DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 371 485 EA 025 932

AUTHOR Gonder, Peggy Odell; Hynes, Donald, Ed.TITLE Improving School Climate & Culture. AASA Critical

Issues Report No. 27.INSTITUTION American Association of School Administrators,

Arlington, Va.REPORT NO ISBN-0-87652-195-2PUB DATE 94NOTE 123p.

AVAILABLE FROM American Association of School Administrators, 1801N. Moore Street, Arlington, VA 22209-9988 (Stock No.21-00393).

PUB TYPE Viewpoints (Opinion/Position Papers, Essays, etc.)

(120) Reports Descriptive (141)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC05 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS *Change Strategies; Communications; Educational

Assessment; *Educational Change; *EducationalEnvironment; Educational Planning; ElementarySecondary Education; *Leadership; OrganizationalChange; Parent School Relationship; ProgramImplementation; School Effectiveness; *SchoolRestructuring

ABSTRACTClimate and culture are inherent in the life of every

organization, including schools. They are difficult to define andeven more difficult to change, yet any reform effort must addressthem first if it is to succeed. This report helps school leadersunderstand these crucial factors and measure their influences on theschool. It offers various strategies for implementingschool-improvement efforts that work. Chapter 1 provides an overviewof the terms "climate" and "culture," and chapter 2 offersdefinitions of the terms. Leadership rcles played by the principal,superintendent, and school board are examined in Chapter 3. Chapter 4describes and offers examples of holistic restructuring strategies,such as shared decision making, stages in tho strategic planningprocess, the Outcomes Based Education (OBE) model, and the Coalitionfor Essential Schools model. Chapter 5 discusses ways to shapeclimate through instructional techniques. Various methods formeasuring school climate are explored in chapter 6. Chapters 7through 9 offer strategies for engaging parents and communitymembers, dealing with the personal concerns of those involved withprogram implementation, and mobilizing channels of communication. Abrief bibliography and list of contact resources are included.(LMI)

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Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be madefrom the original document.

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IMPROVING SCHOOL

By Peggy Odell Gonder

Edited byDonald L Hymes

The AASA Critical Issues Series

Climate and culture are inherent in the life of every organization, including schools. They are difficultto define and even more difficult to change, yet any reform effort must address them first if it is to haveany hope of success.

Exactly what are climate and culture? What is their impact on student learning? How can they bemeasured? Most important, what must school leaders do to reshape them as they face the challenge ofthe decade: school improvement?

This Critical Issues Report helps school leaders understand these crucial yet intangible factors andmeasure their influence on the school. It offers many strategies for implementing school improvementefforts that work.

This report was written by Peggy Odell Gonder, a free-lance education writer and public relationsconsultant living in Pleasanton, Texas. It was edited by Donald L. Hymes, editor/manager of the AASACritical Issues Series. AASA Publications Manager Leslie Eckard provided editing assistance.Special thanks go to the many educators and experts who responded to the AASA survey for this book,and to the experts whose contributions were cited.

Paul D. HoustonExecutive DirectorAASA

Gary MarxSenior Associate Executive DirectorAASA

Copyright (?:: ! 994, American Association of School Admin.strators

Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 93-071392

ISBN: 0-87652-195-2

AASA Stock No.: 21-00393

Design and Graphics: Anita F. Wiley

The report was reviewed by AASA and approved for publication. Approval does not signify that thecontents reflect the views or policies of AASA.

To order, contact AASA, 1801 N. Moore St., Arlington, VA 22209-9988; (703) 875-0748.

AASA is an equal opportunity employer.

Critical Issues Report No. 27

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

3

CONITEIChapter I

Chapter

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Climate and Culture:An Overview 5Climate and culture are two related but distinct concepts that affect how wellschools function. Understanding both are crucial to school improvement. Ignoringthem can all but guarantee that employees will pay lip service to reforms.

Climate and Culture:What Are They? I I

Climate is a term that refers to current feelings and attitudes. It reflects howstudents, staff, and parents feel about the school. Culture refers to a deeper,longer-term phenomenon that underlies the values held by the people who workand study there.

Leadership: The Essential Ingredient 23Leadership can be the most critical factor in shaping and maintaining positiveschool climates and constructive cultures. School leaders must acquire and refinea variety of skills if the organization is to reach its goals.

Restructuring for Climate and Culture 39The only changes in climate and culture that have long-term benefits for studentsand staff are those that examine and reorient the entire school system. Otherwise,"the old ways of doing things" can frustrate all efforts at improvement.

Shaping Climate Through Instruction 68No factor has a greater influence on student attitudes and their part of theclimate equation than the instruction in the classroom. Unless the classroomclimate is positive, efforts directed outside the classroom will have little effect onthe climate of the school itself.

Measuring Climate: An ImportantFirst Step 76School improvement efforts start with gathering information to identify etrengthson which to build and weaknesses to correct. Measuring climate can give valuableinformation on how receptive the school community will be to change.

5

Chapter

Chapter 8Chapter

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

4

Culture and the Community 91Climate and culture do not exist in a vacuum within the school. Forces outsidethe building influence a school's reputation and, ultimately, its effectiveness.Cultural norms and community attitudes are key factors to consider when at-tempting to improve climate and culture within the school.

The Challenge of Change 105Change, by its very nature, is unsettling to people. The keys to success areaddressing the organization's climate and culture and focusing on the personalconcerns of the people who must implement the change.

Communication and Change 113Communication plays a vital role in shaping both climate and culture. If there isto be success in any reform effort, school leaders must mobilize all channels ofcommunication.

Bibliography 119

Resources 120

CHAPTER ONE

Oh/nateLit J-

AN OVERVIEW

Climate and culture are

two related butdistinct concepts that affect

how well schools function.Climate reflects how studentsand staff feel about being atschool each day.

Organizational culture is a

newer concept in educationthat is difficult to define andeven harder to assess,

because it reflects deeply

embedded beliefs and

practices so ingrained they

are taken for granted.

Understanding both concepts

and how they affect attitudes

and behavior is crucial to

school improvement.

Disregarding them means

risking that employees will

merely pay lip service to

reforms and continue

"business as usual."

The seventh-grade classroom hums with purposeful activity. Mrs.Baxter, the science teacher, explains the steps the students willtake to dissect frogs the following day. The students listenattentively and take notes as she circulates around the room,

answering questions.Across town, the scene is very different. Mr. Rutledge is delivering a lecture,

not on science, but on rules of behavior. A promised activity is denied to the classbecause of the misbehavior of a few. Becky, a high-achieving student, fumesinwardly at the injustice. Andy, two rows over, plans his visit to a friend's houseafter school. He has heard nothing that would focus his thoughts on life science.

These two junior high rcience classrooms are a study in contrasts. In Mrs.Baxter's class, the focus is on learning. Lessons are planned that keep studentsactively involved and engaged in instruction. In Mr. Rutledge's class, the priorityappears to be control. Learning is a focus part of the time, but an oppressiveatmosphere gets in the way of students' motivation to learn.

The first class exudes a positive climate and an achievement-oriented culture.In the second, a negative climate permeates the class. The culture or normsand beliefs of Mr. Rutledge's students is that science is one class they must"get through" rather than enjoy.

A MULTIFACETED ISSUEAs these hypothetical classrooms suggest, critical ingredients that go beyondtextbooks and instructional strategies affect school quality and effectiveness.These elements of climate and culture play a major role in the attitudes of stu-dents, faculty, and community in shaping whether a school is considered "good"or one to avoid.

While climate and culture are intangible, it is possible to make observationsand assessments about them. Although they are not the only important aspects to

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

6

consider when improving schools, many expects feelthat positive climate and the appropriate culture must bepresent before change can succeed and have a long-termimpact on the school and its students.

More important than ever. Schools have been onthe firing line for years. Negative national reports havebeen followed by ballot proposals for voucher systemsthat encourage parents to go shopping for the "best"school for their children. In addition, the falteringtconomy has impeded efforts to provide adequatefunding for the public schools.

In this atmosphere, attention to climate is even moreimportant to ensure that morale stays high and the staffcan be most effective.

Climate and achievementThe bottom line of school performance is student

achievement, and research in the 1970s and 1980sfound a distinct link between positive school climateand high staff productivity and student achievement.

In a national survey of school administrators con-ducted for this report, three-fourths of the respondentssaid climate played a "very important" role in studentachievement, and 97 percent agreed that climate waseither "very important" or "important" in studentachievement.

As knowledge of school organizations and humanbehavior has expanded, researchers such as R. Taguiriand Lawrence Lezotte have broadened their definitionof school climate beyond achievement. They describeone aspect of climate as the "norms, beliefs, andfeelings of a school." These same factors, however,also are integral to definitions of culture, which isdifferent from climate.

Organizational parallelsParallel to school climate studies, other theorists

were looking at the cultures of a variety of organiza-tions, including schools. Books such as CorporateCultures by Allen Kennedy and Terrence Deal, and InSearch of Excellence by Tom Peters and Robert H.Waterman, Jr., illustrated how organizations carryunique personalities or cultures that shape theway they function and determine how employees feelabout working there.

The high performing companies profiled in In Searchof Excellence shared common cultural norms or stan-dards of behavior as well as common beliefs. Forexample, high performing companies are committed tothe norm of staying "close to the customer"tailoring

products and services to meet their needs. Managementat these companies share the belief that the employeesare its most important resource.

Such cultural norms and shared beliefs also arepresent in high performing schools. The SecondarySchools Recognition Program of the U. S. Departmentof Education, for example, recognizes outstandingschools on the basis of 14 characteristics and fivestudent outcomes. While measurable indicators such aslow dropout rates and high rates of achievement onstandardized tests are assessed, the judges also look forevidence of a positive culture.

The bottom line of school performanceis student achievement, and research inthe 1970: and l 980s found a distinctlink between positive school climateand high staff productivity and studentachievement.

These characteristics include standards that call forhomework to be frequent and monitored, and the beliefthat expectations for achievement should be high for allstudents.

Elements of culture can be elusive. An outsider mightdetect them only after spending considerable time in anorganization, talking with employees, Ind observinghow departments function and how decisions are made.An organization's culture reflects deeply held beliefsand attitudes. The author M. Bower, in the Will toManage calls this "the way we do things around here."

Blurred distinctionsSome educators and researchers now share the view

held by culture expert Terrence Deal of VanderbiltUniversity that the climate of a school refers to theshort-term, malleable aspects of the school's physicaland psychological environment, and culture refers tothe long-term, deeply embedded beliefs of an organiza-tion the "feel" of a school, its myths and its moralcode.

Since some educators see climate as including beliefsand attitudes, and such beliefs are primary to culture,the distinction has become blurred. When viewed fromthis perspective, many studies that have focused onclimate have really examined both climate and culture.This interrelationship underscores the impottance ofboth to school improvement.

AN OVERVIEW

7

Effective Schools. Effective schools researchers haveidentified a number of climate- and culture-relatedcharacteristics found in effective schools and absent inineffective schools. Characteristics common to effectiveschools vary somewhat by organization and study, butsome of the most frequently mentioned are:

High expectations for students The staff adoptsthe optimistic attitude that all students will succeedand proceeds accordingly.Student-centeredness Educators modify thecurriculum to meet individual needs so all studentscan succeed. The school is structured to increase theamount of student-teacher interaction.Safe and disciplined schools Students feelsecure and distractions are eliminated so the focuscan be on learning.Orderly atmosphere The school enforces anetwork of rules that communicate fairnessand predictability to all.Focused mission Staff members have a sense ofpurpose that undergirds daily activities.Coherent plan Teachers and administratorsdevelop a plan to raise student achievement thataddresses student outcomes.Teacher efficacy Teachers have the propertraining and tools, giving them confidence in theknowledge that they can overcome obstacles to helpstudents learn.Frequent monitoring of progress A systemoperates that quickly identifies students who needextra help and ensures that all students are chal-lenged.Rewards and incentives for teachers andstudents These focus attention on the positive,establishing momentum for success.Positive physical environment Whether thebuilding is old or new, a well-maintained schooldisplaying student work sends the message thatstudents and staff are important.Low sense of futility Students feel they cansucceed and that learning and good grades are theresult of effort and determination, not luck.Community support A community culture thatexpects high achievement provides a reservoir oflong-term support that spans times of stability andchanges, such as n school leadership anddemographics.

These characteristics illustrate the close relationshipclimate and culture play in a school's ability to help itsstudents be successful.

rx

Community support criticalCommunity support is both a cause and an effect

with successful schools. More than 90 percent ofsuperintendents responding to a survey for this CriticalIssues Report indicated that community support plays a"very important" or "important" role in a positiveschool climate. When asked, "What will kill a schoolclimate?" respondents mentioned a "lack of communitysupport" and "controversy among stakeholders" askey factors.

StrengtheningStudent-TeacherTies

Littleton High School south of Denver, Colorado,has taken an unusual approach to being stu-

dent-centered. Through Direction 2000 aneducation reform package designed by teachers,administrators, and parents Littleton developed ateacher-mentor program.

Each certified staff member is paired with fourstudents a ycar, up to a maximum of 16, ib anEducational Advisement Program. Teachers meetweekly with their charges throughout their fouryears of high school, reserving one hour a week tomeet in-depth with one of the students.

"Our goal is to have one adult who knows eachstudent intimately well," said Doug Linkhart, ascience teacher who helped develop the program.Once each semester the teacher, student, and parentmeet to discuss the student's educational goals anddevelop a plan to meet those goals.

Direction 2000 grew out of "a frustration thatstudents were showing less motivation and greateracceptance of failure," said Linkhart. "We decidedit was because students didn't have an active role intheir learning." One purpose of the advisementprogram is "to put students in charge of theireducation, so they will feel greater responsibilityand ownership for their learning."

To make time for the advisement sessions,teachers "gave up" hall duty. Instead, high schoolseniors and community volunteers were recruited tomonitor the halls.

Staff and parents alike are enthusiastic aboutDirection 2000 for two reasons: They played anactive role in developing the school reform, and theschool faithfully kept patvnts informed of therecommendations and changes throughout the longevolution of the reform effort.

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

8

A five-year study of 12 London schools completedby British researchers in 1979 found that studentachievement, attendance, and behavior were better inschools where teachers expected all students to achieve.Described in the book Fifteen Thousand Hours, theseschools were effective because they had developed aclimate that supported learning and a culture thatexpected achievement.

One way effective schools ensure that all students arelearning is by implementing frequent monitoring ofstudent progress. Schools do not try to "explain away"low achievement through stereotyping. Instead, theyuse low scores as flags to determine what areas ofcurriculum and instruction need improvement. In thecase of individual pupils, such monitoring becomes avehicle for feedback to the students and attention totheir needs.

Lost in the crowdSometimes, climate and culture can be improved

with restructuring class sizes and school days. Forexample, many students "fall through the cracks"because they are invisible in large secondary schools.They don't get into trouble, but neither do they reachtheir potential.

The Coalition of Essential Schools recommendsorganizing secondary schools so that no teacher hasmore than 80 students. Under such a structure, teacherscan get to know their students as individuals and cantune in and offer extra support when necessary, such aswhen a family is going through a serious illness or adivorce. Such an arrangement contributes to a positiveclimate because students feel their teachers care aboutthem, which motivates the students to study and learn.

"In my second year of teaching I had 204 students,"Theodore Sizer, founder of the Coalition, said in aninterview. "I didn't know them as kids. I simply knewthem as history or English students . . . and I servedthem very poorly." The solution for many secondaryschools is to form interdisciplinary tt '1, whereteachers teach two subjects and have tL ;ame studentsfor more than one period a day.

Organizational traitsIt is obvious that schools are more than a collection

of individual traits. Like people, organizations havetheir own personalities that affect the persons who workand study there. Those organizations have a positive,supportive climate and culture largely due to theleadership of the principal and community support.

In a study of exemplary secondary schools recog-nized by the United States Department of Education,Professors John E. Roueche and George Baker, III,found five organizational characteristics that enabledthese schools to excel. They described these characteris-tics in a book for AASA, Profiling Excellence inAmerican Schools:1. Leadership by example. Staff members in effective

schools look upon the principal as one who leads byexample. The focus is on student achievement, notmerely smooth management of operations. Effectiveprincipals clearly communicate goals for the schooland behavioral expectations of the staff: They are"well-organized, task-oriented and well-informedabout what is happening in the school," Roueche andBaker wrote. "In fact, these principals spend most oftheir days outside of their offices."

2. Instructional leadership. Principals in effectiveschools perceive themselves as instructional luders.They are actively involved in observing classrooms,ensuring that time is used effectively for instmction.This leadership does not displace the teacher's role ininstruction. The authors noted that many studiesshow "this commitment to leadership is typicallycoupled to a commitment to participative decisionmaking." The responsibility for planning, implemen-tation, and evaluation is shared among members ofthe professional staff.

3. Growth-oriented climate. The organization iscommitted to professional growth of its staffparticularly its teachers through staff develop-ment. The teachers see inservice education as worth-while and related to instruction because they areactively involved in planning and implementing thetraining. This involvement leads to exchange of ideasand selection of topics that will carry over to theclassroom.

4. Accountability through evaluation. Becauseteachers in effective schools feel responsible forstudent success, they "welcome systematic efforts toevaluate their teaching effectiveness, both by theirpeers and by the administration," the authors noted.

5. Community involvement. The climate of the schoolrecognizes the important role parents play in theirchildren's education and encourages involvement bythe community. As a result, effective schools typi-cally have more active parent organizations, moreparents visiting classrooms, and principals whoreport better relations with parents.Successful schools also encourage students and staff

10

AN OVERVIEW

9

Student Retention and ClimateWhile a supportive school climate can have a positive effect onachievement, policies and practices that are perceived as punishing

students can have a negative effect on school climate and success in school.Reform efforts have sought to do away with social or automatic

promotion to eliminate the problem of functionally illiterate high schoolgraduates. While it is important to ensure that students have necessary skillsbefore leaving school, the press to retain students has its down side as well.

Grading and retention practices can have a negative effect on climate andon an individual child's attitude and success in school. According to TexasEducation Commissioner Lionel "Skip" Meno, 95 percent of children whoare failed once drop out of school, and 99 percent of students flunked twicedrop out.

"Retention is good for sorting out the winners from the losers, but it's notgood for education," Mcno said. "This clearly does not work." Mcnorecommends using Chaptcr 1 funds for summer school classes to helpstudents catch up instead of holding them back to repeat a grade.

For both students and staff, succcss breeds a feeling of accomplishment,which results in a positive school climate. Conversely, it can be argued thata positive school climate is a precondition for success.

to get involved in community-based projects. "Success-ful schools do know their community, cultivate arapport with their community, and work hard to gaintheir reputations," they concluded.

Leadership essentialLeadership, then, is essential in forging positive

climates and achievement-oriented cultures. Principalsand superintendents should have a vision for the schooland district that is communicated both verbally andthrough actions.

School leaders play important symbolic roles thatconvey values through the way they perform routineactivities and the attention paid to various rituals thatare part of school life. Later chapters will describe howthe principal can "read" the culture of the school andthe types of actions that can reinforce positive culturesand redirect negative ones.

Whle strong leadership and vision are important toclimate, good leadership also facilitates change. Oneimportant component in this process is giving the staffan active role in improving the school. Such active andmeaningtbl involvement accomplishes three things:

Teachers are directly involved with students so theyare in a prime position to determine what is needed.

11

No amount of artistryon the part ofteachers con bringabout learning if thestudent does not makethe effort to listen ondremember theinformationpresented. Thestudent ultimatelycontrols whether theinformation is heard,digested, andretained.

Staff "buy-in" for support is essential to implementchanges.Involvement will enhance morale because staffmembers will feel they have some control over theirworking lives.

It is equally important to involve parents and thecommunity because they have a strong stake in theschool as it affects their children and the reputation ofthe community.

Of course, the support of students in the learningprocess is essential. No amount of artistry on the part ofteachers can bring about learning if the student does notmake the effort to listen and remember the informationpresented. The student ultimately controls whether theinformation is heard, digested, and retained. Learning,however, is most likely to occur in environments wherethe students, faculty, and staff all want to be there andsupport the goals of the school.

Site-based managementFor many superintendents responding to the AASA

survey, site-based management has helped makeschools more effective and improved climate andculture. For principals, on the other hand, it can meanquite an adjustment in style of leadership. They have

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

I 0

found they must share power by seeking input fromvarious stakeholders in the school community.

In Kimball, Minnesota, school effectiveness commit-tees of teachers and principals set goals based on thedistrict mission statement. In developing effectivenessplans, schools sponsor forums for parent input on suchtopics as grading and discipline. Advice from supportstaff, including custodians and food service personnel,have been sought on other issues.

"It has given principals a different perspective onhow a building will look in the future," KennethHolling, superintendent of the 1,000-student KimballPublic Schools, said in an interview. "It's so mucheasier to have a top-down operation. I don't think theadministrative process as we know it is going to func-tion any longer. It isn't going to be effective any more.The old iron rule is gone. People feel they should havemore involvement in what's being taught, when and bywhom. And I think that's good."

A background tapestryIt is evident from the various definitions and

examples cited above that climate and culture aredifferent, but interrelated. They exist whether the staffrecognizes them or not, and they are integrally tied tocharacteristics of a school that often are mistakenlyregarded as independent.

It is important to attend to climate so stzff andstudents will be motivated to improve. Unless the

culture changes, however, long-term reform will falterbecause the shared values necessary to sustain reformwill not be held by those concerned.

Issues of climate and culture need not consumeinordinate amounts of an administrator's time on anongoing basis. Instead, they are aspects of the schoolthat require significant amounts of attention at somepoints in the life of the school such as when theprincipal is new or major changes are being imple-

It is evident from the various definitionsand examples cited that climate andculture are different but interrelated.They exist whether the staff recognizesthem or not, and they are integrally tiedto characteristics of a school that oftenare mistakenly regarded as independent.

mented. At other times, they can be positive forcesprese.. 'he background, but not all-consuming.

In any case, it is important not to ignore climate andculture, and to understand how they affect the life of theschool in subtle and subconscious ways because thedynamics of these two phenomena can have a majorimpact on other goals the schools seek to achieve.

CHAPTER 2

Cliraa,te ,

'ULTUR:WHAT ARE TH EY?

Climate is a term that

refers to currentfeelings and attitudes. It

reflects how students, staff,

and parents feel about the

school whether It is apositive place to work andlearn or one that is full ofproblems. Culture refers to adeeper, longer-term phenom-enon that underlies the values

held by the people who workand study there and the

assumptions they apply to

both routine and challenging

situations. An organization's

culture develops over time. Itis difficult to perceive and

describe, but it exerts apowerful influence over the

way an organization operates.

Climate and culture are concepts that each relate to the "feel" ofa school, but they influence the life of the organization in differentways. Both are important to the school's quality of life and itsability to produce positive student outcomes, including high achieve-

ment, and such nonacademic goals as producing well-rounded, responsiblemembers of society.

One major difference between climate and culture is their timetable. Climatereflects what is happening today; culture embodies the values, beliefs and norms aschool staff and community nave developed over a long period of time.

Some researchers have suggested that climate as an approach to school reformis rooted in the discipline of sociology, while culture is based on an anthropologi-cal approach.

DEFINING CLIMATEClimate is a term that refers to the atmosphere in a school. It consists of theattitudes shared by members of subgroups, such as students, faculty, and staff,and by the school population as a whole. Climate is generally considered to bepositive or negative, although some aspects of a school climate can be positivewhile others are negative.

Climate characteristics affect the morale, productivity, and satisfactioa ofpersons involved in an organization. A positive climate results when membersfeel they are valued as individuals and that they are contributing to the success ofthe organization.

13

Fulfilling basicneeds

Motivational expertAbraham Maslow identified ahierarchy of needs that mustbe satisfied before individualscan reach their goals. Theneeds are in a priority se-quence. The theory is thatonce the most basic needs aresatisfied, individuals aredriven by the next higherneed.

In schools, a positiveclimate serves the top threehuman needs on a regularbasis, while safe, clean, andorderly schools would fulfillthe first two needs.

