consistency between words and actions is essential for building trust and momentum for change. Be willing to make difficult decisions that demonstrate commitment to the new culture.

Strategies for vision-casting:

• Connect proposed changes to the school's history and values
• Use data to create urgency around the need for change
• Highlight early wins and success stories
• Provide regular updates on progress and challenges
• Create rituals and symbols that reinforce the new culture

9. Regular assessment helps track cultural shifts and guide improvement efforts

The School Culture Survey is an instrument designed to be administered to teachers in a school building to get a sense of how much their school culture is collaborative.

Establish a baseline. Use tools like the School Culture Survey or School Culture Typology Activity to assess your starting point. This provides concrete data to inform strategy and measure progress against.

Monitor shifts over time. Re-administer assessments periodically to track changes. Look for both quantitative shifts in scores and qualitative changes in how staff discuss culture-related issues.

Key areas to assess:

• Collaborative leadership
• Teacher collaboration
• Professional development
• Unity of purpose
• Collegial support
• Learning partnerships

Use data to drive dialogue. Share results with staff to spark reflection and discussion. Use the data to celebrate progress, identify obstacles, and refine improvement strategies. The process of discussing culture can itself be a powerful catalyst for change.

Last updated: April 5, 2025