Culturize: Every Student. Every Day. Whatever It Takes.

by Jimmy Casas

2. Trust.

3. Placing blame.

Team builder.

Follow through.

Expect Excellence

Team Resolve—The

Create an environment that allows every voice to be heard and where everyone plays a role in culturizing the school.

“What are you willing to invest to help me address this concern?”

Boost Your Sanctuary—Take

Here are a few ways for you to quickly gauge your main office climate: Take notice of the faces of those who both work and visit your main office. Do their faces shine bright or do they appear stressed and burdened? Listen to the words being spoken, but more importantly how they are being spoken. Is the tone kind and sincere or harsh and tempered? Are conversations positive and focused on how they can help others, or are they self-serving and negative? Are telephone calls and guests greeted in a manner that leaves the other person feeling welcomed and valued?

Are all students welcomed with a sincere and friendly “Hello, it is so good to see you!”? Even those who may be there for disciplinary reasons? Are the walls, desks, and counters adorned with authentic items that celebrate student success? Does the look of the environment present itself in a professional way that represents great pride and a tradition of excellence? The main office gives the first impression of how well the rest of the building is maintained. When you finish rating the climate of your main office, follow up with the rest of your offices throughout the building. School offices must serve as sanctuaries where people can come to have their spirits boosted, not suppressed.

Beyond the Check Box—We

Handbook Regulations and Classroom Rules. Re-examine when the best time to review these items should be. Staff welcome back? No. First day of class? No. I strongly recommend pushing them back and spreading them out over a period of weeks.

Summer Retreats. Your team will not invest in this process unless you come prepared with a specific agenda and focus.

Surveys. This has become one of the biggest check boxes in schools today. Why?

District Strategic Plan/School Improvement Plans.

Questions for Discussion What characteristics could you point out in others to help them understand what it means to expect excellence? How has your response to a situation where you didn’t know what to do helped you become a better teacher or administrator? What qualities does an untitled leader possess that allow him or her to influence others to strive for excellence? Share specific examples of what the people in your organization do to help one another live their excellence. What else can you do to support your team?

When you work in a school that has a reputation for being “challenging,” it is easy to fall into the trap of talking negatively about the school, the community, the staff, the students—or any other available, contributing factor.

You’ll recognize awfulizers by their habit of complaining about students, colleagues, parents, lack of resources, the administration, mandates, and any other decision

with which they disagree.

Model positive interactions. Effective educators never stop modeling

positive interactions.

Remember that your body language reflects your beliefs.

Show appreciation.

Great Change Begins with Self-Change

When we take time to invest in conversations with others, we are often pleasantly surprised by the smiles these interactions bring to our faces and the warmth they can bring to our hearts.

Model a love for learning Value personal and trusting relationships Are extremely passionate Are empathetic Model risk-taking and encourage their students to do the same Are flexible and make adjustments based on student feedback Recognize learning goes both ways Focus on what kids are doing, not what they aren’t doing Teach kids, not content Have students tell them where they are so they know from where to build Strive to be their best for their students See students as partners Prepare assignments as if they were for themselves Aim to figure out what is going on with each student so as to better understand them and

their thinking. Push students and their thinking and encourage them to strive for greatness Understand that the kids who frustrate them the most are the kids who need them the most Try to catch students doing things right Try not to bottle kids up Want students to have a better school experience than their own and to experience success Want to find a connection with kids by showing them they care, not just telling them Feed off student energy and then give it back Stay active in the classroom Try to learn something from a student every day Share a small bit of kindness every day Take time to acknowledge each student and recognize their work and progress Create unique experiences Accept that teaching is a calling—a mission

Have an appreciation for the hard work of co-teachers and leaders Apologize to students and parents when they are wrong Honor the individual talents and struggles students bring to the class and try to inspire them to move forward Understand and are sensitive to the fact that kids have different needs Try to instill a sense of confidence in all students Accept ...

the onus is on us to model the attitudes and behaviors we want to see repeated. Our

Consider a new perspective on how others see you and on how your attitude impacts your students, staff members, and community. Are

Reflect vs. Deflect.

I believe problems can be resolved when each person is willing to listen and reflect on what is really being said by the other.

Reinvest vs. Invest.

Aspire vs. Inspire.

Act vs. React.

I love the way she described life-fit: “It’s looking at how we, as teachers and school leaders, reduce stress by creating an ebb and flow that works for us.

Balance Is most frequently discussed in the negative Keeps us focused on the problem rather than the solution Assumes we are all the same Infers there is a “right” answer Leads us to judge Results in unproductive guilt Leaves no room for periods where there is more work and less life and vice versa Ignores the constantly changing reality of work and life VS. Life-Fit Honors our unique situations throughout various points in our lives Leads us to inspire Recognizes multiple options based upon each person’s current circumstances Acknowledges the ebb and flow of life’s events Values flexibility

Life-fit addresses not what we feel we should do but what we can actually do and acknowledges that those aren’t always

the same.

Starting today, what are some things you can do to support life-fit so you can be at your best and serve others well?

Be purposeful in scheduling down time. Drop activities that zap your

time and energy. Set aside time weekly to do something you truly enjoy doing and honor it. Consider what can you delegate to someone else. Trust that others will follow through on your expectations. Take care of...

would suggest that Future Ready change requires the following:

Opportunities for leaders to come together.

2. Opportunities for teachers to grow and develop their craft.

3. Opportunities for students to showcase their character, talents, and brilliance.

Future Ready change is going to require us to be more consistent and thorough in providing student-led initiatives that give students a voice in curriculum offerings, school policies, design of classroom and other learning spaces, lesson/unit design, student-led conferences, and feedback on teacher effectiveness in the classroom.

As you carry the banner for your school, consider how others (inside and outside of your school) see your role as an educator.

Carrying the banner means we take pride in our job. It also means we become advocates for how these jobs are important to the fabric of both our local and global communities and how they help us change the narrative of education to the public.