Complex factorsIn the past, climate has

been associated strictly withthe affective dimension ofschool life: how students andstaff feel about being inschool. Effective schoolsresearch has shown thatclimate is far more complex,with a broad range of factorsinfluencing it, ranging fromthe level of academic expec-tations staff has for students to how often the halls arecleaned.

Some educators now describe climate as having fourdimensions: academic, social, physical, and affective.Many of the characteristics associated with effectiveschools fall into one of these dimensions.

Brenda Hurbanis of the Anne Arundel County,Maryland, Public Schools and Peggy Walters of theMaryland State Department of Education developed astatewide climate plan. They describe the componentsof the four dimensions as follows:

Academfc includes the instructional norms,beliefs and practices of a school, including anacademic emphasis, high expectations, monitoring ofstudent progress, a safe and orderly environment, andthe presence of rewards and praise.Social shaped by the types of communication

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

I2

An organisation develops a particular culture over time. Itrepresents the shared understandings of the members of thegroup of how things ought to be.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Self-Fulfillment Needs(Creativity, self-realization)

Self-Esteem/Ego Needs(Status, recognition)

Social Needs(belonging, love, acceptance by peers)

Safety Needs(Protection from threat or danger)

Physiological needs(food, air, water, shelter)

between persons in the school, including interactionbetween students and teachers, communicationamong students, and the opportunity for studentsuggestions in the workings of the school. Site-basedmanagement, with its emphasis on working with keystakeholders in a school, addresses this aspect ofschool climate.Physical refers to the physical and materialaspects of the school. Researchers have determinedthat the age of the building is not as important as theamount of maintenance whether those who workand study there feel the building receives propercare. Climate also is affected positively and nega-tively by the degree to which staff feel they haveaccess to materials.Affective refers to the feelings and attitudesshared by the students of the school. While the first

14

WHAT ARE THEY?

I 3

three dimensions influence climate, the final dimen-sion reflects the results of these factors and others onhow students regard their school. The indicators of apositive school climate include respect, trust, highmorale, cohesiveness, caring, academic and socialgrowth, communication, and opportunities forparticipation.

DEFINING CULTURECulture is a term used by anthropologists to describeentire societies that differ from others in their modes ofdress, diet, customs, and beliefs. The term "organiza-tional culture" was developed in recent years to de-scribe corporations and other groups that differ fromsimilar organizations in the way they make decisionsand conduct day-to-day operations. For convenience,this book will use the shorter term, "culture," to refer tothe phenomenon of organizational culture, particularly

as it relates to schools and school districts.An organization develops a particular culture over

time. It represents the group members' shared under-standings of how things ought to be. These commonunderstandings or assumptions evolve based on sharedexperiences.

The powerful influence culture exerts on the mem-bers of an organization has been aptly described byAlbert Shanker, president of the American Federationof Teachers:

Ten thousand new teachers each year enter theNew York City school system as a result ofretirement, death, job turnover and attrition. Thesenew teachers come from all over the country.They represent all religions, races, politicalpersuasions, and educational institutions. But theamazing thing is that after three weeks in theclassroom, you can't tell them apart from theteachers they replaced.

What then, is culture? The mostcomprehensive definition of culture hasbeen advanced by Edgar H. Schein,professor of management at the Massa-chusetts Institute of Technology, basedon his research and extensive experienceobserving and advising organizations inthe United States and throughout theworld. In his book, OrganizationalCulture and Leadership, Schein proposesthat culture should not be equated withsurface features of an organization, suchas its philosophy or rules of thumb, butinstead:

that the term culture should bereserved for the deeper level ofbasic assumptions and beliefsthat are shared by members of anorganization, that operateunconsciously and that define ina basic "taken-for-granted"fashion an organization's viewsof itself and its environment.

These assumptions and beliefsare learned responses to agroup's problems of survival inits external environmem and itsproblems of internal integration.They come to be taken forgranted because they solve thoseproblems repeatedly and reliably.

Organizational Culture andLeadership

Levels of Culture and Their Interaction

Artifacts and CreationsTechnologyArtVisible and audible behavior patterns

ValuesTestable in the physical environmentTestable only by social consensus

1.

Basic AssumptionsRelationship to environmentNature of reality, time, and spaceNature of human natureNature of human activityNature of human relationships

Visible but oftennot decipherable

11

Greater level ofawareness

Taken for grantedInvisiblePreconscious

Adapted from: Schein, Edgar H. Organizational Psychology. 1980.

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

I 4

This deeper level of assumptions is to bedistinguished from the "artifacts" (tangibleitems) and "values" that are manifestations ofsurface levels of the culture, but not the essenceof the culture.

Levels of tultureThe definition becomes more understandable when

key elements are considered separately. One reasonculture is so difficult to identify is that is buried inmultiple layers:

Artifacts and symbols the physical and socialenvironment in an organization.Values the group's shared understanding,originally proposed by one individual, of the waythings "ought" to be.Basic Assumptions deeply held beliefs abouthuman nature, relationships, and the nature of reality,time and space.Artifacts. In a school setting, artifacts may include

the school building, how it is decorated and maintained,and the presence of technology. A school where studentpapers and art work are prominently displayed symbol-izes the belief that student work is inherently valuableand should be celebrated.

Values. Values can be illuminated when a schoolstaff confronts a problem, such as a low school testscore in mathematics on a state assessment. The way astaff or principal reacts to the problem reflects suchvalues as whether the solution should be imposed fromthe top-down: suggesting a value that might be stated:"the principal knows best," or if the decision will bedetermined jointly ("everyone has ideas that are worthyofconsideration").

Past experience reinforces previously held values.For example, if a low assessment in math had previ-ously been improved with more homework, the value ofadding outside drill and practice will guide the solutionto the current pr,:,blem.

When first proposed, a value represents a singleindividual's opinion that is open to challenge or inter-pretation. "If the solution works and the group has ashared perception of that success, the value graduallystarts a process of transformation into a belief and,ultimately, an assumption," Schein explained.

Not all values are so transformed. Some solutions donot work consistently and o,hers can never be indepen-dently verified. Some values are articulated in writtendocuments as a moral stance to guide members of thegroup in certain situations, School and district mission

When Cotton cameto the 3,500-pupilschool in a Denver,Colorado, suburb, thesuperintendent andsome parents wereconcerned thatCherry Creek was notreaching its fullpotential. Perceivedproblems includeddiscipline,absenteeism, drug use

by students, andoverly unstructuredcurricula andgraduationrequirements.

High Schoollimate at Cherry

suffered when new principalHank Cotton startedchanging the laissez fairecultural norms regardingattendance and curriculumdiversity.

When Cotton came to the3,500-pupil school in aDenver, Colorado, suburb,the superintendent and someparents were concerned thatCheny Creek was notreaching its full potential.Perceived problems includeddiscipline, absenteeism, druguse by students, and overlyunstructured curricula andgraduation requirements.

The new superintendentgave Cotton a mandate forchange, but not everyoneshared the view that changeswere needed. Some parents,students, and faculty werecontent with the way thingswere.

Cotton instituted a stricterattendance policy, and morethan 200 suspension noticeswere issued. Parentscomplained and Cotton spentmuch time on the telephone,explaining his philosophythat students could not learnif they were not in class.Since parents also valuededucation, they soon camearound. Absenteeismdropped dramatically thesecond semester.

When Cotton asked thesocial studies department toredesign its curriculum,eliminating many of the 70mini-courses, teachers filedone of the fast uniongrievances in the school'shistory, saying curriculumwas the prerogative of thefaculty. The school boardultimately upheld the

16

WHAT ARE THEY!

15

Change &Confrontationprincipal's right "ozo ask forrevisions to the curriculum.

Cotton also generated ireby appointing departmentheads. They had previouslybeen elected by teachers inthe department. A petitionsigned by more than half theteachers in the school voicedconcerns about the change.

Building supportWhile the effort to

establish more positivecultural values was lonely atfirst, Cotton took a numberof steps to build support forthe changes. He reducedtrivial and annoying taskspreviously assigned toteachers such asmonitoring halls and writingpasses and transferredthese duties to others. Hispurpose was to reinforce thevalue that teaching was themost important activity inthe schooL

He also activelyencouraged behaviors thatreinforced the new culturalnorms. Cotton publiclyrecognized teachers andadministrators whodemonstrated the values ofexcellence, improvement,and collegiality. Theseactions included:

Verbal recognition.Administrative support(fimds to attend confer-ences, materials for

special projects)Appointment tosummer committeesdeveloping curricilwnmaterials.

The principal alsomet regularly with theStudent Senate, ParentSenate, and Faculty Senateto discuss programs and

Victory at handSupport for the pthicipal

increased as the first twoclasses of students graduatedand new students enrolledwho were not familiar withthe "old" school. Cottongave new responsibilities tostudent government and

While the effort to establish more positive culturalvalues was lonely at first, Cotton took a number ofsteps to build support for the changes. He reducedtrivial and annoying tasks previously assigned toteachers such as monitoring hails and writingpasses and transferred these duties to others.His purpose was to reinforce the value thatteaching was the most important activity in theschool.

problems. The meetings"resolved the conflicts athand and allowed Cotton toexplain his purposes,"explained Deal and KentPeterson in describingCotton's experience in thebook, The Principal's Rolein Shaping School Culture."The meetings developedenergy, commitment, andconsensus that previouslyhad not been tapped inschool."

worked closely with allmajor groups in theschool, listening to theirfeelings and informingthem in advance of anynew programs orpolicies.

Disgruntled teacherstransferred to a new highschool that opened inthe district and Cottonwas able to hire newteachers who more closelymatched his values for theschool.

Support grew first fromstudents and parents, thenfrom teachers.

Adjustingpriorities

Student academicperformance is intrinsicallyrewarding to teachers. SinceCotton was stressingimproved academicachievement, the changes heimplemented did not imposenew values on the school,but reinforced existingvalues teachers and thecommunity placed onstudent achievement Thechange was that Cottonraised the priority ofachievement compared tothe school's prior emphasisupon equality andnoncompetitiveness.

Within a few years, theexpectations for excellencein teaching were so strongthat new teachers often feltpressure their first year tomeasure up to the CherryCreek standard.

Within a decade,attendance at school and inclass became one of thehighest in the district, eventhough the open campusremained. The change cameabout "largely because itwas part of .the school'smores," the authors wrote,"not because of fear ofsanctions."

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CLIMATE AND CULTURE

16

statements serve to articulate such normative standardsor values as "respect for all students, regardless ofethnic background," and the expectation that "allstudents have the capacity to learn."

Assumptions. kssumptions operate on a deeper,subconscious level and reflect beliefs that are taken forgranted about human nature. For example, solutions toa math crisis would be influenced differently accordingto which, if any, of the following cultural assumptionsthe principal and staff shared about parents:1. Parents are partners who can help with the problem.2. Parents are interlopers who are ready to condemn the

school.3. Parents are apathetic bystanders who mnnot be

expected to be part of the solution.An example in a later chapter shows how surveys of

parents and teachers can help to uncover some of theseunderlying assumptions and correct stereotypes andmisinformation where they exist.

TAKE THE SCHOOL'STEMPERATUREClimate places a priority on giving individuals anopportunity tbr input, projecting an image of caring forstudents and staff, and making students feel importantand visitors feel welcome. But observation alone won'treveal if these goals are being met. Measurement is animportant means of identifying problems throughclimate surveys of students, staff, parents, and commu-nity.

Climate surveys measure perceptions of students,staff, and parents on characteristics such as:

RespectTrustOpportunities for inputRewards and praisePhysical environmentMoraleStaff cohesiveness.Where climate uses concrete tools such as surveys,

culture relies more on intuition. Leaders new to anorganization must learn to "read" the culture to deter-mine the current mores that guide it. Clues to readingthe culture can be found in the stories told about theschool, traditions that are important to its members andthe way rituals are conducted.

Insights can also be obtained by talking to the

school's "tribal elders" respected members of thefaculty and storytellers to determine what is valuedand how members prefer to operate. Symbols, such as atrophy case for academic as well as sports achieve-ments, also signal what values the members of theschool culture hold dear.

EXPECT RESISTANCEDuring change, climate and culture do not necessarilymove in concert. "A negative climate does not equal afailed leadership attempt," Terrence Deal of VanderbiltUniversity noted in an interview for this report, "WhenI was a junior high teacher at a school in California, theclimate really stunk, but it was the beginning of acultural shift," Deal explained. "Any time you intro-duce change, the climate is going to go to hell."

Culture Affects ClimateAs the Cherry Creek example shows, cultural shifts

can negatively affect climate when stakeholders aresatisfied with the status quo. Climate will eventuallyimprove if the cultural change leads to improvements ineducation, but the going can be rough until the im-provements are evident to everyone.

The effect cultural change has on climate depends ona variety of factors, including the conditions leading upto the change, the leadership style of the principal, thetypes of changes needed, and the way those changes aremade.

Encourage risk taking. Studies have shown thatthe culture of a school must change to support long-term school improvement. Because culture embodiesdeeply held beliefs about how things operate in anorganization, the culture must be shaped to supportchange or efforts will revert to "business as usual."

For example, schools where the excuse "we'vealways done it that way" is a dominant cultural normwill have an uphill struggle trying to make significantchanges. Instead of immediately implementing newstrategies, the principal and key staff may want todevelop a culture that supports risk-taking and innova-tion.

Such a cultural shift would be necesiary beforeteachers would be comfortable trying new instructionalstrategies. As with any new skill, there is an initiallearning curve, and if teachers are not supported in the

The first and secondgraders at Chauncey

Elementary in Milwaukee,Wisconsin, have a groupmeeting once a week todiscuss issues affecting them.A student named C.J. startedthis discussion, announcingthat the children are stillpushing others on the slide atrecess and lunch. The teacherasked for suggestions on howthe problem can be resolved.

"Have the teachers stand'em against the wall,"suggested Melissa. "But theteacher isn't always there,"another girl pointed out.

"So we have to dosomething ourselves," saidPatti. "And I think kids haveto tell each other not topush."

"But what if they still do?"asked Michelle.

"Then we all ask them notto push and we stop playinguntil we get it worked out,"concluded another student.

A sense ofcommunity

Giving students tools tosolve problems and a time todiscuss them are one way tobuild a feeling of communityin the classroom, said GeorgeWood, who described thismeeting at Chauncey in hisbook, Schools that Work. Insome exemplary schools, thisfeeling of community isintentionally nurturedthrough such devices asweekly meetings and grouprule-setting,

At Fratney Elementary inAthens, Georgia, eachclassroom has a specific timeset aside for meetings. Theformat of the meeting varieswith individual teachers, but

WHAT ARE THEY?

17

'The Schoolas Communitythe intent is the same: tobuild in students a sense ofpersonal and collectiveresponsibility.

In Becky Trayser's classat Fratney, meetings areformal. A "talking rock" ispassed from student tostudent. One can only speakwhen holding the rock. Eachstudent has an opportunity tospeak, but cannot speak asecond time until all theothers have had a chance toexpress an opinion. Studentsare expected to begin theirremarks by paraphrasing theprevious speaker, whichfocuses attention on whatclassmates have tocontribute to the discussion.

Even inkindergarten

In the kindergartenclassroom, discussions areless formal and often morepersonal. Most classroomconflicts center on problemswith toys, games, or books.Other times, the class meetsjust to share what they areworking on or to share newsin general. In one discussionat the start of the day, achild named Antonio saidsolemnly, "Some kids aremaking fun of people on theplayground."

"What do you mean bythat, Antonio?" respondedthe teacher.

"I mean they do thingslike call kids names andstuff. Like fatty or stupidor stuff like that."Antonio's explanationwas followed by a livelydiscussion, guided by theteacher, on how torespond to name-calling.One student suggestedstanding up for thestudent and expressingfeelings of friendship tothe child being taunted.

;eking more responsibility forthe group. "It's interestingbecause they'll tell eachother to 'please be quiet' orthey'll tell each other 'it'stime to sit down now,' whichthey did not use to do. Theyare developing a sense of agroup."

Climate buildersGiving students a voice in

establishing the rules they

In the kindergarten classroom, discussions areless formal and often more personal. Mostclassroom conflicts center on problems withtoys, games, or books. Other time; the classmeets just to share what they are working on orto share news In general.

The teacher responded:"That's right. I hope you'llall grow up to be strongpeople and do what's right."

Both classroom teachersare building a sense ofcommunity. The classroommeetings "solve issues thestudents bring up," teacherBecky Trayser said. "Wedeal with what the problemis, and then brainstormpossible solutions, evaluatethose solutions, and chooseone to try and see if itworks."

Teacher Rita Tenorioobserved that her students are

will live by is one way tobuild a positive schoolclimate. Students feelconnected to the schoolthat their opinion matters. Agood set of rules is noguarantee they will beequitably cnforced. Childrenhave an innate sense offairness and will be highlyinterested in how the rulesare carried out.

Weekly meetings are away for students to have acontinuing involvement inthe decisions of the school.As the Chauncey Elementaryexample illustrates, children

n I 19

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

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The School os Community, cont.

as young as five years oldcan be involved insuccessful decisionmaking.

Good climate goes farbeyond rules and meetings.The feeling of community orbeing part of a school familyengenders a positive spirit instudents and staff thatmotivates all to work hard sothat projects succeed.

Such feelings ofcommunity do not happenquickly or automatically. Infact, the natural inclinationis for students to see thingsstrictly from their point ofview. Students must begiven opportunities to shareinformation andacknowledge each other'sfeelings for that sense ofcommunity to develop.

The shoving problemmentioned earlier wasdiscussed at a weekly eventat Chauncey known as thePrimary Forum. EachMonday, about 80 fffst andsecond graders gather in themultipurpose room todiscuss items that primarilyare brought up by thechildren.

"While issues such aspushing on the slide mayseem insignificant in oureyes, they often are of vitalimportance in the eyes of achild," author George Woodexplained. "Primary Forumhonors those importantissues and teaches childrenhow to deal with them as agroup."

A culturaldimension

While Wood talks about

the classroom meetings inthe context of climate,there is a culturaldimension as well. Themeetings, as a tradition ofthe school, send a signalthat adults value theopinions of the students. Ittransmits the expectationthat students are capableof solving their ownproblems.

Although discipline is amajor problem in someschools, at Chauncey andFratney the mention togroup problem solvingpays off by teaching thestudents how to takeresponsibility for theirown behavior andproblems that arise withinthe group.

"For these teachers,"Wood said, "classroommanagement is not an'add-on.' Rather,everything they do worksto foster the sort of self-discipline necessary tomake communal lifepossible."

Building such anenvironment is a majorpriority for the teachers.Attention to self-discipline reflects thevision these teachers havefor their students. "Mybiggest goal is that theyare thinking and caringpeople," said CharlotteNewman of ChaunceyElementary.

From: Schools That Work byGeorge Wood, Dutton Press,1992

early stages, these new techniques are unlikely to becomepart of their repertoire.

Think Long-Term. While attention to culture isessential to long-tenn reform, climate still has an impor-tant role in maintaining morale and esprit de corps. "Icompare climate to a marriage," Minnesota effectivenessconsultant Shelley Roy said in an interview. At first, likea marriage, the climate needs significant attention, butover time, activity moves to a goal of maintenance.

"You need to attend to climate and culture every day,"Roy explained, "but if they are the dominant focus tothe exclusion of all else schools won't get anythingelse done. And the primary goal should be improvingstudent outcomes. Climate and culture are just importantmeans to that end, not an end in themselves."

HOW CULTURE WORKSThe concept of organizational culture was first studied incorporations that were described as having identifiablepersonalities and belief systems. The most successfulcorporations are those that have been able to forge"corporate cultures" that support their mission and goals.For the high tech, growth-oriented company, the corpo-rate culture may celebrate experimentation. For the long-time industry leader, a successful culture might focus onpride in workmanship and attention to detail that willproduce high quality products and services.

Those who have studied successful organizationsboth corporations and schools have found somecommon elements that have contributed to the dynamismof a culture and the way that culture is communicatedand reinforced to its members. Those elements are:

Strongly held beliefs and values.Stories that communicate what the organization standsfor.Heroes and heroines (a company president or anoutstanding teacher), whose actions and accomplish-ments embody those values.Rituals and ceremonies that set the tone and reinforcevalues.Key individuals the cultural players who com-municate the values to others, through both word andaction.

Values and beliefsSuccessful organizations are anchored by strong belief

systems that guide management over the life of the

WHAT ARE THEY?

19

organization, especially during a crisis. A dramaticillustration of this occurred during the poison scare in1982 surrounding the pain-killer Tylenol.

When poisoned Tylenol capsules turned up, themanufacturer, Johnson & Johnson, reacted quickly bypulling all Tylenol from the shelves and reimbursingcustomers who returned the product to stores.

The decision was a costly one, but it was guided bythe company's long-held belief about health and safety

of its customers. Ultimately, J&J returned Tylenol to themarket with tamper-proof packaging. Despite the fears ofmany observers that the incident would spell long-termdisaster for the company, both financially and inits public image, Tylenol regained its previous marketshare quickly, and Johnson & Johnson suffered nolasting damage.

The company did the "right thing" and remainedtrue to its beliefs. By not sacrificing its values to avoid

Values in OrangeCounty Schools

range County PublicSchools in Orlando,

Florida, articulated thedistrict's basic values in theopening pages of its 1992-93strategic plan, which wasdeveloped with involvementfrom the board,superintendent, staff,teachers, parents, andstudents. These valuesillustrate the district'sattention to maintaining andimproving its culture.

Under the heading,"District Values andCommitments," the planstates:

"Our central valuesreflected in the missionstatement are academicsuccess, self-respect, and anunderstanding andappreciation of others. Inaddressing these values wemust celebrate differences inindividuals, in cultures, andin thinking. We mustembrace each student as amember of a group oflifelong learners, provide

mentors to pass on learningstrategies and knowledge,and give the time and toolsnecessary to discover andconstruct concepts. We musteusure joy and success inthis process. Throughout ourdistrict, in our schools and inevery classroom, allprograms, processes, anddecisions about and for ourstudents must emphasizethese values and ideals."

14 commitmentsThese statements are

followed by 14"commitments" thatemphasize making students,teachers, parents, andcommunity memberspartners in the decision-making process. OrangeCounty's statedcommitments reflectimportant climateconsiderations that also arecharacteristic of effectiveschools:

Schools must be safe andorderly; disciplinaryprocedures must be fairand consistentMeeting student needsmust be the highestpriority.Students must be activelyengaged in a meaningfullearning process wherestudent success is thefocus and time isstructured to best suitstudent needs.Schools will have clearand focused missions andobjectives developedcooperatively, widely

communicated, andresponsive to the needs oftheir particularcommunities andclientele.Principals must beeducational leaders.lanovation and prudentrisk-taking at both theschool and district levelwill be encouraged andrewardedProfessional developmentis essential; it must becooperatively plannedand tailored to meet theneeds of individualschools and staffs.Mutual respect, trust,fairness, generosity, andtolerance willcharacterize theenvironment at schoolsand district worklocations.The plan continues with

student outcomes, goals andobjectives. Schools developaction plans to address eachobjective.

Our central values reflected In the mission

statement are academic success, self-respect,

and an understanding and appreciation ofothers. in addressing these values we mustcelebrate differences in individuals, in cultures,and in thinking.

I '10, 0 1

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

20

short-term losses, the company was rewarded bycustomer loyalty.

Similarly, schools that share deeply held valuessuch as a commitment to academic excellence arerewarded by support from parents. Teachers in suchschools tend to have high expectations of their students,who want to measure up to the standard set by theirpredecessors and peers. Schools in low-income areaswhose leaders and staff believe all children can learntend to act on those beliefs, building the instructionalprogram for success and having high expectations ofstudents. Believing all children can learn can lead tohigh achievement in spite of the odds.

Importance of shared values. In his book,A Business and Its Beliefs, IBM founder ThomasWatson wrote:

The real difference between success and failure ina corporation . .. is how well the organizationbrings out the great energies and talents of itspeople. What does it do to help these people findcommon cause with each other? How can itsustain this common cause and sense of directionthrough the many changes which take place fromone generation to another? Consider any greatorganization.... I think you will find that it owesits resiliency not to its form of organization oradministrative skills, but to the power of what wecall beliefs and the appeal these beliefs have forits people. I firmly believe that any organization,in order to survive and achieve success, must havea sound set of beliefs on which it premises all itspolicies and actions. .. . If an organization is tomeet the challenge of a changing world, it must beprepared to change everything about itself exceptthose beliefs as it movegthrough corporate life.[All other business factors] are transcended byhow strongly the people in the organizationbelieve in its basic precepts and how faithfullythey carry them out.In the best organizations, including schools, those

values are articulated often enough that they are wellknown by all employees.

Communicating through storiesShared values are most effectively transmitted

symbolically throngh stories, which over time becomean organization's myths and legends. Good speechwriters, preachers, and effective political leaders such asformer President Ronald Reagan know the power of astory to communicate a message. People remember

stories better than facts because they involve people andarouse visceral reactions of pride, awe, humor, orsympathy.

Books written about successful organizations arereplete with examples of the power of a story to com-municate a message employees will remember. Thestories often describe an incident when the companypresident went to unusual lengths to serve a customer orlisten to the employees.

One story in Wal-Mart department store's companylore recounts a time its founder, Sam Walton, boughtfour dozen doughnuts at an all-night bakery and tookthem to a distribution center where he sat down andtalked with the workers at the shipping dock. At thisinformal meeting, Walton learned they needed twomore showers at that location.

The story, reported in the Wali Street Journal, wasnoteworthy because it occurred it a time when Wal-Mart had 330 stores and 26,000 employees. Walton'sactions communicated his deep belief that Wal-Martemployees are important and that they have valuableideas that to contribute. That's one reason they arecalled "associates," not "employees." Such values arecompanywide: top management spends most of its timeoutside of executive offices, listening to employees.

Leadership consultant Terrence Deal tells of a juniorhigh school faculty that spent a meeting sharing storiesabout students and themselves. In the process, severalexemplary students were discussed, including one whohad changed from a troublemaker to a high achievernearly overnight. In doing so, the student overcamesubstantial family and learning problems.

The story-telling session inspired the teachers to planan awards assembly to recognize all the exemplarystudents and share their stories with other students. Thestudent who improves most receives a large brass eagle,engraved with his or her name. The eagle is passed oneach year to the most improved student.

Legends tend to arise around an organization's heroicfigures who embody the values that have made thecompany or school great. At Wal-Mart, employeesknow stories about founder Sam Walton. At IBM,stories of founder Thomas Watson, Sr., are legendary.Both "practiced what they preached." Their demonstra-tions of such values as staying close to the customerand valuing employees make a lasting impression onthose who work for the organizations.

Heroes. At Kennedy High School in New YorkCity, principal Bob Mastruzzi used tales of heroes andtheir accomplishments to promote the values of inclu-

22

WHAT ARE THEY?

21

sion, diversity, and helping the less fortunate. Asdescribed by Sara Lawrence Lightfoot in The GoodHigh School, Mastruzzi told Horatio Alger-type storiesof students who overcame language or other barriersto achieve top ranks among peers. Such storiescreated role models for students of similar ethnicbackgrounds or personal circumstances to show thatthey, too, could excel.

Mastruzzi often mentioned special academic pro-grams at Kennedy High and the faculty that developedthem. This attention communicated that curriculum andinstruction were the most important aspect of school,and Mastruzzi's willingness to give credit reinforcedthe important contributions of individual facultymembers the "heroes" of that school.

Celebrating an organization's "heroes" serves at leasttwo purposes: student andemployee success storiesare models that can serve as

. .

Parallels Between Effective Schools andOrganizations

Effective schools Effective organizations

Coherent ethos with agreed-upon ways Strong culture with shared ways andof doing things; agreement on values snd a consensus on "how weinstructional goals. do things around here."

Importance of principal as leader. Importance of leader as hero orheroine who embodies core values,or who anoints other heroic figures.

Strong beliefs about teaching andlearning,

Widely shared beliefs about theorganization's mission.

,

Teachers as role models; students withpositions of responsibility,

Employees as situational heroes orheroines who represent core values.

Ceremonies, traditions, and ritualscentered on events such as greetingstudents in the morning, the first dayof school, and graduation,

Ceremonies, traditions, and ritualscentered on events such as greetingemployees in the morning, openinga new plant, and the retirement of asenior executive.

Orderly atmosphere without rigidity;accountability without oppression.

Balance between innovation andtradition, autonomy and authority.

-

Teachers involved in technicaldecision making.

Employee participation indecisons about their own work.

23

an inspiration and anexample for others toemulate. Also, the recogni-tion and honor bestowed onthe hero or heroine servesas a positive reinforcementfor the kinds of accomplish-ments the organizationwould likeall students and staff tostrive for.

Rituals andceremonies

Rituals and ceremoniesprovide a positive, periodicway for an organization tocelebrate and reinforce itsvalues for key audiences,such as employees whoseperformance is tied totangible outcomes. Forexample, IBM broughttogether top sales staffannually at a conferencedesigned to build camarade-rie and pride. The programhonored top performers andcelebrated the computercompany's rich tradition ofsuccess.

The annual IBM meetingwas a powerful ritual thatbuilt pride among partici-pants, and a feeling ofbelonging to somethinglarger than oneself.It brought together peoplewho worked in different

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

22

parts of the country who might otherwise not havecontact or feel a kinship with one another. Theseintangible, psychic rewards can be every bit as motivat-ing if not more motivating than annual bonusesand other monetary recognition.

Many school principals have recognized the impor-tance of ceremonies when their buildings are sched-uled to close due to declining enrollment. Some appointbroad-based committees to plan an elaborate closingceremony to celebrate the life of the school. Thesecommittees may work for many months during the lastyear of the school's life.

"Going Out in Style." In one such incident, whenMontgomery Hills Junior High School in Silver Spring,Maryland, was about to close because of decliningenrollment, Principal Carl Smith decided to make theevent one to remember. The result was a celebrationcalled "Going Out in Style," which culminated with anassembly that glorified the school's rich heritage. Ithelped the staff and students end the year on a high notein what otherwise could have been a negative anddepressing experience. The event reaffirmed that thestudents and staff of that school had value, and thespirit of the school would live on in their new build-ings.

In a similar situation, where a school was closedbecause of its age and consolidated with a newer one,the celebration ended with a parade to the new school

where the two student bodies and faculties were joinedin a show of unity and dedication to future success.

Rituals can be weekly staff meetings or a principal'shabit of spending time in the halls where students canleave class to show off their work. Ceremonies can beformal annual events like high school graduation or afun project such as a school carnival. The activities takeon symbolic importance when they are used, con-sciously or subconsciously, to reaffirm key values ofthe organization or its leader.

Raw egg drop. At Jefferson Elementary School inrural Nevada, the culmination of the annual carnivalcomes when principal Ray Murdock flies over theschool and drops raw eggs from a plane. The eggs havebeen encased in elaborate packaging devised by thestudents. The goal, of course, is to see how many eggssurvive the fall.

The carnival involves parents and children in a fun,family-oriented event in a town where parental involve-ment had been low because of a transient population.The egg drop is a dramatic way to showcase studentingenuity, which reinforces Murdock's goals of increas-ing student self-esteem and achievement.

The annual event has several benefits. It strengthensbonds between school and community, raises funds forsupport of instruction, and provides a fun opportunityfor the community to come together for a positivepurpose.

24

CHAPTER THREE

LeadcthpTHE ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT

LI eadership is a criti-I. cal factor in shaping andmaintaining positive school

climates and constructive

school and district cultures.Particularly in times of turbu-lent change, it is essential for

school leaders to acquire and

refine a variety of skills. Theleader must develop a vision

and articulate it to the schoolcommunity. The administratoralso needs insight into the

culture of the school todetermine which values and

assumptions should be rein-

forced and which should be

changed for the organization

to reach Its goals.

An AASA survey for this book asked superintendents and principals,"What will kill a climate faster than anything else?" and "What willrestore a climate faster than anything else?" The open-endedquestions elicited a variety of responses. The most frequently

mentioned dealt with leadership particularly at the school level, but alsoat the district level on the part of the board and superintendent (see alist of responses is on page 24).

While most responses dealt with the need for visionary leadership and a cleardirection, the need to include staff and community in decision making wasanother strong thread among the answers.

Of course, maintaining good relations with staff and community is a two-waystreet, requiring cooperation and good will on both sides. And fimding problemsmentioned by some respondents made it obvious that leadership skills in manydistricts are being put to severe tests.

In the face of such challenges, however, respondents underlined the impor-tance of communication and collaboration in building strong climates.

EXCELLENCE IN LEADERSHIPUniversity of Texas Professors John E. Roueche and George A. Baker, III,undertook in 1985 an in-depth study of middle, junior, and senior high schoolsthat had been cited by the Secondary School Recognition Program of the U.S.Department of Education. They discovered a number of variables in climatethat characterized the "excellent" schools, as well as analyzed common traitsamong the principals.

As a benchmark, they began with the seven leadership traits identified byTom Peters and Robert Waterman in In Search of Excellence, a study of high-performing companies. The leadership traits of the successtul corporate execu-tives were:

A blas for action. Moving ahead, rather than studying an issue extensively.Staying close to the customer. Keeping the focus on what the consumer wants.

25

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

24

Autonomy and entrepreneurship. Allowingoperating units some flexibility and encouraginginnovation.Productivity through people. A belief thatemployees are an organization's most importantresource.Hands-on, value driven. Basic beliefs that guidemajor decisions.Stick to knitting. Focus efforts on what theorganization does best, rather than spreading itselftoo thin.Simple form, lean staff. Avoiding ponderousbureaucracies.Simultaneous loose-tight properties. A "tight"commitment to core values while allowing individualinitiative ("loose" control).Roueche and Baker found effective school leaders

shared many leadership qualities with successful corporateexecutives. As the study progressed, they modified thoseleadership qualities, incorporating a focus on teaching andlearning as a key principle. They compared the Peters and

Waterman principles with their own in the book,Profiling Excellence in America 's Schools, for AASA.

Flexibility in leadershipRunning an organization as complex as a school or

school system requires a leader who is flexible, onewho can adapt to changing conditions. The effectiveleader exercises "loose-tight" control by communicat-ing values and beliefs all should adhere to ("tight ,

control"), such as the belief that all students are capableof learning.

The control is "loose" by permitting autonomywithin broad guidelines. For example, the school mayadopt the goal of increasing achievement in geographybut leave to the geography teachers the task of decidingwhat changes will be made in instructional strategiesand curriculum.

This mirrors the Peters and Waterman principle ofautonomy and entrepreneurship. Roueche and Bakernote that the best leaders also "are initiators who act

How to Make or Break a School ClimateFactors That Will Kill a School Climate

Lack of leadershipLack of vision, mission, goalsAbsence of clear purposePoor school management and

communicationUnfair enforcement of MaPoor working relations between

school and communityAbundance of unreasonable rulesAutocratic administrationBoard of education that has personal agendasDemanding teachers union that puts kids secondOpen controversy between "stakeholders"Leaving parents and students out of communication linksNo community supportStagnation, top-down managementNon-collaborative, non-cooperative behaviors by school

leadersBudget deficitReduction in forceConflict over limited resourcesStrikesLou of social and emotional togethernessUsing data for evaluation of school personnel rather

than school improvement

Factors That Will Restore a School Climate

Sense of directionAttitude of principalPositive board supportConsistency and credibilityPositive, knowledgeable, energetic and

communicative leaderRnmoving fear and rewarding risk takingPositive, honest, exchange of ideasIntegrityTrustTeacher empowermentLeadership teams working on exciting, clear goals for

student successAllowing time for staff to dentify, discuss and

internalize mission, beliefs and goals of the schoolGood teacher negotiation sessionsCollaboration of individual groupsEmpower the studentsFeeling of involvementMission and goals tuned into by communityAdequate finidingUnified common goal of teaching staffAddressing problemsCommunicating about problems

te.

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LEADERSHIP

25

now, demonstrating 'a bias for action." Permittingautonomy within broad guidelines can boost teachermorale by giving them more control over their work,which contributes to a positive school climate.

The researchers gathered comments from teachersand principals at exemplary schools that illustratedthese traits. For example, Harold D. Peterson, a teacherat nationally recognized Highland High School in Utah,said the school's principal, Delbert Fowler, "allows megreat latitude in using my creativity and innovation as ateacher" and still maintains his position of authority inthe school. "I believe that his ability to do this isinherent in his personality and is evident in theimage he projects," Fowler continued. "I enjoy a senseof freedom in the classroom, but realize that he isat the helm and that there are guidelines within which Imust flinction."

Fostering cohesivenessIn excellent companies, cohesiveness is fostered

through an emphasis on core values that are communi-

cated regularly to the staff. Similarly, extraordinaryprincipals "promote cohesiveness within schools byproviding support and understanding to the staff bymaintaining an open door, and by remaining visiblearound the school in a supportive rather than a supervi-sory role," Roueche and Baker explained. "Many seekto establish a family atmosphere. Others encourageopen dialogue and ftequent communication, but in amore businesslike manner."

Teachers in effective schools commented on methodstheir principals used to promote pride, a feeling ofbelonging or unity, and confidence about the school.

Don Deller, principal of Westchester Middle Schoolin Chesterton, Indiana, is "never too busy to listen toone of his staff members or students," said teacherVictoria Brock.

"Taken individually, very few teachers on thisfaculty could be called outstanding," said AngieMitchell, another Westchester teacher. "Most of us areadequate on a good day. Yet Dr. Deller somehowinspires us to aspire to greater things. He has

taken us to the top of the mountain."

Relating Principles of Leadership toPrincipal Characteristics

Peters and WatermanPrinciples

A bias for actionSimultaneous loose-tight

propertiesAutonomy and entrepreneurship

Roueche and Baker PrincipalCharacteristics

Flexibility in autonomy andinnovation

Hands-on, value-driven Cohesiveness within thcorganization

Commitment to school mission

Productivity through people Recognition of staffProblem solving throughcollaboration

Simple form, lean staffClose to the customersStick to the knitting

Effective delegationFocus on teaching and learning

Commitmentto mission

Just as CEOs of top-performingcompanies send a strong messageabout core values, outstandingprincipals convey a commitment tothe mission of the school. They dothis by modeling exemplary behaviorand promoting a vision for the schoolthat binds the staff together in acommon cause. This kind of behaviorfills an important role in shaping theculture by setting the standard bywhich future decisions are measured.

The most common vision shared byprincipals in the Roueche-Baker studywas a commitment to quality educa-tion for every student. The adminis-trators exemplified this commitmentin their daily contacts with staff;students, parents, and the community.Such commitment to a mission bringsstability to schools, the authorsnoted.

JoAnn Krueger, principal of

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

26

Manzano High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico,explained its impottance this way:

"I feel a principal must make explicit what themission of the school is. Then, every decision andbehavior must be consistent with what you say themission is. .. . The principal's vision is best communi-cated through directness, fairness and even-handedness

to the greatest degree possible."Conversely, the lack of a clearly defined mission can

have a negative impact on a school's effectiveness.Responding to AASA's survey on climate and culture,Saginaw, Michigan, Superintendent Foster Gibbs wrote,"Assuming that students, parents and staff do not fearfor their personal safety, the major impediment to goodstudent climate is lack of clearly defined and widelyaccepted mission and beliefs emphasizing learning forall students.

"Clearly defined and widely accepted," Gibbscontinued, "implies that all decisions and actions in theschool and district-wide are based on supporting themission and beliefs, and that the school organizationcan respond when students don't learn."

Recognizing staffLeaders shape school cultures by the things they pay

attention to in the day-to-day life of an organization.Giving positive feedback to staff promotes an achieve-ment-oriented culture by reinforcing behavior thatshould be encouraged. It also improves climate byfocusing on the good things that are happening atschool. Effective principals give positive reinforcementin several ways. They show appreciation informallythrough notes and positive comments, both privatelyand in staff meetings. Formal recognition can come in

Leaders shape school cultures by thethings they pay attention to in the day-to-day life of an organization.

he form of certificates and awards and comments onevaluations.

Such recognition fosters a positive climate bybuilding morale; notes of appreciation, verbal praise,and awards demonstrate to staff members that they areimpottant to the success of the school and that theirefforts are noticed.

Such recognition also builds a positive culture byemphasizing the types of behavior the principal would

like emulated, whether it is putting in long hours tomake sure a holiday program for parents is top-notch ortaking a risk in trying a new technique in the classroom.Even if the praise is delivered in private, the word getsaround that the principal has noticed and rewarded thebehavior.

Group problem solvingStaff recognition and group problem solving both

relate to the Peters and Waterman excellence principlesof "productivity through people." Involving teachers incritical decisions communicates that they have valuableideas to contribute and that "several heads are betterthan one."

Problem solving also relates to a loose-tight manage-ment style. Once general guidelines are issued (tight),the principal should be willing to step back and acceptthe recommendations of the task force or committeeunless there are new factors that must be taken intoconsideration.

When AASA asked administrators in the survey forthis report what school improvement efforts had beenundertaken in the previous year that had an impact onclimate and culture, an emphasis on collaborativedecision making and site-based management wereamong the most frequently mentioned.

"Departmental, committee and task force work arecommon means by which principals of outstandingschools achieve excellence and initiate change," wroteRoueche and Baker. They quoted Don Deller, formerprincipal of Westchester Middle School in Chesterton.Indiana, on his philosophy regarding staff involvementin decision making:

I believe it is essential to establish standingcommittees to deal with all aspects of the school.Further, such committees should be structured toinvolve people across departmental lines. Thisbreaks down traditional tendencies for teachers tobecome isolated and possessive. When everyonehas a stake in the operations and has a globalperspective (like that of the principal), there isgreater potential for everyone understanding andappreciating teaching-learning processes and otherproblems experienced in the various departments.

Effective delegationEffective school leaders define tasks clearly and

delegate effectively, which Roueche and Baker com-

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LEADERSHIP

pared to the Peters and Waterman principles of "keep-ing the form simple and the staff lean." Keys to successare to select the right number of staff members forthe job and to match the individual strengths of particu-lar staff members to the task at hand. Most leadersinvolve the minimum number necessary to preserveteacher time for preparation, delivery, and follow-upof instruction.

To make sure tasks and goals are clearly understood,most leaders break down projects into planning stages,then give examples and models to guide decisions andactions. Expected outcomes also are clearly stated.Karen Higgins, a teacher at Oaklea Middle School inJunction City, Oregon, described methods used by herprincipal, Sara Jane Bates:

"Timelines are set up to help simplify complex tasks.She gives the staff guidance and works with individualsor committees having problems. She often sets downpammeters so we know the givens and what she canlive with."

Focus on teaching and learningWhile it may seem obvious that schools exist to

promote teaching and learning, it is easy for administra-tors to get sidetracked by other demands on their time.However, principals of exemplary schools are unani-mous in their determination to place academic concernsfirst and co-curricular and other activities second. Thisfocus on learning mirrors the Peters and Watermanprinciples of successful companies that "stick to theknitting" and "stay close to the customer."

Another term for the primacy of learning is "aca-demic press," which researchers define as the degree towhich environmental forces "press" for student achieve-ment on a schoolwide basis. In effective schools,teachers take responsibility for all students all of thetime, In this way, students in the halls between classesare held to the same standards of behavior as studentsin classrooms.

Discipline showsIn an orderly climate, students aren't testing the

limits all the time. They know what the limits are andthey stay within them. Discipline is firm, fair, consis-tent, and quickly enforced.

Discipline is not an end in itself, but results froman overall climate and culture that stresses achieve-ment and the importance of the task at hand. Don

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27

Defter explained the relationship of learning,an academically oriented culture, and positive climatethis way:

Teachers know that the number one objective is toensure that students learn. However, attitude andlearning climate have the greatest effect onwhether students learn. I devote the majority ofmy energy to establishing a positive schoolclimate . . . a place where students want to come .

. . because 'something great is going to happen tome today and I don't want to miss it,' and a placewhere teachers enjoy coming to work because 'it'sfun to be with the people in the building,

At Westchester, the goal was a climate in whichstudents see teachers as caring for them as individuals."When students know teachers genuinely care aboutthem," former principal Deller continued, "they aremore positively receptive to learning, guidance, andother efforts made with teachers to pursue excellence."

MULTIPLE SKILLSAs the previous examples illustrate, school principalsneed to master a variety of roles and skills because thenature of their job is complex and demanding. Theymust have good human relations skills to make staffand students feel valued and for parents to feel welcomein the school. They need good technical skills to makesure the school runs smoothly that books are orderedin time for arrival at the beginning of the year and thatschedules accommodate the sometimes conflictingneeds of staff and students.

Principals also need strong educational skills, includ-ing a knowledge of teaching methods and how childrenlearn. They should serve as the instructional leader,encouraging teachers to expand their individual reper-toire of teaching strategies to best meet the needs of anincreasingly diverse group of children. These skills arenecessary to have a good school. But if the school is tobe excellent, even more is needed.

Those additional skills include having a vision andbeing able to communicate that vision, and motivatingstaff and students to a larger purpose beyond them-selves. For such efforts to be successful, the staff andstudents must feel part of the cultural fabric of theschool. And the culture must be constructive. Toachieve excellence, administrators must also fulfillsymbolic and cultural leadership roles.

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CLIMATE AND CULTURE

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The principal's rolesUniversity of Illinois Professor Thomas Sergiovanni

has defined five discrete roles principals must play tosatisfy these needs:1. Technical. Planning, organizing, coordinating.2. Human. Managing people and their relationships.3. Educational. Diagnosing problems, supervising.4. Symbolic. Focusing attention on what is important.5. Cultural. Shaping and reinforcing the culture.

"The symbolic leader assumes the role of 'chief,' andby emphasizing important goals and behaviors, signalsto others what is of importance and value," Sergiovanniwrote in Educational Leadership. "Providing meaningand rallying people to a common cause constituteeffectiveness in symbolic leadership."

"The cultural leader assumes the role of 'highpriest," Sergiovanni continued, "seeking to define,strengthen, and articulate those enduring values, beliefsand cultural strands that give the school its uniqueidentity."

"Culture and leadership are two sides of the samecoin," wrote Edgar Schein in Organizational Cultureand Leadership. Leaders help to create culture byarticulating values to guide the organization, andthrough concrete actions that serve as models of howtasks are to be completed. As the organization confronts

The cultural leader assumes the role of"high priest," seeking to define,strengthen, and articulate thoseenduring values, beliefs, and culturalstrands that give the school its uniqueidentity.

crises, the leader transfonns culture through decisionsand actions that either turn basic beliefs into deeplyheld assumptions or alter beliefs to match new realities.When aspects of the culture become dysfunctional,leaders must destroy those elements by helping thegroup to unlearn some of its cultural assumptions andlearn new ones. Because leaders play such a pivotalrole in shaping the deeply held convictions shared bymembers of an organization, Schein concluded: "Theunique and essential ilmction of leadership is themanipulation of culture."

BUILDING THE CULTUREPrincipals and superintendents build a cultural legacyby the actions they take to reinforce core values for theschool or district. The amount of time and energydevoted to aspects of the school demonstrates whateach leader considers important. Other values can becommunicated less often, but through a highly visible,symbolic act.

Principal Bob Mastruzzi valued cultural diversity inthe New York City high school he helped to open. Hecommunicated this value by promoting the idea of"ethnic clubs" to celebrate the different backgrounds ofstudents in the school. Mastruzzi also told stories ofstudents who overcame language or cultural barriers toachieve success.

When Richard Koeppe was superintendent of theCherry Creek School District outside Denver, hecommunicated the value that all employees and all jobswere important by spending one day a year working inanother job in the district. He not only spent a day inthe classroom he worked on the cafeteria line anddid maintenance on district buses.

Having a visionIt is through vision that a leader can mobilize stu-

dents and staff to believe in themselves, to be excitedabout their work, and to strive for excellence. Principalsare not the only ones who can originate positive vi-sions. Master teacher Jaime Escalante, whose work wasportrayed in the movie, Stand and Deliver, motivatedhis inner-city math students to excel because he had avision of excellence and convinced the students thatthey could meet their goal of passing the advanced-placement calculus test.

Their success was electrifying, inspiring students inlater classes to strive and meet the same goal.

Similarly, outstanding principals have been able toturn around achievement in inner-city schools bycommunicating the vision that all children can learn andby motivating staff to take the kinds of actions neces-sary to make that vision a reality.

Culture should matchSuch vision can only be successfully implemented if

the message is received by a receptive culture. For thisto happen, the culture must be open to change itself andit should support the kinds of innovation being sought.

lf, for example, the principal wants to implementshared decision making, the culture needs to support the

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29

Leadership Roles and Excellence in Schooling

Force Leadership Re le Theoretical Examples Reactions Link teMetaphor Censtrects Endless*

1. Technical "Masagementengineer

Planning andtime managementtechnologiesContingencyleadershiptheoriesOrganizationalstructure

Plan, organize,coordinate, andscheduleManipulatestrategies andsituations to ensureoptimumeffectiveness

People are managed asobjects of a mechanicalsystem. They react toefficient managementMai indifference, buthave a low tolerancefor inefficientmanagement.

Presence isimpoMset toachieve andmaintain routineschool competencebut not sufficient toachieve excellence.Absence resultsin school ineffectivenessand poor morale.

2. Human "Humanengineer"

Human relationssupervision"Linking"motivationtheoriesInterpersonalcompetenceConflictmanagementGroupcohesiveness

Provide neededsupportEncourage growthand creativityBuild and maintainmoraleUse participatorydecision making

People achieve highsatisfaction of theirinterpersonal needs.They like the leaderand the school andrespond with positiveinterpersonal behavior.A pleasant atmosphereexists that facilitatesthe work of the school.

3. Educational "Clinical practitioner"Professionalknowledge andbearingTeachingeffectivenessEducationalprogramdesignClinicalsupervision

DiagnoseeducationalproblemsCounsel teachersProvide supervisionand evaluationProvide inserviceDevelop curriculum

People respondpositively to the strongexpert power of theleader and aremotivated to work,They appreciate theassistance and concernprovided.

Prussic* isessential to routinecompetence.Strongly linked to,but still notsufficient forexcelleace inschooling. Absenceresults iaineffective...a.

4. Symbolic "Chief"SelectiveattentionPurposingModeling

TOW the schoolVisit classroomsKnow studentsPreside overceremonies andritualsProvide s unifiedvision

People loam what is ofvalue to the leader andschool, ham a sense oforder and *motion, andeejoy sharing that senseMit °Mem They tumidwith Mowed motivdionend sommilmeni.

Pusses" isessential tonollesse isschooling, thoughabeam doss sotappear to negativelyImpact routinecompetence.

5. Cultural "High priest"

.Climate, clan,cultureTightly structuredvalueslooselystructured systemIdeology"Bonding"motivationtheory

Articulate schoolpurpose andmissionSocialize newmembersTell stories andmaiatainreinforcing mythsExplain SOP'sDefine uniquenessDevelop anddisplay aminforcing symbolsystemReward those whoreflect the culture

People becomebelievers in theschool as anideological system.They are members of astrong culture thatprovides them with asense of personalimportance andsignificance and workrmaningfUlness, whichis highly motivating.

From: "Leadership and Excellence in Schooling" by Thomas Sergiovanni. in Educational Leadership, February 1984.

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

When compiling a history, particularattention should be paid to times ofcrisis when patterns of behavior andevents create a bigger impression onpeople. A school may have had toclose suddenly and temporarily due

to o fire or flood dispersingteachers and students to otherschools. If those teachers made aspecial effort to keep in touch duringthe transition, the crisis may havebrought them closer together.

idea of working together. "If the culture is non-collabo-rative," University of Wisconsin Professor KentPeterson said in an interview, "if the school is a 'hotelfor teachers' where people work alone, shared decisionmaking will run counter to the culture."

Unless the principal is aware of this cultural biasagainst collaborative decision making, he or shewill lack the means to successfully implementthe innovation.

READING THE CULTUREAs a first step in implementing change, the principalmust be able to read the culture. Such a study willreveal what the cultural norms are, which are good andshould be nurtured, what is needed for the school toimprove (vision), and most important whether thestaff and community agree changes are needed, If thatcollective commitment to change is not present, theleader must first focus on building that consensus ordeal with the inevitable conflict that will result.

Reading the culture requires watching, listening,interpretingusing all one's senses, including intuition.To get a handle on the personality of the school,principals need to study the school's past the keyevents and individuals that have shaped the assump-tions, norms, and values shared by those who work and

study in the school.One way to write the school's history is to recruit a

group of teachers who have come to work there atdifferent times during the school's existence. The group

is asked to collect stories and pictures symbols thathave shaped the school's culture over decades.

30

"Stories are important," Peterson said. "They maynot be ones that are shared all the time, but they'rethere in almost a preconscious state in a lot ofschools."

Past is prologueFor example, some schools may have had open

classrooms that v Ire fairly chaotic. Teachers who wereteam teaching in an open classroom setting may havedeveloped the belief that sharing teaching duties doesnot work. Thus, if the school is planning to undertakeinterdisciplinary instruction as part of a conversion tomiddle schools, the previous experience will make the

staff unreceptive to the change. In that situation,building leadership will need to focus first on changingthe cultural norm that says sharing teaching duties will

not work.When compiling a history, particular attention should

be paid to times of crisis when patterns of behavior andevents create a bigger impression on people. A schoolmay have had to close suddenly and temporarily due

to a fire or flood dispersing teachers and students toother schools. If those teachers made a special effort tokeep in touch during the transition, the crisis may havebrought them closer together. When the teachers arereunited in their renovated school, they will have aculture built on camaraderie and trust.

Even after a staff has been together for a long time ina reform effort, it may be necessary to reevaluate theculture. If, for example, there are changes in the schoolpopulation, it may again be necessary to modify theculture to fit the new circumstances more closely.

Cultural playersReading the culture also requires tuning in to key

individuals in the school to find out what is happeningbelow the surface.

In their book, Corporate Cultures, Terrence Deal andAllan Kennedy identified the following cast of charac-ters whose expertise should be tapped:

Priests. Highly regarded individuals who arelong-time members. They "minister" to the needs ofthe school, offer counsel to junior members, andpreside over rituals.Storytellers. They recreate the past and bring to lifecurrent exploits through tales.Gossips. They keep everyone current on items ofimportance as well as trivia.Spits and moles. Informal power brokers whonegotiate beneath the surface, mediating among

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31

various power centers, such as a dispute over turfbetween high school departments. It is thisunderground system where much of the real workof the school is transacted.

SHAPING THE CULTUREOnce the principal understands the culture, he or she isin a position to shape it in subtle, intuitive ways. In ThePrincipal's Role in Shaping School Culture, Deal andPeterson borrowed terms from anthropology to describefive roles principals must assume:

Symbol. Affirm values through the way time isspent, behavior, clothing, and routines.Potter. Shape and be shaped by the school's heroes,rituals, ceremonies, and symbols.Poet. Use language to reinforce values and sustainthe school's best image of itself.Actor. Improvise in the school's inevitable dramas.Healer. Guide the school through transitions andmajor changes.

Understanding symbolsSymbols are the vehicles that carry the meaning of

culture to the members of the organization. Symbolscan be physical objects, such as trophies or lapel pins.Stories usually about individuals or events alsoare powerful symbols. Like fables, the storieswhether legend or true have a "moral" to communi-cate: a cultural value, such as an openness to new ideas.

Rituals also function as symbols. They can be formalceremonies, such as graduation, or routine activities,such as parent-teacher conferences and staff meetings.The way such rituals are conducted communicateswhether the culture of the school values diversity ofopinion and parent involvement.

A principal's daily routine can take on symbolicimportance if there is strong communication andagreement on the shared values of the school. Forexample, the principal's daily tour of the building canrepresent "an inspection" looking for infractions oforder or it may symbolize that the principal isgenuinely concerned and involved in the life of theschool.

Reading the signalsThe old saying, "Do as I say, not as I do," illustrates

the power of everyday activities. Below are examples ofwhat day-to-day activities can communicate.

The office. Location, accessibility, decoration, andarrangement reflect the principal's values. Doesthe principal have student work on the walls?Degrees of accessibility are communicatedby one principal who works from a desk nearthe school doorway while another works in aninner office protected by walls and a secretary.Demeanor. Types of clothing worn, gestures, andsense of humor signal the formality or informality ofthe principal.Time and attention. Where the principal spendstime and attention communicates clearly what he orshe values.Appreciation. Principals signal appreciation bothformally through recognition and evaluations, andinformally, through daily interactions. Allocation ofspace and resources are other ways principals trans-mit their values to the staff and community.Writing. The form, emphasis, and volume of memosand newsletters communicates as much about valuesas their content. Are they a source of inspiration andhumor or a dry recounting of school policies andregulations?

Principal as potterLike a potter working with clay, principals must

shape school cultures patiently and with skill. Patienceis required because school cultures are built in years,not months. One principal estimated that it takes eightto nine years to shape the culture of a school.

One reason for the long time frame is the need torecruit staff members who share the principal's vision.Another reason is that it takes time to build trust andcredibility; skeptical teachers and other staff may needto be shown that the principal "walks her talk" livingby the same values that are expressed verbally.

The principal serves as a potter through the symbolicactivities conducted during the year:

Articulating shared values. Through stories andslogans like "every child a winner."Celebrating heroes and heroines. Honoring staffmembers and students who exemplify school valuesthrough outstanding effort or achievement.Observing rituals and ceremonies in ways thatreinforce values.

Principal as poetPrincipals serve as poets in the way they use lan-

guage to communicate what is important at the school.

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

32

As previously mentioned, language can vary fromtouching stories to hwnorous memos. Words andimages principals use to talk about the school orstudents convey feelings as well as ideas. A principalcommunicates one image of a school in the words:"The achievement scores of our school are above thenorm" and a very different image by saying: "Ourschool is a special place to be."

Metaphors are another poetic device principals canuse to communicate school values. The images offactory or family provide strikingly different ways forstudents, staff, and parents to picture their school. Thedegree of warmth and informality in such messages alsoaffects the climate of the school.

Principal as actorCulture has been described as theater a stage on

which impoitant events are carried out. In schools, thedrama is carried out in routine events such asassemblies and in crises, such as a student protestover a curriculum change.

Conflicts can serve as a form of theater with thepotential to reaffirm or alter values. Events such asstudent walkouts or faculty disputes, and the way theyare resolved with referees, rounds, rules, and specta-tors surface issues and values that are important tothe group. How the school leader resolves the crisis alsoshapes the culture by reducing anxiety and bringinggroup members through a shared experience.

Principal as healerChange can be stressful in an organization. In times

of transition or crisis, the principal can play a healingrole by using the symbolic role to help members adaptto change. Normal transitions include welcoming newemployees and celebrating and acknowledging thosewho are retiring, particularly the legacy retirees willleave with the school.

When the transition is more traumatic, such as aschool closing or death of a student or staff member,acknowledgment is even more important to helpmembers of the school community cope with the loss.Again, the leader's actions during a crisis contribute toassumptions members of the group share. If the princi-pal or superintendent respond to a death as a loss of"member of the family," such actions contribute to apositive climate and culture by reaffirming the notionthat people are individuals who have value and shouldbe remembered.

STRONG AND WEAKCULTURESCultures can be either strong or weak and positive ornegative. Obviously, the ideal culture is strong andpositive. In a strong culture, staff members clearlyidentify with the school's values, and the values supportnorms that are good for children. In a school with anorm for improvement, for example, staff members areopen to new ideas that will make their classroom moreeffective. If the culture is a strong one, teachers return-ing from a workshop with new ideas will consistentlyfind a receptive audience among their colleagues.

In a weak culture, there is little agreement or under-standing among staff about what goals are desirable andwhat the group expectations are regarding teacherbehavior. Energetic teachers who bring in good ideasmust rely on themselves for motivation and support.Initiatives can die out as teachers run into difficultiesand find no one who can help them problem-solve andwork through the rough spots.

Cultures can also be strong and negative if the sharednorms support values other than educational excellence.A negative norm, for example, would be avoidingchanges that might add to the teacher's workload. Sucha norm might place a priority on use of student worksheets that use answer keys and oppose greater use ofessay questions. Although the essays would promotehigher-order thinking and build writing skills, their usewould be counter to the culture because they would bemuch more time-consuming to grade.

Positive normsSchool effectiveness researchers have identified a

number of positive characteristics that support schoolreforms focused on helping students succeed academi-cally. Below are positive norms cited by a variety ofexperts, followed by hypothetical statements thatexpress sentiments of a school faculty sharing thesenorms.

Collegiality. Staff members are a team who willwork together on common goals and support eachother in times of need.Improvement. Teachers recognize that instructioncan always be improved, that classrooms can becomestagnant without new ideas.High expectations. Students can learn and do morethan we have traditionally expected of them. Teach-

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33

ers and students will be held accountable throughregular evaluations of our work.Risk-taking or experimentation. It is good to trynew things because that is the way teachers improve.Teachers are rewarded for trying to improve, even ifall things they try are not successful.Performance. We're here to work hard and succeed.The children deserve no less than our best efforts.Diversity of approaches. It is important to offer arange of educational strategies to meet the variedneeds of children.Equity. The district and school will analyze test databy race and gender to make sure the instructionalprogram is meeting the needs of all students. Alloca-tions of resources ensure that all children, includinggifted and special education students, have theirneeds met.Celebrating cultural diversity. Schools need toshow an appreciation for the ethnic groups populat-ing the school. Even in a homogeneous school, thecurriculum should communicate the contributionsdifferent cultures have made to the nation.Trust and confidence. Administrators and parentstrust the abilities and professional judgments of theteachers. As such, new techniques in the classroomare welcomed and teachers are given discretion in thechoice of instructional materials.Openness to change. New instructional methods areconsidered to keep the teaching fresh. Currentmethods may not meet the needs of all children, andthe needs of children change over time.Expanding one's knowledge base. Researchers aregaining new understanding about the way childrenlearn. Teachers know they can improve their teach-ing by reading and attending conferences to stayabreast of these new developments.Recognition. People work more effectively whenthey are recognized for their efforts. Good teachingmay be honored formally by annual awards andinformally by notes of appreciation. Such recognitionshows that teaching excellence is valued.Collaborative decisions. Teacher input is sought onissues that are important. The involvement is mean-ingful, not just a superficial gesture. It communicatesthat teachers are professionals who have somethingvaluable to contribute in decisions affecting them-selves, instruction, students, and the school.Primacy of instnictioa. Administrators recognize thatteaching and planning are the teachers' most importantduties, so they seek to minimize the amount of paper-work and meetings required of teachers.

Support for improvement. The district reservesscarce funds for staff development because of itscommitment to helping teachers improve their skills.Honesty and openness. Staff members feel freeto disagree, discuss, and resolve matters openlyin a constructive manner.Caring. The staff at this school care for each otherand find ways to communicate to colleagues thatthey are important.Humor. Humor is encouraged as a way to survivedifficulties so we don't take ourselves too seriously.

Negative normsNegative norms are shared expectations that place a

higher priority on needs other than what's best forchildren.

Kent Peterson observes many classrooms andfaculties through his position as a principal investigatorwith the Center on Organization and Restructuring ofSchools at the University of Wisconsin. In an interview,he shared terms he has coined and drawn from theliterature for negative norms to describe schools that donot place children's needs first.

They include:Mediocrity. The unstated assumption is that the staffis doing enough that being average or justcompetent is fine. Such feelings are rationalizedthrough statements such as "we don't have enoughmaterials" or "these students are so disadvantaged,this ii the best we can expect of them." It is theopposite of the norm of performance in which hardwork and results are expected.Individualism. This norm, originally conceived byDan Lortie at the University of Chicago, describesthe teacher whose attitude is: "I'm here to workalone. I'm a professional and in charge of my class-room," Peterson said. Those holding such a belief arereluctant to share ideas, problems or solutions. This

Teacher input is sought on issues thatare important. The involvement ismeaningful, not just a superficialgesture. It communicates that teachersare professionals who have somethingvaluable to contribute in decisionsaffecting themselves, instruction,students, and the school. ,

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CLIMATE AND CULTURE

34

norm is the opposite of the norm ofcollegiality,which promotes sharing and problem solving.Inertia. The underlying belief is that things can't orshouldn't change. A teacher returning from a seminarenthusiastic about a new technique is greeted bystatements such as, "We tried that in 1956. The kidswon't appreciate it. It just won't work." As Petersonexplained, "They find all sorts of ways to say 'don'tchange."

When Peterson first started teaching, he tookgraduate courses in reading and would talk overlunch with fellow teachers about the ideas he washearing in his classes. "Oh, are you having one ofthose discussions again?" some colleagues wouldsay. "That's okay. I'll go eat somewhere else."

"They weren't trying to be mean," he continued."Over time, these teachers had developed a deep setof assumptions that things can or should not change.It may have been because their experiences at tryingsomething new had been difficult. For whateverreasons, a newcomer proposing innovations rancounter to the culture at that school."Avoidance. The opposite of risk-taking, the norm ofavoidance actively discourages experimentation.Similar to the norm of inertia, members of anavoidance culture would look for all the ways aninnovation would fail, rather than succeed, in orderto avoid having to change.

Watch for generalitiesCultures evolve over time through individual experi-

ences and through events that are generalized. Theincident of an angry parent making a scene over apolicy or curriculum change can be generalized to abelief that "you can't work with parents. They're alltrouble makers or they're only interested in their ownchild and not the larger interests of the school."

Read between the linesStories can be positive or negative, and both are

powerful shapers of culture. For example, some schoolstell stories of former students who achieve success inlater life as a way to inspire current students and staff."Stories help you organize what you see in a school,"Peterson noted. "Members of the culture start to inter-pret the stories as supporting underlying beliefs such as'these kids aren't good' or 'we have brilliant kids here.'

"Once a culture becomes set, they're harder tochange," Peterson cautioned. "Positive cultures are

II

more potent in maintaining quality and equity forstudents."

Reading a culture requires studying and understand-ing on several levels the assumptions and the workingrelationships at the school. The administrator needs tostudy what the underlying belief systems and expecta-tions are, whether the norms are strong or weak, andwhether the culture is positive or negative.

Cultures can be strengthened through all the sym-bolic actions discussed earlier in this chapter. A laterchapter describes the steps involved in changing anegative culture and building support for the vision andvalues favoring improvement, collegiality, and perfor-mance.

CAUTIONS FOR LEADERSThe culture of an organization is a complex, dynamicphenomenon that does not lend itself to simple rules ofthumb or characterizations. Organizational cultureexpert Edgar Schein cautions administrators to avoidcertain misconceptions about culture as it &fictions inan organization. In his seminal work, OrganizationalCulture and Leadership, Schein outlined five hazardswhen dealing with culture:1. Don't oversimplify. Managers have a tendency to

downplay the significance of culture or to confuse itwith other concepts, such as climate, values, or thephilosophy of the school. "Culture operates onelevel below these others and largely determinesthem," Schein wrote. While administrators canmanage climate and values, "it is not at all clearthatthe underlying culture can be managed in the tradi-tional sense of management," he continued. Al-though culture cannot readily be changed, cultureneeds to be understood to determine what values,assumptions and philosophies are desirable andpossible for a given organization.

2. Don't overlook culture's role in mission andgoals. Another common mistake is to focus only onthe interpersonal aspects of culture how membersof an organization communicate with each other andwhat signals and symbols are significant. What is farmore important are the mission and goals of theorganization. Focusing on interpersonal relationshipsand labeling them "the culture" can be a dangeroustrap that draws attention away from shared basicassumptions about the nature of education, the

eission of schools and other factors that have far

LEADERSHIP

35

more influence on how effective the school or districtwill be in educating students.

3. Culture controls the manager. The culture of anorganization serves as a filter that unconsciouslyshapes how the administrator sees and interpretsevents and relationships. In this way, the culturecontrols the administrator more than the administra-tor controls the culture. This is true to a greaterextent for an administrator who "comes up throughthe ranks" of a school district than for one whocomes from another district. But given the pervasivenature of culture and the difficulty of discemik itsnuances, even principals and superintendents fromoutside the district will unconsciously be shaped byan existing culture. This is because all school dis-tricts share some basic assumptions about the pur-pose of schools. The new administrator also will beinfluenced by the expectations staff shares abouttheir new chief.

4. Don't assume there Is a "correct" culture and thatstrong cultures automatically are better thanweak cultures. What is most important is a goodmatch between cultural assumptions and environ-mental realities. Where a strong culture may havebeen good at one point, it may be a disadvantagewhen circumstances change because the positivenorms may be negative norms in the new situation. Astrong culture is more difficult to change because theassumptions are more deeply embedded and sharedby the group members.

5. All aspects of a culture are not necessarily rel-evant. Culture has many aspects, but not all relate tothe effectiveness of the organization. An administra-tor needs to be aware of the culture, but if there areproblems, he or she must learn to focus on thoseaspects of the culture that relate to the problem,rather than be consumed with studying and changingthe entire culture.Managers need to understand the culture of an

organization in the same way they understand their ownpersonal strengths and weaknesses. An awareness of theculture and one's personal convictions and assumptionscan help explain how personal and cultural biasescontribute to mistakes when problems occur.

Culture helps interpretInsight into the culture provides "another layer of

explanation for why things do or do not work out,"Schein explained. "When managers observe communi-

cation or problem-solving failures, when they cannotget people to work together effectively, they need to gobeyond individual explanations. Often the problem isthat those people started with different assumptions,different languages, and world views in short,different cultures. Recognizing such cultural differencesis essential, so that the manager can explain how thingscan go wrong even if everyone has the same goodintentions to make them work."

The administrator may be able to bridge two culturessuch as mediating between faculties of a middle and

high school. When the administrator is part of theculture in conflict, the task is more complex. It mayrequire intervention from one outside the culture whocan provide the perspective of an impartial third party.

This is a difficult task because the consultant mustgain insights into the culture before he or she can serveas a bridge between conflicting factions.

SUPERINTENDENT ASCULTURE SHAPERIn many ways, it is harder to build culture at the districtlevel because superintendents do not have the samekind of day-to-day contact with staff and students as doprincipals.

Superintendents, however, can have an impact onculture by fostering the development of belief state-ments that are shared districtwide. Symbolic acts alsohave the power to communicate strong cultural values.

For example, Appleton, Wisconsin, SuperintendentJerry Patterson demonstrated his commitment to thebelief that every employee is important by abolishingpreferential parking outside the central office building.Parking spots were only reserved for staff memberswho had to carry large objects and those who were inand out of the building frequently as part of their work.

"Staff members joked that the superintendent wouldregret this policy change when a board meeting fellafter a big snowstorm," Peterson said in an interview.Sure enough, one of the first snowy board meetings washeavily attended and the superintendent had to parksome distance away. "But he stuck by his decisionbecause he was determined to communicate thateveryone is valued."

"Flying covert,"Superintendents and school boards need to encour-

age experimentation," Terrence Deal said in an inter-

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CLIMATE AND CULTURE

36

view. Culturally, they need to change their mind-set orthe way people think. "When a new principal triessomething interesting, it kicks up some dust. Parents orteachers may complain and the school board comesdown on the principal, killing the chance for anychanges," he explained.

Instead, school leaders need to "fly cover" forprincipals and teachers when changes are underway togive the reformers a chance to succeed. "When thebombers come in, you need to have fighters overhead toprovide cover," Deal explained. "The superintendent'srole is to fly cover for the principals and the principalmust fly cover for teachers and students."

Just as principals have multiple rolesthat are both technical and symbolic,board members function on more thanone level. They can play a technicalrole in reviewing concrete items such asoperating budgets and constructionprojects. They can play a symbolic rolein setting on expectation of excellenceor supporting the tone established bythe superintendent.

"Administrators always want to encourage a positiveclimate, but during a big change, things will get worsebefore they get better," Deal continued. "If climatedeteriorates, don't pull the plant up by the roots to seehow it's doing. The real driving force in the institutionis its long-term values and faith."

"Educators know a lot more than we think weknow," he added. "If I had to write my own vision,we'd get the (state and federal) policy makers out of thebusiness of trying to make things different and getpeople inside the schools the students, teachers,parents, and board members to begin to think abouthow we can create a place of quality here."

ROLE OF SCHOOL BOARDBoth in intentional actions and ongoing relations with

the superintendent, school board members also playimportant roles as shapers of climate and culture. It isthe board, after all, that adopts mission statements andgoals that communicate beliefs on which cultures are

based. They also endorse structural reforms that arecarried out at the district and school levels.

Just as principals have multiple roles that are bothtechnical and symbolic, board members function onmore than one level. They can play a technical role inreviewing concrete items such as operating budgets andconstruction projects. They can play a symbolic role insetting an expectation of excellence or supporting thetone established by the superintendent.

A study of the school boards in exemplary districtsfound that effective boards were able to examineeducational issues from a number of perspectives. "As acollective, board members were able to see the human,structural, political, and symbolic ramifications ofpolicies, decisions, and public deliberations," wrote LeeBolman of Harvard and Terrence Deal of Vanderbilt ina study for the U.S. Department of Education.

Roles affect school image. Holman and Deal pro-pose four roles for board members in terms of imagesthe school districts project and the ethical challengesthey present:

The district as a factory. Schools accept rawmaterials (students) on one end of the production lineand graduate educated citizens at the other end. "Cleargoals, rationality, specialization, and systematic evalua-tion are characteristics that are thought to move stu-dents through the grades with minimal disruptions andrecognized efficiency," the authors explained.

In this setting, boards play the leadership role oftechnical expert, providing knowledge, analysis, andexpertise to promote efficiency. Such a role is goodwhere it provides leadership, but bad when it leads tomicromanagement, the authors noted. The value to bepromoted is excellence.

First, boards must model excellence themselves inthe way they conduct meetings and relate to each other.Second, boards should act as catalysts setting highstandards and keeping the focus on important educa-tional goals, rather than side issues.

The school as a ir-raily. A school district is morelike a family than a fktory. "Ideally, it is a group ofpeople who care about and support one another, whoare linked by shared needs and personal relationshipsrather than by standardized rules and roles on aneducational assembly line," Bolman and Dealcontinued.

In this context, the appropriate role is not of "parent,"because that implies that principals and teachers arechildren. Instead, the authors adopted the term "servantleaders" who are effective "only to the degree that theyserve the best interests of all the district's stakeholders

38

LEADERSHIP

teachers, administrators, parents, and above all,children."

From this perspective, the ethical responsibility ofschool boards is caring: showing concern, respect andlove for each individual. As with excellence, schoolboards should model this value as well as expect it ofdistrict employees.

Unfortunately, many school boards fail to be goodrole models. They may argue among themselves, leakunfavorable information to the media about the superin-tendent or make insensitive remarks about students orstaff members. Such actions can seriously underminenot only a board's credibility but the morale of the staffand, ultimately, community support for the district.

The school as a jungle. This metaphor is a politicalone. The image of school as a jungle reflects thepolitical view that organizations are characterized bycompeting interests, scarce resources, and continuingdifferences.

Public school systems are a microcosm of the largersociety. They are made up of subgroups with their ownperspectives and special interests. Some perspectivesare unique to education: groups championing theinterests of special education or gifted students or thefootball program. Others are defined by race, gender, orethnicity. Still other groups interact with the schoolboard on the basis of their role within the system:students, teachers, parents, and administrators.

"When interests are diverse and resources are scarce,conflict is inevitable. The role for school boards in thiscontext is as an advocate. "An effective advocate has aclear direction and agenda, a network of allies andsupporters, and skills in negotiating," said Bolman andDeal.

The ethical obligation for school boards in thiscontext is one of justice. "In a world of competinginterests and scarce resources," they explained, "schoolboards have to make trade-offs. Board members mustdecide who gets what. In making such decisions, theymust honor a value of fairness." Board members modelfairness by committing to just and fair decision makingin which the underlying value is providing qualityeducation for all children.

Just and fair decision making does not imply thatboard members will always agree. As elected officials,they represent varied interests, perspectives, andcommitments. "Dialogue and debate are essential andhealthy in a democratic society if conducted with ashared commitment to justice and fairness," they noted.The danger is that diversity among board members willlead to deep divisions and enmities that prevent boards

37

from serving as advocates for the best interests ofchildren.

The school as a cathedral. Schools can be seen as"sacred places" in a number of ways:

An expression of lofty goals.A monument to human faith and possibility.Home base for a group with shared values andbeliefs.In this context the role of board members is as

"spiritual leader," not in a religious sense, but asconcerned with the human spirit. Such leaders helppeople "find meaning and faith and confront ftmdamen-tal human questions, such as 'what is the purpose in mylife?' and 'what ethical principles should we follow?"Bolman and Deal explained.

The ethical responsibility is to model and promotefaith in human potential, the capauity of all children tolearn and grow. It implies faith in teachers as profes-sionals and as basic, decent human beings who will dothe right thing for their students. This point of viewhonors autonomy rather than building record-keepingsystems intended to "check up" on what teachers aredoing. The spiritual leader role also implies faith in thecommunity as one that wants what is best for allchildren.

In all school districts, students and staff will havemoments of triumph and of frustration. As spiritualleaders, board members have the responsibility tomodel that faith in the importance of education andrally others who lose the faith due to discouragement orfrustration.

Striking a balanceBoard members are likely to view one or two of these

leadership responsibilities as more valid than others,which can lead to misunderstanding and conflict. Anadvocate for excellence, for example, may see col-leagues who champion caring as woolly-headed, whilethey view the excellence advocate as elitist.

The point is that all four roles have a place. Boardmembers should recognize which of these roles mostclosely matches their orientation and respect those whosee their responsibilities differently.

All board members face the dilemma of balancingtheir individual views against the concerns of the schooldistrict as a whole. "Boards with a shared set of valueswill find that balance much easier to manage," Deal andBolman argued.

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CLIMATE AND CULTURE

38

ResponsibilitiesLeadership Roles and Ethical

of School Boards

If your orpnization is: Your leadership role is: Your ethical responsibility is:

Factory

Extended family

Jungle

Cathedral

Tec hnical expert

Servant

Advocate

Spiritual leader

Excellence

Caring

Justice

Promoting faith

_

Moral leadershipIn the 1990s, Americans are recognizing the powerful

role the entertainment industry plays in shaping nega-tive values, such as violence, greed, and self-centeredness. In this context, it is even more important forschool boards to consider their roles as moral leaders.

The danger with such a vision is that school boardswill seek to define values narrowly, favoring onepolitical or religious philosophy and imposing thoseviews on others. The role of spiritual leader is a diffi-cult one that carries pitfalls.

Care must be taken that the values adopted by theboard are broad ones that all members of the commu-nity can support and that affirm the best human quali-ties. Values such as excellence, caring, justice, and faithhave the broad-based kind of basic appeal that can unitecommunitie:, rather than divide them

The opportunities are thereLeadership at the board, superintendent, and principal

levels presents powerful opportunities for shaping

positive, achievement-oriented climates and cultures.To harness and make the most of these forces, school

leaders need to understand the role climate and cultureplay in the day-to-day interactions between students andteachers, teachers and principals, and parents and schooladministration and staff.

Leaders who just focus on the nuts and bolts ofrunning a school or district and ignore the opportunitiesto use symbolism to inspire, motivate and build positivecultural values, will have a much more difficult timeoperating effective schools.

Beyond leadership considerations, there are structuralchanges and instructional techniques that help buildpositive climates and cultures. The next chapter de-scribes the structural and organizational changes dis-tricts are making to forge effective climates and cul-tures. Chapter 5 describes a number of innovativestrategies being used at the classroom level.

4 0

APeE4Rkmeturingfor Climate

CULTUREMany school districts

have found that the

only changes in climate and

culture that have long-term

benefits for students and staffaro those that examine and

reorient the entire schoolsystem. The workings of

school districts aro so Interre-lated staff development

curriculum, instruction,

discipline policies that it isnecessary to make adjust-

ments throughout the organi-zation. Otherwise, "the oldway of doing things" In one

part of the organization can

serve to frustrate and slow

down Improvements at the

school level.

Superintendents responding to the AASA survey recommended anumber of structural approaches to improving climate and culture.To the question, "What school district improvement efforts havebeen undertaken in the last 12 months that you believe have had an

impact on the climate or culture?" the most common responses were:Emphasis on collaborative decision makingSite-based managementDistrictwide strategic planningStaff developmentCurriculum revisionEmphasis on total quality managementEmphasis on multiculturalism.

Shared decision makingThe value of shared decision making and the drawbacks of the traditional "top-down" approach were recurring themes among the respondents.

"Attempting to over-centralize management" inhibits the development ofpositive climates and cultures, according to Jayne Sargent, deputy superintendentof the 8,000-pupil, Meridian, Mississippi, School District. "I believe we best meetthe needs of the students with site-based management."

Those respondents who conducted climate surveys said the results were usedby school site teams to develop action plans addressing specific concerns or needsrevealed in the surveys.

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CLIMATE AND CULTURE

40

The teachers' voiceTeachers have been seeking a meaningful role in

educational decisions for a number of years now. In1982, two Yale University researchers studied sourcesof dissatisfaction among experienced Connecticut highschool teachers. While the most pressing of these werethe low status of teaching, inadequate salaries, andpoorly motivated pupils, a number of factors alsoreflected on the relationships teachers had with theirprincipals and other administrators.

Teachers' sources of dissatisfaction included:No teacher participation in decision makingNo recognition of extra workNo teacher impact on school policyLack of support from administration."Principals and other administrators need to develop

more collaborative (as opposed to adversarial) relation-ships with teachers," wrote researchers Dennis C. Turkand Mark D. Litt in the study for the Connecticut StateDepartment of Education.

They recommended workshops for administrators oncommunication training and problem solving. Conflictresolution skills are valuable as well. "Principals mustbecome less autocratic and more democratic," theyadvised. "Inservice programs geared toward groupproblem solving should be examined, implemented, andevaluated."

Principals must take the lead in havingteachers design the program forstudents to achieve success in learningthe curricular outcomes.

DISTRICTWIDESOLUTIONSThe kinds of structural changes districts are making toimprove climate and culture exemplify the loose-tightmanagement coupling described by Tom Peters andRobert Waterman in In Search of Excellence. Strategicplanning can build districtwide support for values suchas improvement and equity. Through strategic planning,staff, parents, and community members decide what theoverall goals are. The goals are the "tight" side of theequation because all schools are working toward thesame general targets.

When strategic planning is teamed with site-based

management, individual schools are empowered todetermine how best to meet those districtwide goals.The "loose" side of the excellence equation givingleeway to local schools to shape solutions fosters apositive climate and culture by giving teachers andadministrators a voice in the changes and a stake in thesuccess of the effort.

"Districts must work a program of site-based man-agement," wrote Edward Bleeker, superintendent of theRuthven/Ayrshire Community Schools in Iowa, inresponse to the AASA survey question, "What district-level policies and actions promote positive, achieve-ment-enhancing climates and cultures?"

"Principals must take the lead in having teachersdesign the program for students to achieve success inlearning the curricular outcomes," Sleeker continued.The process has led Ruthven/Ayrshire school staffs toask for training in Teacher Expectations and StudentAchievement, cooperative learning, mastery teaching,outcome-based education, and the State of Iowa Writ-ing project.

The collaborative decision making and rich mix ofstaff development options has led to "a greater focus onstudent success with learning, better student achieve-ment of curricular outcomes, better student attitudes,and a more confident and enthusiastic staff and commu-nity," Bleeker added. In short, the structural reformsand the way they have been implemented have pro-moted student success and positive climates andcultures.

Strategic planningStrategic planning is a process by which key stake-

holders of a school system parents, teachers, admin-istrators, community members set goals and developaction plans. During this future-oriented process,participants examine problems and opportunitiessociety and other levels of government may present thataffect the ability of schools and educators to meet theirgoals. Plans are developed to accomplish goals withexisting staff and resources in light of those external"threats and opportunities."

Another factor respondents mentioned as promotinga positive climate was "a sense of direction" with aschool district or school. Strong leadership at thebuilding level can lend such a sense of direction. Butsuch effects can be enhanced when the school-basedplans are developed in the context of the overall districtgoals, because all staff in the district are moving in thesame direction.

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RESTRUCTURING FOR CLIMATE AND CULTURE

41

Steps in StrategicPlanningn the Orange County,

1 Florida, Public Schools,each school develops anannual strategic plan thatcomplements goals set forthin the district plan. The ninesteps used in developing aschool's stratcgic plan arc:

I. Conduct externalanalysis. Gatherinformation on externalforces that affect schools,such as the politicalclimate, economicconditions and forecasts,new laws and regulations,crime rates, and socialprograms. From theseforces, identify trends,issues, and events that canhave an impact onschools. Orange Countygives these examples:

Trend Thc growingcultural diversity in thecommunity.

Issue The usc ofschool facilities for healthclinics.

Event The passagcof the Florida SchoolImprovement andAccountability Act.

2. Conduct internalanalysis. Gatherinformation on internalstrengths and weaknessesin relation to externalforces. Includeinformation on students,student outcomes, staff,parents, facilities,financial resources,

equipment, supplies, and,other resources.

For the external trendon increasing culturaldiversity in thecommunity, thecorresponding internalinformation gatheredmight include the numberof children by grade whoare non- or limited-English speaking.

Orange County usesseparate schooleffectivenessquestionnaires forstudents, staff, andparents to gather some ofthis information.Examples of thesesurveys arc included inthe chapter on mcasuringclimate.

3. Formulate auumptionsabout the future. Preparestatements of expectedconditions in the futureand their possible impacton the school. Theassumptions may beadapted from districtassumptions or be uniqueto the local school. In thecultural diversityexample, a schoolassumption could read:"The growing culturaldiversity in thecommunity will make itincreasingly challengingfor the school to meet theacademic, personal, andsocial needs of students."

4. Develop/update theschool profile andmission statement.Describe the backgroundof the school, thccommunity, studentsserved, staff, and special

features of the school.The mission articulatesthe collective vision ofthe school, and provides adirection for schoolimprovement.

The mission statementshould:

Give a clear andconcise statement ofthe purpose of theschool.Focus on outcomes forstudents.Provide a reference forsetting improvementpriorities.

5. Generate, examine, andselect alternativeapproaches. Analyze thedifferent ways themission, external andinternal data, andassumptions about thefuture can be addressed.

Alternatives may begathered by the strategicplanning team or a wideraudience, such asquestionnaires or open

Checklist for Priority-SettingAs in brainstorming, a goal in identifying alternatives should bc to develop acomprehensive list, followed by a rank ordering in terms of feasibility anddesirability. Orange County recommends this checklist for ranking options:

1 Is the preferred approach consistent with federal and state laws, rules andregulations, school board policy, and the district plan?Does the approach address the school mission, external and internal facts(including identified needs), and assumptions about the future?

1 Will implementation of the approach produce results that will improve theschool and the school system?

1 Is the approach feasible in terms of human and material resources, organizationalstructure, and political climate?Does the approach represent a new or improved initiative for the school?

43

Steps cont.meetings includingparents, communitymembers, other schoolstaff, and students. TheOrange County handbookgives the followingsample alternatives toaddress the culturaldiversity trend:Cultural awarenessinservice for staff.Curriculum thatincorporates culturaldiversity.School activities thatcelebrate differentcultures and languages.Instructional strategiesand learning activitiesthat stress culturaldiversity.Night classes for non-

English speakingparents.Announcements, signs,and newsletters indifferent languages.Involvement ofvolunteer adults andstudents who speakboth English and aforeign language.

6. Develop strategicobjectives. Draftstatements of long-rangeoutcomes that addressexternal and internal data,communicate prioritiesfor improving the school,and extend two or moreyears into the future. Theobjective should bemeasurable, a highpriority, feasible toimplement, and include atarget date forachievement.

A strategic objectiveaddressing culturaldiversity might read: "Toimprove communicationsamong staff, students, andparents by developing,

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

42

implementing, andevaluating multiculturalprograms by June 30,1997."

7. Develop annualoperating objectives.Draft statements of whatwill be accomplished inone fiscal year to helpachieve a multiyearstrategic objective. Theremay be more than oneannual objective for eachstrategic objective. In themulticultural example,

the one-year objectivemight be "to improvecommunications withnon- and limited-Englishspeaking students andparents by June 30,1997."

8. Develop action plans.Define in chronologicalorder the major projectsplanned to achieve annualoperating objectives,dates for completingprojects, and the names ofpersons with overallresponsibility for

conducting activities.9. Compile, adept, and

disseminate dm strategicplan. Sham drafts of theplan u it develops withthe planning team andstaff. Ones it is adopted,the leadership teamshould look for frequentopportunities to share thekey points of the planthrough newsletters,reports and meetingswith staff, students,parents and thecommunity.

School Strategic Plan (Sample Page)

Goal: To enhance involvement in the educational process and communicationsamong students, staff, parents, the school board, and the community, and toimprove multicultural relations.

Strategic Objective:To improve communications among staff, students, and parents by developing,

implementing, and evaluating multicultural programs by June 30, 1997.

Annual Operating Objective:To improve communications with non- and limited-English speaking students and

parents by June 30, 1995.

Action Plan

Activities and Timelines,

1. Recruit, train, and begin involving somebilingual volunteers by August 20, 1994.

2. Select and orient a multicultural committeeby September 30, 1994.

3. Conduct additional recruitment and trainngof volunteers by October 31, 1994.

4. Report on volunteer activities byJanuary 31, 1995.

5. Assess and report on improved communicationsand non- and limited-English speaking students andparents by June 12, 1995.

Responsibility/Contact

Principal

Principal

Chairperson

Chairperson

Principal

RESTRUCTURING FOR CLIMATE AND CULTURE

43

EFFECTIVE SCHOOLSAND PLANNINGOne promising technique used by individuals interestedin school-based management is a step-by-step approachto designing a reform based on the precepts fromeffective schools research. The five-step processinvolves a cross-section of the school staff insetting goals and developing a plan to improve studentperformance based on identified needs.

In this process, improving school climate would onlybe a goal if specific needs were identified. Instead, agood climate would be a by-product because theplanning actively involves interested members of the .

school staff. Any changes needed in the underlyingculture would be identified as the planning team'sresearch uncovered specific assumptions that were

impeding progress by students. Changing those as-sumptions would become one goal of the improvementplan.

"The ultimate purpose of the school improvementprocess is to affect student learning by changing theculture of the school," Lawrence Lezotte and BarbaraJacoby wrote in their book, A Guide to the SchoolImprovement Process based on Effective SchoolsResearch.

"Cultural change takes time, tends to occur in a'million little actions' and is clearly incremental,"they explained. Key to changing the culture are nine

"strategic assumptions" that must be embracedby all stakeholders.

The process of school improvement as described byLezotte and Jacoby has five discrete stages that buildupon each other, although some stages may overlap.

Strategic Assumptions of theEffective Schools Process

1. In the future, even more than in the past, all schoolswill be expected to focus on teaching for learning astheir primary mission.

2. In the future, even mere than in the past, schoolswill be held accountable for measurable results orpractical student outcomes.

3. Educational equity will receive increasing emphasisas the number of poor and minority studcntscontinues to increase in proportion to thc rest of thcpopulation.

4. Decision making will be more decentralized as theindividual school is recognized as the productioncenter of public education and, therefore, thestrategic unit for planned change.

5. Collaboration and staff empowerment must increaseif building-level staff are going to becomemeaningfully involved in the planning, problemsolving, and evaluation of their school's programs.

6. Schools will make changes that empower teachers tobe responsible for student learning, based onpractices that have been proven effective throughresearch and experience.

7. Technology will be used to monitor the effectivenessof instruction by more quickly informing teachersand administrators of student performance.

8. School administrators will be expected todemonstrate skill both as efficient managers andeffective visionary leaders.

9. By emphasizing student outcomes, schools will bc,able to loosen the prescriptions of the teachingprocess, thus leading to school restructuring.

In the future, even more than In the past allschools will be expected to focus onteaching for learning as their primarymission. Schools will be held accountablefor measurable results or practical studentOutcomes.

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

44

1. Preparation. Introducing the effective schoolsprocess and developing consensus that change isneeded.

2. Focus. Reaching agreement on the mission of theschool and student outcomes to be reached.

3. Diagnosis/Interpretation. Studying current studentoutcomes and what organizational changes areneeded to make improvements.

4. Plan Development. Developing specific objectivesand strategies to cany out improvements and seekconsensus.

5. Implementation/Evaluation. Training all staff,creating new cultural norms to sustain change,monitoring and evaluating programs.Note that the stages are represented as a circle,

indicating that improvement is a continuous process.One important new cultural norm is that schools andeducators can always be better. To acknowledge this isnot to say there is something "wrong" with the waythings have been done in the past. It does suggest,

however, that professionals are those who are willing tokeep abreast of research and question old ways of doingthings to continually increase their effectiveness.

The circular, self-renewing aspect ensures that newteachers are brought along as they arrive, imparting thebelief system as well as the techniques. Ongoingexamination also ensures that those who have been partof the school over time do not get complacent, butremain challenged to do better. These stages aredetailed over the next several pages.

THE PREPARATION STAGEThe preparation stage contains three steps that lay thegroundwork for change:

Orienting for staff, students, parents, andcommunity to effective schools.Forming the School Improvement Team.Training the School Improvement Team.Experts stress that it is important to allow enough

Stages in the School ImprovementPlanning Process

A.Pmparation

Prom: A Guide to the School Improvement ProceuBased on Effective Schools Research,

1990, Effective

Schools Products, Ltd.

E.Implementation/

Monitoring/Evaluation/Renewal

B.Focus

D.Plan

Development

C.Diagnosis/

Interpretation ofStudent Outcomesand Organizational

Dimensions

46

RESTRUCTURING FOR CLIMATE AND CULTURE

45

time to orient staff and students to the process up toseveral months for a large secondary school. Reformersalso should allow enough planning time tv that no onefeels that the resulting plan is engineered iiy a subgroupand imposed on everyone else. The way to do this is toinvolve students, parents and oommunity throughsubcommittees, surveys or meetings in contributingto the plan.

Selecting team membersSchool-based teams should include a cross section of

the school community, including teachers, nonteachingstaff, the principal, and a parent or community repre-sentative. Students may be members at the secondarylevel. Including a cross section is important to main-taining a positive climate during the planning processand to ensuring acceptance of the final product bygiving all groups a voice.

CHOOSE A FOCUSThe next stage of implementation involves developing amission statement for the school, which provides afocus for all school improvement efforts. The statementdescribes what the staff cares most about and leads to

the description of learner goals and expected studentoutcomes. Because the statement reflects the beliefs andvalues of the school, crafting the statement is an impor-tant step in acknowledging or reshaping the culture ofthe school.

"The energy for internal school renewal comes fromthe discrepancy that the members of the school commu-nity feel between where they are and where they wouldlike to be the ideal," wrote Jacoby and Lezotte."Consensus on the mission is critical to the long-termsuccess of the process."

Development of the mission statement provides anopportunity to get suggestions from staff and parent& onwhat it should contain. While mission statements vary,they should address: who will deliver educationalservices, who will benefit, what constitutes observableevidence that objectives have been reached, and what isthe level of accountability.

Define outcomesThe next step is to build on the mission statement by

defining the specific skills and student outcomesdesired, how mastery will be determined, and whatcategories will be identified for monitoring and evalua-tion. For example, if the mission statement calls for

Common Planning Periods Lead to Creative Assignments

ne strategy for personalizing educationfollows the middle school model of organizing

students into blocks for their core subjects. Fourteachers will have the same 120 students. In theircommon planning period, they can developinterdisciplinary projects.

At Smiley Middle School in Denver, the socialstudies and English teachers for a tcam of giftedstudents planned research papers on Latin Americancountries, one of five overall themes for the year.The teachers were able to use the flexibility of blockscheduling to take the students to the main publiclibrary downtown, where they learned to usc thcperiodical index to research their countries. Studentsreceived English grades for the research paper's

composition, footnotes, and bibliography. Theyreceived social studies grades for thc content.

Adding a playful note, the teachers culminated thcunit with a "Jeopardy1"-style competition. Studentswere asked to turn in 10 questions and answers fromthe research on their country. The questions werecompiled and students studied to compete in teamson the information. Students were graded on thequality of the questions they turned in, not theperformance of their team.

The competition was just for fun. The studentsprepared and competed-viith gusto, enjoying awhimsical ending to an otherwise highly challengingassignment.

mastery of reading skills, aschool may define mastery ashaving 80 percent of thestudents score 75 percent onteacher-developed tests.

Developobjectives

School reformers identifytwo key standards for measur-ing effectiveness: quality andequity. According to theNational Center for EiTectiveSchools Research and Devel-opment, "The quality standardassures that the overall level ofachievement in a school ishigh. The equity standardassures that the high achieve-ment does not vary signifi-cantly across the subsets ofrace, gender, and socioeco-nomic status of the school'sstudent population."

Identifying subpopulationsand examining their schoolperformance often bringshome to school staff that thecurrent program is not meetingthe needs of all students. Thestudy not only provides useful information, it alsobuilds support for change.

The team must first identify which subgroups in theschool it will study. Then, standardized test scores andother factors, such as absenteeism and suspension andretention rates, are examined to see how effectively theschool is meeting the needs of all its students.

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

46

Mission Statement forOrange County School District

Orlando, Florida

The safeguard of freedom in a democracy is an educated citizenry and freepublic education is the primary means for meeting this essential need. The

ability to meet this need is both more important and more difficult in this timeof rapid advances in technology, extensive and fundamental changes in thefabric of our society, the emergence of a globally interdependent world, andsevere environmental problems. Thus, the demands for more and better

The mission of the Orange County Public Schools is to enable allstudents to achieve academic and vocational success.

education have never been greater for our nation, the state of Florida, and theOrange County Public Schools. The following statement expresses the missionof the school system as we strive to meet these special challenges:

The mission of the Orange County Public Schools is to enable all students toachieve academic and vocational success, develop self-respect, and understandand appreciate others through the placement of competent and caring teachersin every classroom and thc provision of necessary support services.

Key categories. Experts caution that it is best toselect a few key categories to study in depth rather thantry to study every possible subgroup in the school.Research identifies three factors that consistently areassociated with student achievement: lace, gender, andsocioeconomic status (though it has not answered"why" this is so).

What size group is needed? Distortions may occur instudying groups that comprise less than 15 percent ofthe school population because the number of studentsmay be too few to be statistically valid.

Possible alternatives in studying a small number ofminority students would be to cluster members of twominority groups to compare their school performancetheir with that of the majority. Care must be taken,however, to be sensitive to the many factors underlyingachievement. It can be politically as well as education-ally unsound to make assumptions on performancebased on race and gender.

Another strategy is to combine grade levels, such asthe performance of ninth- and tenth-graders, or to lookat test scores over two to three years for evidence of atrend.

Based on the original effective schools research,socioeconomic status is the strongest predictor ofstudent success in school. According to Lezotte andJacoby, the preferred indicator of socioeconomic statusis parents' educational level. If schools can obtain thisinformation from parents, it remains relatively stableand is easy to monitor.

RESTRUCTURING FOR CLIMATE AND CULTURE

The key is to choose a manageable number ofvariables and monitor student performance in thosecategories over time. It is only through ongoing moni-toring and evaluation that the team can determinewhether school improvement strategies are making adifference for those students whose needs were notbeing met.

DIAGNOSIS ANDINTERPRETATIONOnce the categories of student subgroups are selected,the team must determine what level will be consideredmastery for various measurements. Next comes theactual analysis of test scores to set up comparisons bysubgroup and achievement. This is referred to as"disaggregation of the data."

Once the scores are sorted, it is possible to identifydiscrepancies in meeting the needs of all students. Thenit is possible to begin posing theories about why thoseresults exist. Such an analysis also can check on theperformance of high ability students. This will addressconcerns that effective schools focus on low achievingstudents and do not provide a challenging curriculumfor high ability students.

Not just test scoresExperts caution that disaggregation of data helps

identify the problem, not the solution. The analysis ofthe school population need not be limited to test scores.A fuller understanding of the situation can be obtainedby looking at some or all of the following:

Student climate indicatorsStudent conduct reportsParticipation in student activitiesAttendanceStudent awardsHomework completion ratesSurveys of staff and students.

TestsStandardized norm-referenced testsTeacher-made testsCriterion-referenced tests.

Other academic measuresLetter-grade distribution

47

49

Retention percentage, by grade levelStudent course selection (challenging vs. remedial)Student grade average.

Analyzing the organizationIn addition to analyzing student performance, the

data-gathering process requires teams to examine theschool itself to see to what extent the correlates ofeffective schools are present. It is important to note thatthe effective schools research did not show that thecorrelates caused increased student achievement, butrather indicated that there is a strong relationshipbetween the correlates of effective schools and achieve-ment.

Some reformers have noted that the correlates areelements over which schools have some control. Theschool can't change the income level of the family, butit can positively influence achievement by creating aclimate of high expectations.

Effective schools correlates that should be measuredare:

Safe and orderly environment. An orderly, pur-poseful, businesslike atmosphere is present. Theschool climate is not oppressive, but is conducive toteaching and learning. .Climate of high expectations for success. The staffbelieves and demonstrates that all students can attainmastery of essential skills and that teachers have thecapability to help all students do it.Instructional leadership. The principal effectivelycommunicates the mission to parents, staff, andstudents and understands and applies characteristicsof effectiveness in management of the instructionalprogram.Clear and focused mission. The mission is clearlyarticulated regarding instructional priorities andassessment procedures; the staff accepts responsibil-ity for students learning the essential skills.Opportunity to learn/time on task. Teachersallocate a significant amount of time to instruction inessential skills. For a high percentage of this time,students are engaged in whole class or large group,planned teacher-directed learning activities.Frequent monitoring of student progress. Aca-demic progress is measured frequently through avariety of measures. Those results are used toimprove individual student performance and theinstructional program itself.Home-school relations. Parents understand andsupport the school's mission and are given the

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

48

Cautions on RestructuringSeveral experts consulted for this report warned thatschools must guard against doing reform for its own

sake. The risk, when constituents are demandingchange, is to look for a "magic bullet" that the districtcan import to make things better.

One problem with this approach is there is no onesingle answer that is appropriate for all situations.Instead, schools must tailor solutions that arcappropriate to their own community. Even then,following a sound process such as site-basedmanagement can have pitfalls.

Researchers studying change in all types oforganizations including schools have found thatreforms fall into two categories:I. Those that are activities-driven2. Those that arc results-driven.

Activities-driven efforts may make changes thatmembers of the organization feel good about, butfollow-up research shows that student performance doesnot improve. Results-driven reforms, by contrast, selectstrategies that have a proven track record for improvingeducational outcomes.

"I think an awful lot of the attempts to go to site-based management are activities-driven," commentedLawrence Lezotte, senior consultant with the EffectiveSchools organization in Okemos, Michigan. Lezotteresearched the characteristics of effective schools withRonald Edmonds and now consults with schools andwrites on school improvement based on effectiveschools research.

"You have to understand that thc numbcr of schoolsthat arc changing outcomes for kids is really a verysmall percentage of the total right now across thecountry," Lezotte said.

Why change relationships?If site-based management is used primarily to change

relationships between school staff members and .

principals, for example, Lezotte posed the question:"What is the theory of cause that changing the nature ofteacher-principal interaction leads to better outcomesfor kids? Nobody can make that connection."

"Improving communications in an organization maybe a good thing to do for its own sake, but in a schoolit's unlikely to translate into better outcomes for kids."

Total quality management another tool that's beensuccessffilly used in business, also can be ineffective inschools if not done right, Lezotte cautioned.

-Total quality management asks people to measurewhat they can and do it frequently. It's important to

start with a strong conceptual framework that groundsthe work they do. Without that, they're trying to makeliteral translations from the business world into theschool setting, doing all these statistical processes andthey really don't know why they're measuring whatthey arc," Lezotte cautioned.

"The biggest weakness of the strategicplanning process is that it doesn't involve

itself in reinventing of a delivery system.And that's what you need to have."

"You have to build your delivery systemfor change at the same time you'reformulating the direction for change,"Lezotte explained. "Otherwise, you've got aplan but no engine to get you there. That'spart of the reason schools are having such adifficult time with it."

Strategic Planning"Strategic planning does some good because it helps

to create a focus for the organization," Lezottecommented. "The biggest weakness of the strategicplanning process is that it doesn't involve itself inreinventing of a delivery system. And that's what youneed to have."

"You have to build your delivery system for changeat the same time you're formulating the direction forchange," Lezotte explained. "Otherwise, you've got aplan but no engine to get you there. That's part of thereason schools arc having such a difficult time with it."

"That's why I think our school effectiveness workhas been good, because we work with a school-batedplanning process. Teachers and administrators arcinvolved actively in a process that connects with adirection for the school, and with the measurementsused to monitor progress towards the goals.

"Before any of these reforms are engaged," Lezotteadvised, "educators should first ask: 'What is it wewant children to know?' Those are the goals. Second,they should ask: 'How will we know when thcy knowit?' That is the outcome evidence. Once we are clearon goals and evidence, we can begin to ask thequestion: `Will these tools help us to get from wherewe are to those?' But until that point, the tools becomeends in themselves."

RESTRUCTURING FOR CLIMATE AND CULTURE

chance to play an important role in helping theschool achieve this mission.

Measuring the correlatesSchools measure the presence of these traits by

surveying individuals about their perceptions. All thesurveys have questions directed at staff members. Somealso have versions that measure the perceptions ofstudents, parents, and community members. A laterchapter will describe correlate surveys in more detail.

"One of the most valuable exercises resulting fromthe correlate assessment is the staff discussion whichfollows," Lezotte and Jacoby said. The school improve-ment team should lead the school staff, as a unit or insmall groups, through an analysis of the results.

"One purpose of the discussions is to make sure thestrengths and weaknesses identified in the assessmentdo not result in incorrect conclusions," the authorsexplained. Group leaders should verify that the staff hada common understanding of the questions. This processcan also reveal whether a perceived problem is agenuine weakness or merely a statement of existingconditions that should be maintained.

For example, one school's analysis of the "safe andorderly" correlate indicated that the staff had little helpwith discipline problems from the administration.During the discussion, however, it became apparent thatteachers preferred to handle their own discipline prob-lems and only wanted help from administrators forsevere problems.

One purpose of the discussions is tomake sure the strengths andweaknesses identified inthe assessment do not result inincorrect conclusions.

Another value of the survey and discussion is that theprocess actually teaches the staff about what eachcorrelate means in the day-to-day operation of a school.This increased understanding is extremely useful whenit comes time to develop improvement strategies. Theheightened perceptions can also help teachers seekingother research on particular correlates.

Following the discussion, it is helpful if the teamwrites a draft suinmary of the strengths and weaknessesof the effective schools correlates, which becomes a

49

useful reference when developing the school improve-ment plan.

51

DEVELOPING THE PLANThe first step in developing the plan is to set prioritiesfor improvements. These take the form of improvementobjectives, which are built from the data on studentachievement.

"The written plan is not an end in itself," the Effec-tive Schools guide warns. "It is a communication tool. . . for staff to use in closing the gap between where thestudent data indicate the school is and where themission statement indicates the school wants to be."

The guide further recommends that improvementobjectives should:

Link back to the mission that expresses core valuesof the school.Derive from a careful analysis of current studentoutcome data.Be stated in terms of student learning.Be reflected, not in a test score, but in a core body ofknowledge to be learned.For example, the analysis may reveal that students

drop out most often in ninth grade with a high failurerate in English. The objective could state that "studentswill master the essentials of the ninth-grade Englishcurriculum," rather than a specific cutoff score on astandardized test. A climate objective could be toreduce the dropout rate by offering students the oppor-tunity to develop a supportive relationship with a staffmember.

Another pitfall to avoid, according to effectiveschools authority Ron Edmonds, is that "no local planshould depend on changes over which the local schoolhas no control."

Does a problem exist?In areas of the curriculum where staff have concerns,

it is important to look for observable evidence that aproblem exists. The most obvious source is standard-ized tests. In cases where assessments have not beenmade, such as for expository writing, the staff shouldlook for other evidence, such as letter grades andsamples of writing from classrooms.

Check to see if the problem has been present overtime, look for school-based causes or sources of theproblem, and determine which students are affected byit. These steps can narrow the focus from all ninth-

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

SO

graders, for example, to ninth-grade boys from lowsocioeconomic families. The more specifically theproblem can be pinpointed, the more effective thestrategies can be.

Involving all the staffOnce problems have been identified, it is a good idea

to involve the entire staff in determining which prob-lems will be tackled first. Reformers recommendkeeping the list to a "manageable number" such asthree to five to avoid getting bogged down in moreprojects than can be successfully achieved.

The experts stress that the focus at this stage shouldnot be strictly on the problems. Those successes re-vealed by the assessment process should be publicizedand celebrated. In this way, the staff will developconfidence and a greater willingness to tackle the areasof the instructional program that do need improvement.

Selecting strategiesOnce improvement objectives have been developed,

team members should examine research and casestudies of successful schools to determine the instruc-tional strategies and organizational changes successfullyemployed by schools that have undertaken similarobjectives.

For example, in the English skills objective citedabove, the school may want to look at changing theperformance expectations of freshman boys and themethod of writing instruction.

Sources of information for identifying successfulpractices include:

Professional libraries in state education agencies orlarge school districts.Publication searches through ERIC or professionalresearch agencies.National professional organizations, such as theNational Council of Teachers of English and theNational Council of Teachers of Math, the Associa-tion for Supervision and Curriculum Development,and the American Association of School Administra-tors.Networks of schools engaged in improvement, suchas the Coalition of Essential Schools, Outcome-Based Education Consortia, the National WritingProject, and the Paideia Program.

Improvement strategies. The strategies will be-come part of a three- to five-year school improvement

plan that should contain both short-term and long-termstrategies. The Effective Schools guide recommendsselecting strategies that address these four areas:

Curriculum. Clearly defining the essential elementsto be learned.Assessment. Deciding how to assess whether stu-dents have learned the targeted information andwhether the assessment matches the curriculum andobjectives.Climate factors. Determining what environmentalfactors should be in place for the instruction andassessment to be successful.Delivery of instruction. Determining the bestteaching techniques for the curriculum.

Monitoring the resultsThe plan should specify how the implementation will

be monitored. Specifically, the team should determine,in advance, what student work will be accepted asevidence the objectives are being met. The plan shouldalso list who is responsible for collecting the evidence,when it will be collected, and what will be done withthe results.

Additional evidence should be specified that cantrack whether the strategy has been successfully imple-mented. Obviously a strategy will only be effective tothe extent it is implemented. Again, the plan shouldspecify who will collect the information and when andhow the information will be used.

Schools that have implemented improvement actionplans recommend including the following:

Objectives to be metA list of strategies to be implementedWho is responsible for implementingWhen the activity will take placeWhen progress will be measured.Criteria for determining whether the objectivewas met.The samples shown here illustrate two approaches to

planning. The Williamston, Michigan, CommunitySchools document tracks implementation of a school-based objective. The sample from Central ColumbiaSchool District in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, illus-trates a high school's response to a district-levelobjective.

Faculty/community endorsementOne of the most important aspects of an effective

schools adoption occurs as the plan is being completed... That step is securing the commitment of the staff,

RESTRUCTURING FOR CLIMATE AND CULTURE

5 I

Action Plan Format:

Goal

Williamston,

Evidence of Nccd

MichiganYear

Instructional Objective Evidence of Success

StrategiesPersonResponsibleforimplementingStrategy

PersonResponsibleforMeasuringProgress oftheStrategy

ResourcesNeeded

Dates ofActivity

AssessmentDate(When isprogress tobe measured?)

Criteria forObjectiveAttainment & HowMeasured(How will weknow theobjective wasattained?)

Start End

I)

2)

3)

Adapted from: Williamston Community Schools, Williamston, Michigan

From: A Guide to the School Improvement Process Based on Effective Schools Research

43.

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

52

Districtwide Goals and Building-Specific Goals

Priority Goal Date

School District

Objectives Major ActivitiesTo Be Completed

CompletionDates

Person Responsible(Name and Position)

EstimatedCost

A. Provide an opportunityfor teachers to exploremethods of instructionthat may be incorporatedinto their curriculum,

B. Provide an opportunityfor the staff to interactwith teachers in the entiredistrict to increase theirawareness of exemplaryteaching strategies in ourdistrict

C. Revise evaluation formsto be more specificallyrelated to high schoolprograms and activities.

A. Provideconsultancs and/ormaterials to meetteacher needs andinterests inimproving thcirteachingstrategies.

B. District-wideinserviceprograms.

C. Independentclassroomobservations.

Annually

Annually

Annually

H.S. PrincipalDepartment ChairsStaff DevelopmentCommittee

H.S. Principal withProfessional StaffCommittee

S 3,000.00/yr.

Evaluation QuestionsTo Be Asked

Evidence To Be UsedAnswer Evaluation Questions

Person Responsiblefor Evaluation

Completion forEvaluation

A. Has the staff been givenan opportunity toprovide input forinservice programs?

B. Does the staff applystrategics presented orstudied?

C. Have the teachers takenthe opportunity to visitother classrooms in thedistrict?

Prom: A Guide to the School Imptovement

A. Minutes of staff developmentcommittee meetings.

B. Classroom obscrvations.

C. Observations by teachers.Department meeting minutes.

PlOCCIS based on Effective Schools Itestotch and Central

Staff DevelopmentCommittee

H.S. Principal/AssistantPrincipal

Department Chairs

Columbia School Dia 14 Bloomsburg,

-,

Annually

Annually

Annually

PA

RESTRUCTURING FOR CLIMATE AND CULTURE

parents, and community for the steps called for inthe plan.

If the staff, parents, and other stakeholders have beensurveyed as the plan is being developed, there should beno surprises. Still, because it is crucial that new initia-tives be planted in a culture that will nurture them itis highly recommended that schools engage in a formalcampaign to inform key constituencies about thespecifics of the plan.

First, the recommendations for school improvementshould be circulated among members of key groups,including all school staff and parents activ.5 in theschool, if parents have been part of the planning pro-cess. A cover memo should invite the reader to ameeting to give their suggestions.

One district divided the meeting into small groups,with each group chaired by a member of the planningteam. "Questions and concerns were handled 'on thespot,' with consensus for acceptance as the target," theEffective Schools guide explained. At the close of themeeting, all the participants met in a large group toendorse formally the school improvement plan.

The public discussion and endorsement is helpful inbuilding ownership, which is critical to the success ofthe plan. "The public endorsement is also symbolicbecause it illustrates approval for a change in theculture of the school and signifies a transition fromplanning to plan implementation," Lezotte and Jacobyexplained.

Spreading the wordThe next step is to communicate the improvement

plan and the changes expected to both internal andexternal audiences. External audiences are those outsideof school, including the news media, service clubs, andothers in the community. Internal audiences includeall school staff, parents, students, and others in theschool district, including central office administrators,

Because it is crucial that new initiativesbe planted in c culture that willnurture them it is highlyrecommended that schools engage in aformal campaign to inform keyconstituencies about the specifics ofthe plan.

53

principals of feeder or receiving schools, and otherindividuals or wows who are likely to be affected bythe changes.

The communications process is discussed in moredetail in Chapter 9.

CREATING A CLIMATE FORCHANGEOnce the plan has been formally accepted and theinformation communicated to key groups, the real workbegins. Successful implementation requires that teach-ers and administrators those who will be responsiblefor making the improvement program work under-stand and support the changes being planned. Creatinga receptive climate for the new program requires anunderstanding of the change process.

Real, meaningful change requires time and flexibil-ity. Time is required for teachers and others affected bythe change to understand and accept the need to dothings differently and the implications that their behav-ior and work patterns must be altered. Implementationalso requires adequate time for training of staff in newtechniques and for planning time that enables the staffto work through the inevitable problems and issues thatarise.

Time also is required for participants to adopt newcultural norms that are inherent in the improvementprocess. Since culture evolves slowly as a system ofshared values, any changes in those shared values mustbe given time to develop. Such changes occur becausemembers of the school:

See that change is needed.Agree on the methods and strategies planned forimprovement.Work together to implement strategies in ways thatallow adaptation to accommodate individualstrengths.Provide a way to evaluate whether the new system isworking.The change process is described further in a later

chapter.

55

Implementation/evaluationThere are three essential prerequisites for successful

implementation of a school improvement program,according to Lezotte:

Common languageTime to meet and discuss implementation

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54

Place to meet and discuss implementation.Any school improvement program has its ownglossary of terms and concepts that have a specialmeaning in its context. So that teachers and adminis-trators develop a shared understanding and commit-ment to the program, all parties must be familiar withthose terms and agree with the way they are used."Teaching the common language cannot be done

once and forgotten," Lezotte and Jacoby advised. "Tomaintain the focus, the common language must berenewed and revisited on a regular basis."

"At every opportunity, the principal and members ofthe school improvement team should 'talk' the plan,"added Gary Mathews of the Spring Branch SchoolDistrict in Houston, Texas.

Emphasizing the importance of symbolism whenchanging cultural norms, Mathews advised abandoningactivities and events not included in the plan andlaunching new activities and events that are part of theplan with "great fanfare and celebration."

Time and placeSince school improvement occurs over a long period

of time, it is essential that the school improvement teamcontinue to meet after the plan is completed to keeprbreast of progress and to address problems promptlyJ) the improvement stays on course.

For the same reasons, committees formed to addresscertain aspects of the plan should meet regularly. Tokeep a focus on the new mission, meetings of parents,community, and students with the improvement teamshould also be scheduled.

Finding time to meet is a challenge for most districtsfor two reasons, Lezotte cautioned.

First, time is money. When meetings are held duringthe school day or summer, money for substitutes oradditional work days are usually needed.

Second, some members of the community maybelieve that teachers are only working when they arewith students that time spent at school away fromstudents is not important.

Part of educating the community on school improve-ment, then, is explaining the need to provide staffmembers with time to discuss progress on the improve-ment plan, develop new instructional materials, andprovide training for teachers and administrators.

"Local boards of education and the superintendentmust convince the community that this time to meetand to talk about school improvement is absolutelycritical," Lezotte said. "Creating more time for plan-

ning, curriculum review, and staff development" areessential for success.

Institutionalizing improvementOne of the cultural norms associated with effective

schools is a belief that instruction can always beimproved. When teachers and administrators accept thisidea, they are open to examining the effectiveness ofcurrent practices and trying new ways of doing things.For such an attitude to become "a way of life" or anintegral part of the culture it is important to structurethe improvement effort to be self-renewing.

Steps for making improvement part of the school'sstandard operating procedure include:

Conducting an annual evaluation of improvementplans.Scheduling regular planning cycles.Developing training modules so new staff canquickly become part of the school's culture.Working with parents, the state department ofeducation, and other organizations to stay current onresearch developments and successful practices fromother school districts.Such strategies help maintain a culture that continu-

ally strives to improve, rather than becoming settled inits ways.

OUTCOME-BASEDEDUCATIONAnother systemwide reform that is having a positiveeffect on student achievement, climate, and culture isoutcome-based education. This approach begins with

One of the cultural norms associatedwith effective schools is a belief thatinstruction can always be improved.When teachers accept this idea, theyare open to new ways of doing things.

the end result what the district wants students to beable to do and works backward to determine whatchanges are needed to achieve those results for students.

The Johnson City, New York, Public Schools devel-

RESTRUCTURING FOR CLIMATE AND CULTURE

SS

oped its concept of outcome-based education over twodecades. In 1971, the district, dissatisfied with student

achievement scores, launched a comprehensive redesignof its entire program.

The Outcomes-Driven Developmental Model(ODDM) employs a systems approach to examine allaspects of schooling, including instructional practices,curriculum design, school climate, and school manage-ment. School board decisions are based on what bestsupports student learning according to current researchpractices on schooling. The master plan calls for thosespecifications to be updated as needed.

By 1984, the district had achieved substantial gains

in student achievement for eighth graders, one of thekey "outcomes" the district had targeted.

As a result, Johnson City's Outcomes-Driven Devel-opment Model for Comprehensive School Improvementbecame the first systemwide program for grades K-8 tobe approved by the U.S. Department of Education fordissemination through the National Diffusion Network.

Key elementsMajor components of the Johnson City model are:A belief system predicated on the conviction that allchildren can learn (philosophical base).Specific outcomes for students.

Outcomes-Driven Developmental Model Mission:

IPsychological Base

ADMINISTRATIVESUPPORT

All students will learn well

RESEARCH BASE

COMMUNITYSUPPORT

TEACHERSUPPORT

Staff development Board Instructional processesCommunications nctwork Policy Curriculum organizationProblem solving Support School practicesChange process Publics Classroom practicesClimate improvement Networking Organizational structuresManagement

_

Desired Student Exit Behaviors1. Self-esteem as a learner and person.2. Academicsthinking and understanding.3. Self-directed as a learner and person.4. Concern for others.

5. Process skills-problem solving,communication, decision making,accountability, group process.

tt."1 57

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56

A research-based, strong instructional approach thatis flexible and sound.Extensive use of teacher teaming.A behavioral approach for which all members of theorganization accept responsibility (the psychologicalbase).Problem solving.Consensus building for decisions.

Basic philosophyThe philosophical base is a set of beliefs that are

determined by the entire school staff based on research.Enlisting the ideas of all staff to arrive at a set of beliefsalso is good for improving school climate. Johnson CitySuperintendent Albert Mamary lists the followingbeliefs that many outcome-based schools subscribe to:

Talent can be developed, and teachers take responsi-bility for developing the individual talents of eachstudent.All students should succeed.Excellence is the goal for all students.Collaboration by all teachers, parents, administra-tors, students gets the best results.Transformational leaders are those "who create a

compelling vision of what can be and who can em-power others to realize the vision," Frank Alessi,ODDM project director in Johnson City, said in aninterview for this report. In reaching that vision, it isimportant to build consensus among staff members."This is not a majority vote," Alessi cautioned, butinstead, "a critical mass" of support because decisionshave been made in a process open to all.

True collaboration"In our district, there's a spirit of understanding

about decision making. It's not 100 percent true, but, byand large, everyone knows that anybody can influencealmost any decision," Alessi said.

Decision making is based on four questions known asthe Success Connection:I. What do we want?2. What do we know about what we want?3. What do we believe about what we know and want?4. What will we do?

"When the answers to these four questions are clearand aligned, anyone can influence those decisions,"Alessi said.

As Alessi recalls it, "When Johnson City was implt

menting ODDM, teachers asked, 'you mean we caninfluence the bus schedule?' Then-Superintendent JackChamplin, the father of ODDM, would reply: 'Does thebus schedule serve learning or does learning serve thebus schedule?"

The implication is that there are no sacred cowsthat the central administration may need to makeaccommodations to the building level when it is pointedout that the time the buses run interferes with aneducational goal at the school.

"Each person has a brain and may have something tocontribute to any decision," Alessi continued. "Forthis reason, everybody from the superintendentto the director of transportation has to live within

the success connections."

Psychological baseThe psychological basis for ODDM in Johnson City

is control theory, which sees all human motivation aspersonal and chosen.

"Control theory is about how we control ourselves,

Control theory is about how wecontrol ourselves, and not aboutcontrolling others.

and not about controlling others," Mammy explained inan article in the publication, Quality Outcomes-DrivenEducation. The theory states that people perform attheir best when their basic psychological and physicalneeds are met. These conditions also contribute to apositive climate. The four psychological needs are:

Power The need to feel in control of one's life, tofeel worthwhile, to have a sense of accomplishment,to maintain dignity, and to feel one is making adifference.Connecting The need to belong and relate toothers.Choice The need to have freedom and choice inlife, to be able to risk and question without fear ofhumiliation.Contentment The need to have fun and happinessin life.The physical need is for basic elements necessary

for human survival, including air, food, water, andshelter,

RESTRUCTURING FOR CLIMATE AND CULTURE

CPhilosophy

Research

57

Success Connection

EAttitude )DBclicf system

What YouBelieve

Materials

WhatYou Know

VisionWhatYou

Do

Leadership

( Experience --) Training

Feelings

What YouWant Examples

CEvidenceOutcomns

Based on Johnson City Model

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

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Control theory, changeand climate

"Control theory states that human beings are pur-poseful creatures," Alessi explained. "They will actaccording to their purposes." The problem with manyschool reform efforts is that districts try to "cajoleteachers, reward, or threaten them," which is treatingteachers like "stimulus response organisms rather thancontrol theory organisms."

The more effective approach, according to Alessi, isto work with staff to reach agreement on what theywant to accomplish, what their knowledge base isand their belief systems in other words, the series

of questions Johnson City refers to as the SuccessConnection.

Don't tell ... ask. "Control theory teaches us: don'ttell people; don't push on them. Ask questions so theyhave to confront themselves," Alessi advised. "If youpush on them, you become the issue. You don't put themin conflict with you. If anything, you put them in conflictwith what they say they want."

"In Johnson City, that's one of the keys to the successwe've had. That we treat people like control theoryorganisms instead of stimulus response organisms."

"Our approach to climate is one in which people canmeet their needs effectively and responsibly and still

Stimulus Response vs.Control Theoryn many districts, high

I schools arc the mostresistant to change becausethey arc larger and morecompartmentalized, andteachers are subject matterspecialists rather thangeneralists. Alessi paintedthis scenario to show thecontrast between the twopsychological approaches tohuman behavior

School A introduces areform idea using astimulus-response approach.The mind-set of theadministrator or planningteam is, "How can we getthe staff to do what wewant?"

First, they might try to"win ovet" the staff, Alessisaid, and "show them howgood it [the reform] is. But

thc staff may not see it thatway. Next comes a rewardfor getting involved, such aspay for working on theprogram during the summer.The third step is to punishthe reluctant by making lifemore difficult for them."

In school B, where controltheory is operating, theprincipal or change agent

asks, "How would you likethe high school to be?Would you like two-thirds ofyour students achieving athigh levels instead of one-third?"

The following dialogueillustrates this:

Teacher "Are you goingto tell us how to do it?"

Principal: "No, but if we

Let's suppose you were planning to go to adoctor who hadn't done any research intostomach disorders for 30 years and you had astomach disorder. Another doctor kept up withthe research. Which one would you go to?

can agree about what wewant (the successconnection), why don't wetake a look at how we canget what we want. .. whatthe knowledge is out there.I've got a few articles I'verun off. Would you bewilling to take a look atthem? Maybe you have somethings that we could look at.Then we can start to agreeon what we want."

Teacher: "I've tried someof that research bull. I don'twant to look at it."

Principal: "Let's supposeyou were planning to go to adoctor who hadn't done anyresearch into stomachdisorders for 30 years andyou had a stomach disorder.Another doctor kept up withthe research. Which onewould you go to?"

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Case Study in OBE: PascoPublic SchoolsThe Pasco, Washington,

Public Schools came touse outcome-basededucation in an evolutionaryprocess to improve schoolclimate, among other things.First, the district embarkedon an ambitious program ofschool improvement usingschool-based planning teamsand criteria from effectiveschools research.

"We changed the culturefrom a top-down norm toone of site-basedmanagement, whichgenerated lots of enthusiasmamong staff, said LarryNyland, formersuperintendent in Pasco.

Achievement scores roserapidly and teachers andcommunity members wereexcited by the results. "Oursuccess was due to a greatextent to working on theright things and partly to theenthusiasm generated by afeeling of ownership among

the participants," heexplained.

Gains were difficult tosustain, however, due tostaff turnover and lack oftraining for ncw teachers.Some veteran teachers feltoverloaded by activitiesadded on as put of theeffort.

As the district researchedsuccessful programs, theylearned about outcome-basededucation and its pioneer,the Johnson City, New York,Schools, which had beenfine tuning this approach for20 years.

Acceptingresponsibility

Improving school climateand culture means havingthe courage to be responsiblefor others.

"Johnson City's process isbased on the premise that allchildren can learn and that,

Typically, public schools offer a soundeducation; they do not take responsibility forchildren's learning.

in order to make this happcn,you must put in placeorganizational change thatdedicates itself to thispremise," said StephanieTesch, the assistantsuperintendent in Pasco whowas responsible forimplementing OBE.

"Inherent in Johnson City'smodel is a psychological basefor development that teachesus how to acceptresponsibility as individuals,as groups, and as a schooldistrict. Typically, publicschools offer a soundeducation; they do not takeresponsibility for children'slearning," she continued.

While schools often makedecisions based on"efficiency, economics, andthe political climate of thecommunity, outcomes-driven education requiresthat decisions take intoaccount what achieves beststudent learning," shecautioned. "There decisionsare not necessarily what isthe most efficient, what bestmatches the politicalclimate, or what is thecheapest solution."

(continued on page 60)

serve very well the needs of the organization, Alessisaid.

"If you don't provide chalk for teachers, you're notmeeting their needs and they're not going to be able tomeet the needs of the organization. 'I've seen manyschools where teachers have to beg for the tools to dotheir job," he commented.

Another climate consideration is how people aretreated when they take a risk. Elementary teachers inJohnson City had great ownership in ODDM from theearly days. When something did not go well, the re-sponse from administrators was not, "This is a failure,"

but, "What can we learn from it?" Alessi explained.When schools consider joining the Essential Schools

network, an important put of the exploration is forminga steering committee to discuss how they see their schoolin the future. Pueblo County, Colorado, High Schoolspent two years exploring the essential schools approachand discussing ideas and approaches.

At first, only 35 percent of the teachers felt any changewas needed , and discussions continued. A year later, acommittee of students was formed to put the nine com-mon principles into their own words. After that, 85percent of the teachers endorsed the document. The

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

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Case Study in OBE: Pasco Public Schools cont'd

ImplementingOBE

In the spring of 1987, thePasco school board made atwo-year commitment tooutcome-based education.Core teams from each schoolbuilding, consisting ofteachers, administrators, andsome classified staff,attended eight days oftraining during the 1987-88school year. Trainingfocused on three keyprinciples of OBE, whichhave become core beliefs inthe culture at Pasco:

All students can learnand succeed.Success causes further=CCM.Schools control thcconditions of success.Pasco's instructional

provam is based on muterylearning, a system to ensurethat each child succeeds byholding achievementconstant and varying thetime required for learning.Staff development hasincluded instruction notonly in mastery learningtechniques, but alsocooperative learning and

Reality TherapyInvolvement is building a trusting relationship and

affirming strengths.

STEPS:1. Involvement2. What are you doing? What do you want?3. What are the consequences?

positive and negative- immediate and long-term

impact on others4. Make a value judgment5. Make a plan6. Get a commitment7. Follow up

GUIDELINES:I. Don't ask why2. Stay in the present3. Never punish4. No excuses5. Don't dwell on feelings6. Establish the client as the chief causal agent7. Encourage the client to be his/her own advisor8. Don't take responsibility for the client's behavior9. Ask the key question

"If you continue doing this, where will it lead you?"10. Go for a both-win solution11. Never give up

Pasco School District No. 1, 1990

Teacher Expectations andStudent Achievement(TESA).

TESA is a trainingprogram that makes teachersaware of how their ownbiases towards individualsand groups can affectstudent success in theclassroom. This approach,based on raising teacherawareness of their ownbehavior, complements theprinciple of responsibility aswell. Cooperative learningand TESA are explained inmore detail in the nextchapter.

Structuring classroomlessons for cooperationinstead of competitioncomplements the core beliefthat all students can learnand that students areresponsible for helpingthemselves and their peers tosucceed. It contrasts withmany traditional classroomswhere there is a tendency tosort students into high,middle, and low-achievinggroups.

Reality therapyReality therapy is a

process based on the work ofpsychiatrist William Glasserthat encourages allindividuals to acceptresponsibility for their ownbehavior.

For Pasco students, realitytherapy includes a three-stepcounseling process fordisciplinary infractionsinvolving logicalconsequences rather thanpunishment.

For teachers, it meanstaking responsibility for

meeting joint objectives forgroups of students sharedby teacher teams. At eachschool, teachers work inteams of two to four toplan for instruction and todiscuss and evaluatestudent behavior andstudent learning.

During the first year ofimplementation, "the staffdevelopment program wasdevoted equally to processand product," said formerSuperintendent Nyland.The process concentratedon building support for aculture based on the newcore beliefs. The productwas training on how toimplement the instructionalprocess and masterylearning.

THE PASCOMISSIONThere core beliefs thatan children dim learn andthat schools control theconditions of successbecame part of thedistrict's missionstatement, adopted in early1988, which also identifiedfive specific outcomes. Itstates that Pasco studentswill:

Develop anddemonstrate high self-esteem.Learn using cognitiveskills that range fromsimple to complex.Use process skills tosolve problems,communicate, makedecisions, and interactin groups.Show concern forothers.Show self-direction inlearning

'

RESTRUCTURING FOR CLIMATE AND CULTURE

6 I

Three-yearphase-in

The first year, each schoolsent a Building Core Team ofteachers and administratorsto four training sessions.Each team had some districtfunds to implement trainingor specific projects with thetotal staff at their homeschool.

Representatives from eachschool served on a DistrictCore Team to coordinate theoverall direction of OBE.One of their tasks was todevelop the missionstatement, which wasapproved by the school boardthe following February.

Each summer of the three-year phase-in, five days ofintensive training wasprovided to groups ofteachers and administrators.In 1988, the week-longtraining was given to allteachers from three pilotschools and teams from theremaining schools.

In August, 1988, Nylandspoke to 200 teachers at aback-to-school session on thecore beliefs, noting that allstaff had an oppottunity toshape the beliefs during theprevious school year.

"Some were nodding theirheads but others gave mcblank looks," Nylandcommented. "The traininghad been long since done. Ithad not necessarily had animpact on what teachers doin the classroom. That said tome we needed to do it allover again."

Seeing is believing"Schools haven't been in

the business of asking people

their opinions," Nylandexplained. "At first theydidn't take it seriously.Teachers welt saying withtheir body language 'wedidn't think this wasimportant. Actions speaklouder than words.' The staffhad to see (shared decision-making) in process before itwas believed."

The second year,principals from thc pilotschools met weekly to shareresults. Additional trainingwas provided to teams fromeach school on theinstructional process andtraining began on RealityTherapy and communicationissues. Each summer, thefive-day training wasrepeated for staffs of theschools that were convertingto OBE.

After three years, anevaluation was done byBrigham Young University todetermine the extent to whichoutcome-based education hadbeen implemented in theschools and what evidenceexisted of student growth inthe exit behaviors.

After the three ycars, "thedistrict had good support inthe area we had investedmost heavily in vision,belief, and the instructionalprocess," Nyland said.

The bottom line"Our focus is on our exit

behaviors self-esteem,learning to learn, basicthinking skills, process skills,and concern for others," saidTorch. "Johnson City'sprocess showed thatdevelopment of these fiveexit behaviors gets you betterstudent learning over a

period of years. This is not'play the game to improvetest scores' using gimmickssuch as different groupingsand teaching to the test.Instead, this is looking at thewhole student, teachingourselves and our childrenthe whole range of capacitiesneeded to be a 21st Centuryperson."

"In Pasco," Teschcontinued, "we wantvigorous thinkers, notcompliant responders. Wewant learning to feel goodand set a life-long pattern.Legislating competencies andstandardized tests will not getyou these results. A processthat develops commitment tostudents' success in publiceducation will get thatresult."

Another aspect of OBE isthe notion that improvementcontinues over time. "AtPasco, we are building intothe culture the expectationthat all of us will continue tolearn how to do our jobsbetter," Nyland concluded.

OBE and climateProponents of outcome-

based cducation acknowledgethe importance of a positiveclimate and a culture thatreinforces basic values inorder for studentperformance to improve.

Johnson CitySuperintendent Matnarybelieves that school climateshould be continuallyassessed and that schoolsmake provisions forcontinuous improvement. Inthe publication, QualityOutcomm-Driven Education,Mamaty describes a positiveclimate as having thefollowing elements:

Students and staff areproductive and content.Adequate materials areprovided.Buildings are clean andinviting.wAelllridents are learning

All students feel valuedand are involved in thegovernance of theschool.Agreed-upon proceduresfor problem solving anddecision making areused.Communication skills ofactive listening are thenorm of the school.Basic needs are satisfiedfor all those involvedwith the schools.A reasonable salary isprovided.

Builders andblockers

The Pasco SchoolDistrict developed tenpositive statements andtheir negative corollaries tohelp define how their basicbelief system translates intoday-to-day practice. Thestatements are labeled (1)Beliefs that Enable and (2)Beliefs that Block.

For example, the corebelief, "All children canlearn" corresponds to thebelief that blocks: "Onlysome children can learn."Most of the ten statementsrelate to climate issues,such as trust, positiveexpectations, andcooperation between homeand school.

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

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Pasco Developmental Process for Outcome-Driven Education:The Belief System Defined

The following ten statements htlp define the basic three components of the Pasco School District belief system:

Beliefs that Enable

I. AU students can learnDefmition: Given time andappropriate instruction, allstudents can master ctitical!earnings and achieve the exitbehaviors.

2. Excellence for aUDefinition: All students are giventhe time and support for mastery.Grades reflect learning/masteryAll students experienceenrichments/extensionsHigh expectations for all

3. TrustDefinition: The district, building,and classroom environmentsencourage communication,promote growth, and enhanceself-esteem for students, staff,and community.Respect for one another'sknowledge and expertiseLeadership nurtured anddevelopedMutual caring and supportRisk taking and changeacceptable

4. Positive talkDefinition: We exhibit verballyand nonvetbally a positive senseof caring for every individual.Affirming statements/notesDirect communicationPolite acceptance ofdisagreementSupport for one another

S. EmpewerIngDefinition: Schools empowerpersonal and academic growth.Active participation in learningproceuExpectations clear andunderstoodOrganizational skills learned andusedAwareness of consequencesAccountable for actionsIncreased participation indecision making

Beliefs that Block

1. Some students can koraDefinition: Students who learnmore slowly are not as bright, andsome students never master thecritical leanings or achieve theexit behaviors.

2. Excellence for a fewDefinition: Some students aregiven the opportunity for masteryMoving on before masteryLimiting time to learnLow expectations for some

3. Fear and suspkionDefinition: The environmentinhibits communication, limitsgrowth, and reduces self-worth andopenness for students, staff, andcommunityPeople aftaid of one anotherHigh stressLimited face-to-face dialogueNo room for mistakesLittle tolerance for risk taking

4. Negative talkDefinition: We disregard aperson's self-worth.Put-downsRacial/ethnic slursNegative body languageRumor/indirect communicationSarcasmAllowing humor to be used atone's expense

5. Controlling, rescuing, anddebilitatingDefinition: Schools fosterdepending behavior.Teachers make all decisionsLimited student patticipation inplanningLow expectationsExcuses mass made for poorperformance

Beliefs that Enable

6. Learning as collaboratorsDefinition: Climateencourages students to worktogether for academic andsocial achievement.An attitude of "in workingtogether we all succeed"Heterogeneous grouping asappropriateProblem solving and decisionmaking

7. Inclusive practicesDefinition: Students haveaccess to all programsGroups are temporary,flexibleFewer pull-outsEveryone can be eligible toparticipate

5. Mastery learningDefinition: Unit/courseobjectives are clearly statedand students will know howthese will be measuted.Students and teachers worktogether to meet objectivesTests matched to objectivesand instructionStudents needing more timereceive it without penalty

9. Continuous preventionDefinition: A proactiveprocess leads to earlyintervention of identifiedneeds.Early identification oflearning needs forinterventionAssessing/teachingprerequisitesFlexible grouping andprogramsCorrectives within 24 hours

9. Home/school cooperationand supportDefinition: Parents andschools team for the successof the studentsParents/community feelwelcomeParents involved in schoolfunctionsMultilingual schoolcommunications (notes,lettere, translators)

64

Beliefs that Block

6. Learning as rivalsDefinition: School climate fosterswinners and losers, studentsworking against each other.I succeed, you fail.Success and leadership for a few.Grading reflects bell curve

7. Restrictive practicesDefinition: Students are deniedaccess to prOgratrillGrouping is permanentTracking that limits choice andopportunitySelective participation based onmoney, ability, gender, race

S. Mystery learningDefinition: Unit/courseobjectives and measurements areunclear.Tests contain surprises and don'tmeasure critical !earningsFailure rate is highGrading reflects criteria notrelated to student learning

S. Delayed remediatIonDefinition: A reactive processonly intervenes when studentshave repeatedly failed.Labeling studentsLittle reteaching and/orcorrectives givenStudeats seldom exit their groups

IL Scheele bellied fromcommultyDefinition: Schools fail to workwith parents and community.Parentslcommunity feelunwelcomeParents not lavolvedSchool messages on one

language only

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goal, according to Principal Dick Amman, is to makemajor changes, but only those for which the whole schoolcan solidly support.

This opportunity for discussion, reformers say, isimportant to building consensus for change. In the typicalschool, most teachers have little systematic contact withtheir peers. They see students only in the classroom andthey do not usually discuss individual students with theircolleagues, according to the book, Teachers at Work, bySusan Moore Johnson.

To change the culture, teachers must have opportuni-ties to share meaningful information.

Does OBE work?Does outcome-based education work? Johnson City,

with the longest experience of any school district withthis approach, set some very specific goals to measure itseffectiveness. One was that, after implementation, at least75 percent of all eighth-graders would score at least sixmonths above grade level on reading and math on theCalifornia Achievement Test. The district met its goal inreading by 1984 and exceeded the goal in math.

The test publisher indicated that normally about 42percent of students would be expected to score sixmonths or more above grade level in reading and 41percent in mathematics. Johnson City reported that thesegains in student achievement have persisted since themid-1980s.

These gains in achievement led to an improvement inclimate, but the gains also were a byproduct of a climatein which teachers supported each other and a culture thatstrove for excellence.

FOCUSING ON THEESSENTIALSThe Coalition of Essential Schools is a reform born outof a five-year research effort that found many highschools were "shopping malls" of education large andcomprehensive, offering a wide variety of courses wherestudents were allowed "freedom to do their own thing."Motivated students could find challenge in their courses,but average students were allowed to drift along, doingthe bare minimum.

A "shopping mall" curriculum can contribute to a nega-tive climate because students who are not being challengedtend to disengage from education. Students also may resenthaving to memorize lots of facts that they will soon forget,rather than focusing on deeper educational concepts.

Part of the problem, according to coalition founderTheodore Sizer, is that schools are trying to do too much,offering an array of courses to correct all social ills.

The courses are compartmentalized into 50-minuteperiods, which works against studying a topic in depth. Inthe rush to cover large amounts of material, subjects oftenare trivialized. History, for example, becomes a series ofdates and battles to be memorized, rather than big ideas tobe debated.

In addition, the current system requires each teacher toteach 150 to 200 students, too many for them to knowpersonally.

"In my second year of teaching, I had 204 students,"Sizer said in an interview. "I didn't know them as kids. Isimply knew them as history or English students. And Iserved them very poorly."

The answer: redesign schoolsThe antidote, according to reformers, is to redesign high

schools so each teacher has no more than 80 students andthe class day is reorganized to cover a smaller number of"essential skills" and areas of knowledge in more depth.

Wisely, the reformers did not package their recommen-dations as a model that schools would try to implementwithout modification. Instead, the coalition distilled thefindings and recommendations into nine common prin-ciples around which each school would craft its ownsolutions.

The concept is that the teachers and administrators ofeach school would adopt these nine beliefs and then shapethe curriculum, class schedule, and overall operation of theschool to fit their community.

Schools that joill the consortium do so only after a coregroup of teachers agree to participate indicating aclimate that is open to change. Adopting the essentialprinciples affects the culture of the school in a long-termprocess that forces teachers to examine their basic assump-tions about students and learning.

Interested schools begin with an exploratory phase,where teachers meet and discuss the essential principles,visit other schools in the coalition, and decide whether toproceed with this approach. Since 1984, more than 130public and private schools have signed on with the coalition.

Nine essential principlesThe essential principles are:Student-as-worker, teacher-as-coach Studentsshould be active learners, not passive recipients ofknowledge.

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Simple goals: "less is more" Students shouldmaster a limited number of essential skills and areas ofknowledge, developing thinking skills by studyingtopics in depth rather than covering much contentsuperficially.Intellectual rigor The purpose of schooling is tohelp students learn to use their minds well; this is moreimpottant than offering a "comprehensive" curriculum.Staff as generalists Principals and teachers shouldperceive themselves as generalists first and subjectspecialists second.Universal goals School goals should apply to allstudents, although the way students reach these goalswill vary.Tone School climate should communicate highexpectations without stress; with trust, fairness,generosity, and tolerance;Personalize education The school should beorganized so that secondary teachers have no morethan 80 students, in order to know them as individualsand tailor instruction to their needs.Budget for a 1:80 staff-student ratio and ample timefor collective staff planning and competitive salaries.By eliminating some existing services, the coalitionsays such restructuring can be accomplished for nomore than 10 percent above the cost of traditionalschools.Diploma by exhibition Students should demon-strate mastery of skills and knowledge through prod-ucts, such as portfolios and demonstrations, rather thanfocusing on grades and class credits.

Achieving the ratioSome schools achieve the 1:80 ratio by teaching more

than one subject. Instead of six or seven classes ofEnglish, all with different students, the instructor mayteach sections of English and other sections of history,having students in more than one class.

Others divide the campus into schools-within-schools,breaking a large anonymous school into smaller, moremanageable units. Key elements are to stmcture theschool so that teachers have few enough students to knowthem as individuals and to give teachers time to talkabout the students with the other teachers.

"Schedules are written so that teachers who have thesame students have the same lunch period," Sizer ex-plained. "They eat together four times a week. It's not ascheduled planning time, it's the oppottunity, For ex-ample, two teachers may have the same middle or highschool student who is "coming alive in art but falling

;I

apart in math." The teachers could set up an art projectthat requires math, showing the student how math con-cepts such as ratio and proportion are impottant in art,"he added.

Climate implicationsHow do the students feel about this more personal

approach? "We're comfortable around the teachers," saidNathan Scovens, a senior at Walbrook, an inner-cityBaltimore high school. "Once I leave here there willalways be a relationship between them and myself. Wecan always go to them."

"I was horrible at the beginning of last year," saidBillie Lawrence, a student at suburban Parkway SouthHigh School near St. Louis, referring to her first year inthe essential schools program.

"I would just sit back and laugh and say to my friendshow I didn't care about school. Inside I knew, though,that my teacher was really teaching me. By the end of theyear, when it was time to do my projects and bring myparents in and pull it all together, I really cared about it.Truthfully, that's what brought me back to school thisyearI wanted them to see me change."

"In some coalition schools," Sizer commented, "thetruancy and drop out rates have almost disappeared eventhough the kids gripe and gripe about how much harderthey have to work than everybody else. How do youconnect those two things? The only way I connect themis that those kids know the teachers know them and carefor them. It has a profound effect. It's true for adults, too.We don't go back to the store where we're treatedfacelessly."

BREAKING THE ICE"The last time many teachers routinely talked aboutissues of education was probably in graduate school,"said Beverly Simpson, a Coalition staff member whoworks with schools at the start of their involvement.

As a result, some teachers are eager to end the isolationand build a new norm of collegiality by starting anessential school on their own, as a school within a school.

Watch for cliques. After eight years of experience withthe process, Coalition consultants warn that this approach islikely to backfire. "If you don't include people in theconversaticn, they feel excluded, and excluded people makethings fail," said the Coalition's Director for Schools, BobMcCarthy.

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In 1984, a group of teachers at Houston's WestburyHigh School started meeting as "Horace's Company,"inspired by Sizer's book on school reform, Horace'sCompromise. The group discussed the nine principlesand ways they could try them out. The group became acharter member of the coalition as a school-within-a-school.

For a variety of reasons, including a series of princi-pal changes, the entire faculty never was activelyinvolved in discussing essential schools ideas andpractices. Eventually, the 90-plus faculty narrowly

voted down whole-school involvement. As a result,Westbury temporarily shut the program down, goingback to the planning stages.

Starting the conversationThis time, a deliberate effort was made to build

dialogue into every teacher's day.The effort paid off. "Many of the most resistent

faculty, such as shop or art teachers who saw theirsubjects threatened by change, are now contributing key

Conversation Starters:Some Key Questions

The Coalition of Essential Schools has used thistechnique in beginning the conversation at schools

in the exploratory stages. In groups of around fivepeople, consider a few of the following questions.(Warning: For each set allow two to three hours; to"cover" all of them will only lead to superficialconversations.) For each one, come up with threeanswers to share with the larger group, and thentogether "cook down" the list to no more than fiveitems the whole group can stand behind.

I.What do wc want students to know and bc ableto do when they leave our school? What wouldour school be proud to list on our diploma?What are people like whom we really admite?What do they do? If schools were trying to helpshape these characteristics, skills, and habits,what kinds of practices and structures wouldthey have to set up?

II.What is the most powerful learning experienceyou have ever had? Tell the stories, then talkabout the characteristics and conditions thatmade learning possible.

Where in our school arc powerful learningexperiences already going on? What ate theteaching strategies or other strategies that arcallowing it to happen? How could we makethese conditions possible throughout the wholeschool? What might keep it from happening?

III.Which of the Ninc Common Principles would beeasiest to adapt in our school? Which would bethe most difficult? Why?What would be uncomfortable for youpersonally about starting to work with the NineCommon Principles? What would be comfortable?(Don't need to ask why.)If you were going to visit a school where thatdifficult principle was in practice, what wouldyou Ice kids doing? What would teachers andadults in the building be doing?If you were going to put that principle intopractice in your school, what would you need tomake it happen? From whom do you need thesethings? Make a list for yourself personally, andone for the staff as a whole.

From: Horacc, Newsletter of the Coalition ofEssential Schools

. 4 67

Meeting Urban ChallengesThrough Improvement Teams

nortsmouth, Vitginia, is an industrialized city ofr 100,000 with its share of urban problems. The cityranks fifth in the state in serious crime and eighth inadolescent pregnancies. One-fifth of its population is onwelfare.

The Portsmouth Public Schools is a districtcommitted to academie excellence through schoolimprovement teams, according to SuperintendentRichard Trumble, "because serious educational reformoccurs through the diligent efforts of people who knowhow to do it best."

The school improvement teams contain teachers,parents, support staff, and principals. Each schoolreceives achievement data reported by gender, race andsocioeconomic status to pinpoint where and for whichstudents school programs are effective and ineffective.

Mapp Junior High, a 600-pupil sixth- and seventh-grade school, was honored as Portsmouth's mostimproved school for 1990-91. The disrict wascommended for its efforts to improve test scorcs,attendance, suspension rates, school climate, andparticipation in the Parent-Teacher Association.

Collaboration pays offAccording to Principal Lindell Wallace, the school's

success in these areas was due to collaborative efforts at

the school level, including:Teacher involvement in planning and decisionmaking.Establishing ownership and support among all staffmembers.Listening to teachers.Sharing in problems and concerns of the teachers.Parent involvement in school activities."If the teachers have a problem, I have a problem,"

Wallace said, explaining his philosophy on managingthe school.

Teachers and counselors are encouraged to try newprograms to attack problems of low test scores,attendance, and self-esteem. As a result, school-siteplanning has led to innovative programs that help at-risk students succeed and encourage other students toexcel.

For example, the Mapp Mentor program pairs at-riskstudents with adult mentors for counseling, tutoring,and developing socialization skills. Begun by seventh-grade English teacher Barbara Rohr, the mentorprogram works to keep students in school by providingacademic assistance and a positive role model who canhelp the students make proper career choices.

"Flunkbusters"Flunkbusters" employs peer tutoring and catchy rap

songs as a way to help at-risk students succeed.

f t

Students attend a kickoff rally hosted by local radiopersonalities. Through a dance and rap song, studentslearn how they can become a Flunkbuster by signing upfor after-school peer tutoring.

Members of the Mapp Junior High Future Educatorsof America and the National Junior Honor Society tutorFlunkbuster members two afternoons a week. Studentswho improve failing grades receive a Flunkbustercertificate and gifts from a radio station. According toseventh-grade English teacher Linda Goss, sponsor ofthe program, 200 students received Flunkbustercertificates in the first two years of the program.

To challenge all students, Mapp sponsors the HIGHprogram, which stands for Hope, Integrity, Goals andHonor. Sixth-grade teacher Alice Williams foundcd theprogram to reward students for academic excellence,proper behavior, and good attendance while buildingpositive school-community relations.

Food for thoughtStudents who qualify for the honor roll and satisfy

attendance and citizenship requirements arc treated to abanquet with their family and teachers at the end of theyear. During the banquet, students receive special giftsdonated by local merchants. Since the program began,more than 100 sixth- and seventh-grade students havebeen honored, and 50 community businesses havedonated services.

The school improved test scores by increasingemphasis on reading and writing and enhancing studenttest-taking skills. Teachers encouraged more silentreading for enjoyment and had classroom discussions oftheir books. Students wrote stories and poems related totheir rcading and took computer classes that includedreading and writing exercises. Teachers also helpedstudents feel more comfortable with standardized tests,helping them to recognize and understand different tcstformats.

From 1988-89 to 1990-91, seventh-grade averagescores on Iowa Tests of Basic Skills rose from the 32ndto the 38th percentile in vocabulary and from the 41stto the 48th in language.

Cleanliness and safetySchool climate factors that have contributed to

Mapp's success as the most improved school were anemphasis on cleanliness and safety. Teachers areassigned to monitor different areas of the school sostudents arc not afraid of harm or intimidation."Students feel good about being here," said PrincipalWallace.

RESTRUCTURING FOR CLIMATE AND CULTURE

67

guidance in the effort to introduce exhibitions forgraduation," said Karen Owen, Westbury's EssentialSchools coordinator.

In planning these conversations, teachers should nottry to impose a given reform, such as the nine prin-ciples, because that, too, will backfire. "The conversa-tion has to have a democratic focus," Sizer said. "Eachschool must find its own ways to work through itsparticular challenges. But conversation is the necessarymedium to do this," he continued. "The school's firsttask should be setting up a context of collegiality inwhich the school can thrive."

Common threadsAs these examples show, there are a number of

organizational reforms that are having a positiveinfluence on climate and culture. Common threads inthe successful programs are:

Focusing on the individual school as the locus ofchange.Including all those who will be affected by thechanges.

Many of the most resistent faculty,such as shop or art teachers who sawtheir subjects threatened by change,are now contributing key guidance inthe effort to introduce exhibitions forgraduation.

Starting with large goals, rather than specific instruc-tional techniques.Allowing plenty of time to gather information,develop plans and implement them.Including monitoring and evaluation in the plan.Emphasizing changes that will improve educationalotecomes for students.The success of any school reform, however, ulti-

mately depends on what happens in each individualclassroom. The next chapter explores instructionalstrategies and techniques that improve climate bymotivating students. The strategies also help to shapean achievement-oriented culture through nurturinghigher expectations for students.

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CHAPTER 5

1

L I I ITHROUGH INSTRUCTION

No factor has a greaterinfluence on student

attitudes and their part ofthe climate equation thanthe type and tenor of instruc-tion that takes place in theclassroom. If instruction isinteresting and stimulating, ifthe students feel capable ofdoing the work and theteacher expects them tosucceed, then the climate willbe positive. Conversely, ifclass work is boring andrepetitive, if students feel theywill never be called on orexpected to excel, thenefforts to improve climateoutside the classroom willhave little effect on the overallclimate of the school.

The fourth-grade students in Gwen Ryan's class sit at their desks,which are arranged in groups of four. Each student pulls out adifferent paperback novel selected from the classroom library thathe or she has been reading.

"Turn to the first page and read the very first paragraph over again," Ryan says.After a few minutes, she continues, "Now share in your small group what youthought about that first paragraph. Did it make you want to read more? Feel freeto read some sentences aloud in your groups."

Ryan circulates among the desks, listening in on the discussions and makingsuggestions. Later, the class has a large group discussion about starting stories.Then they begin to write their own stories.

Down the hall, fourth-grade teacher David Hempstead stands at the blackboard,where he has written "topic sentence" in an outline that includes the words"description" and `!detail."

"Today we are going to be writing stories," Hempstead says. "A good storydraws the reader in right away with interesting details or action. Its paragraphswill have topic sentences that carry the story along," he continues.

He shares examples of good writing on an overhead projector, then encouragesstudents to write their own stories using the model outlined on the blackboard.

A MATTER OF APPROACHIn both of these hypothetical classrooms, the teachers share the same instructionalgoal that their students become competent writers.

Hempstead is using a traditional approach of a teacher lecture followed by aformat for students to follow.

SHAPING CLIMATE THROUGH INSTRUCTION

69

Ryan's "reading-writing" workshop differs from thetraditional approach in several ways. The students areactively engaged in learning by working in smallgroups and sharing information about different books.The task is designed to build critical thinking skills.And each student is asked not only to read a passage,but to analyze why it is effective or ineffective atcatching their interest.

"Kid-centered" teachingThe writing workshop also is "kid-centered": the

lesson iS designed around the students' interests bydirecting them to examine closely the particular bookeach has selected to read.

In contrast, Hempstead's class illustrates the moretypical "teacher-centered" approach, where there is asingle model to follow in completing the lesson. Allstudents look at the same example and follow a formulain their writing.

School climate is about relationships, explainedKatherine D'Aoust, director of staff development forthe Saddleback Valley School District in MissionViejo, California. The classroom with the reading-writing workshop defines the relationship betweenteacher and student differently from the traditionallecture-oriented classroom.

"In the kid-centered classroom, the teacher selectsmaterial and contents based on developmental needs ofthe children," D'Aoust said. "In traditional classrooms,teachers use textbooks selected by the district and thestate department of education, and the child sits there asthe recipient of the information."

The reading-writing workshop in the example "is amuch more exciting way to learn, and it's easier forteachers than lecturing," D'Aoust added. "The kids areengaged, they're excited, and they're teaching oneanother. The message also is being reinforced that whatthey are reading was written by a writer."

Using portfoliosSaddleback Valley is implementing a new curriculum

that employs critical thinking techniques like theexample given above. The district also is using studentportfolios as a way to measure individual studentprogress.

Many districts are turning to the portfolio method asan alternative to traditional standardized and multiple-choice tests, wEch have come under fire for narrowingand oversimplifying the curriculum. Multiple-choicetests imply there is only one right answer to all prob-

1

lems or situations, critics say. Another criticism is thatthe kinds of questions asked tend to be more simplisticbecause of the limitations of machine scoring.

With portfolios, more complex skills can be encour-aged and evaluated because the file becomes an expand-ing record that contains the student's actual workperformed over time.

A traditional testing situation, for example, may notaccurately reflect a student's writing skills because theartificial time limit makes it impossible to proofreadand edit as would be expected in a work situation.

In addition, portfolios provide a vehicle for studentsto take more responsibility for their learning. "Studentscompile their own work and learn to set goals,"D'Aoust explained. "In this way, they are becomingmore autonomous learners."

Facilitating changeThese new approaches are affecting climate indirectly

because teachers are seeing their role change fromdispenser of information to "facilitator, learner, re-searcher. Teachers are becoming more reflective,thinking about their instructional techniques," D'Aoustsaid.

"Just as teachers can best teach writing by writingthemselves, you can't help kids be thinkers withoutthinking about thinking. Instead of lecturing, whichdoes not promote thinldng, teachers are using inquiryand cooperative learning techniques, presenting contentin ways that intrigue students," D'Aoust added.

ACTIVE LEARNINGTECHNIQUESStudents are more likely to have positive attitudes aboutschool if they are active participants in the classroomrather than passive recipients of information. In addi-tion, active learning techniques are proving to be moreeffective than passive ones.

"All genuine learning is active, not passive,"Mortimer Adler wrote in his ground-breaking book, The

Paidela Proposal: An Educational Manifesto. "Itinvolves the use of the mind, not just the memory. It isa process of discovery, in which the student is the mainagent, not the teacher."

Active learning techniques proving popular withstudents and teachers alike include cooperative learn-ing, Socratic questioning, and thinking strategies.

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

70

COOPERATIVE LEARNINGCooperative learning is based on the premise that agroup of students working together can help each otherlearn new skills and gain insights through the groupprocess. They are dependent on each other for success.Students not only are expected to learn the informationor solve the problem but also to ensure that theirteammates learn the information as well.

The technique also mirrors the way the workplace ischanging. A national survey asked employers what theyconsidered the top ten skills when looking for newemployees. The traditional skills schools usuallyemphasize reading, computation, and writingwere the bottom three on the list. The top three were (1)teamwork, (2) problem solving, and (3) interpersonalskills, all of which are reinforced through cooperativelearning.

Teachers using cooperative learning generally dividetheir classes into groups of from two to six students towork on a project. Unlike ability grouping, wherestudents are selected on the basis of similarities, coop-erative groups typically include a cross section ofstudents with a mix of gender, race, and abilities.

Care is necessaryCooperative learning is not a panacea that will

always work. It must be carefully implemented to avoidpitfalls. Simply dividing the class into equal groups,providing interesting information and problems tosolve, and turning students loose is not likely to ensuresuccess, according to experts such as R. E. Slavin ofJohns Hopkins University.

Instead, there should be clearly stated goals andindividual roles and grades for each student. Suchguidelines ensure that one bright or conscientiousstudent does not get stuck tutoring classmates orperforming an inordinate amount of the work. It alsominimizes squabbles about what each student is ex-pected to accomplish within the team.

In classes of 30 to 40 students, "few students get thechance to contribute orally in class," noted DaveMittleholtz of the San Diego, California, schools."Within cooperative groups, all have a chance to listen,speak, and give feedback."

Tips for successTeachers who have successfully implemented coop-

erative learning in their classrooms recommend payingattention to the following details:

Create a cow Lucive physical environment. Desksarranged in traditional rows do not promote discus-sion. Instead, classrooms could be arranged sostudents face each other to permit a free interchangeof information. While this may seem obvious, asurprising number of teachers do not take intoaccount how the physical design of the classroomaffects the comfort level of students participating indiscussions.Spread natural leaders among groups for bal-ance. In heterogenous groups, it is important thatstudents with strong communication skills and thosewith the potential to develop these skills are notclustered but are spread evenly among the class.The teacher may need to invest some extra time"training" students for their roles in groups, but thistime can pay off by igniting enthusiasm in studentswho may have been marginal academically.

"It has been my personal experience that some ofthe 'poorer' students (by grade point standards) havereally blossomed by the experience," said researcherLouis Gallien, Jr. "As their self-esteem grew, theyimproved their academic performance. For once,they feel a responsibility to others and, as a result,possess a greater sense of personal worth as they aregiven key roles in the classroom."Link group and individual success. To be effec-tive, cooperative learning requires individual respon-sibility and grades, but the project should be struc-tured so that success for the group requires coopera-tion from all. When students realize they will "sinkor swim together," two things happen. The reluctantor lazy student can be brought along by peer pres-sure. Conversely, shared responsibility reduces eachperson's individual risk, which can lead to morecreative approaches to solving a problem. Ideally, theassignment is structured to provide a collective"second chance" so students will feel comfortabletaking risks.

QUESTIONINGTECHNIQUESResearch indicates that 80 percent or more of the questionsasked in American elementary and secondary classroomsare designed to elicit recall of a fact or another shortanswer. That means only one-fifth or fewer of classroomquestions challenge students to look for deeper meaningsor the larger issues in other words to think.

At the same time, researchers analyzing numerousstudies from the National Assessment of Educational

72

SHAPING CLIMATE THROUGH INSTRUCTION

Progress found a striking decline in inferential reason-ing skills among 13- to 17-year olds tested between1971 and 1980.

Some teachers instinctively will ask good questions,but the above statistics suggest that natural experts arein the minority. There is an art to asking questionseffectively, one that teachers c-.. learn. It includescreating an atmosphere of trust so students will feelcomfortable taking a risk where there are no absoluteright and wrong answers.

Timing also is critical. Simply pausing longer after aquestion is asked before calling on someone willencourage more students to try to come up with theanswer.

It is clear that schools and districts must makethinking skills a priority, providing training and re-sources to teachers if the level of challenging discussionis to be increased in most classrooms.

Is it worth the effort? Scholars note that skillfulquestions in the classroom can:

Arouse student interest.Motivate students to research issues related to thetopic.Clarify concepts related to the lesson.Challenge students to think.Train students to distinguish between trivial informa-tion and big ideas.Help students learn to acquire intelligent meaningsfrom data rather than just remembering facts.

Socratic questioningAnother way questions can invigorate a classroom is

through the Socratic seminar, a technique employed inschools using elements of the Paideia Program. Socraticseminars are discussions where the teacher and studentsare equals. The goal is for participants to gain a greaterunderstanding of ideas and values.

For example, a high school history class might readabout the Treaty of Versailles, which ended World WarI. During the discussion, students could examine whathappened from all points of view, exploring what waspositive and what was negative about the treaty thatplanted the seeds of World War H.

In addition to actively involving students and causingthem to analyze and consider ideas and issues, thismethod creates the third advantage: engaging studentsof varying abilities on a level playing field. The field islevel because students ci:scuss attitudes and opinionsand a common source of information.

.41r 73

71

"In the seminar, you're working with a different kindof understanding, a conceptual understanding," saidPatricia Weiss, former director of the National Centerfor the Paideia Program.

"The learning and sharing in the discussion isn't asleveling as some of the traditional types of instructionthat are memory-based. The questions are wide open,easier for all to address."

For example, if the teacher asks a question related tosomething students just read, they give an opinion. Theteacher responds by asking, "Why? Where in the textdo you find evidence to support that?" Students dealwith that at their own individual level.

"There's a real ranking that goes on in schools,"Weiss continued. "The seminar is one of the few timesthat I've seen where students can come together andstudents who are not the academic stars can meaning-fully participate."

"Group dynamics change. The most popular studentis not automatically looked at as the leader in theseminar discussion," Weiss explained. To implementSocratic seminars successfully, staff development forteachers should focus on the group dynamics likely tooccur so teachers can foster participation by students ofall ability levels.

EXPECTATIONS ANDACHIEVEMENTClassroom climates and student achievementimprove when teachers use their most effective teachingstrategies with their low-achieving students as well aswith their high-achieving ones. While this may seemobvious, in practice teachers favor the more successfulstudents without even realizing it.

During a 10-year study, more than 3,000 teachersacross the country were observed in their classrooms."We didn't find one teacher who practiced goodteaching as frequently with low achievers as with highachievers," Sam Kerman, a co-founder of the TeacherExpectations and Student Achievement (TESA) trainingprogram, said in an interview.

For example, teachers know that callit g on studentsto answer questions, express ideas, and give opinions ismotivating because it involves them in chssroomactivity. When asked in workshops why they thoughtlow-achieving students were called on less frequently,the answers were very logical:

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

72

It might embarrass the low achiever.The whole class benefits from a good response.High achievers volunteer more.With a large amount of material to cover, I can'tafford to call on those who are unprepared.The problem with this approach is that low achievers

"tune out" of the classroom because they know theywill not be called on. The lack of a response becomes aself-fulfilling prophecy.

actions that communicate a "personal regard" for thestudent. The content includes research on thetechnique's effectiveness, examples, and role-plays.

Since most teachers are familiar with the tech-niques, an emphasis is placed on discussing whyteachers might not be using these techniques asfrequently with low-achieving students,

Following each seminar, participants observe eachother a minimum of four times, focusing on the types

Teacher Expectations and Student AchievementInteraction Model

Monthly Workshops Strand AResponse Opportunities

Strand IIFeedback

Strand CPersonal Regard

Workshop #1 I. Equitabledistribution

1. Affirm/correct 1. Proximity

Workshop #2 2. Individual help 2. Praise 2. Courtesy

Workshop #3 3. Latency 3. Reasons forpraise

3. Personalinterest andcompliments

Workshop #4 4. Delving 4. Listening 4. Touching

Workshop #5 5. Higher levelquestions

5. Acceptingfeelings

5. Desist(classroommanagement)

Workshop model"Teacher Expectations and Student Achievement is

a training program that makes teachers aware ofbiasesin their behavior toward students and gives them astructure for changing it," Kerman explained.

Teachers attend five workshops, each approximatelyone month apart. During each workshop, three keyteaching strategies are examined, one from each ofthree "strands" that include types of interactions withstudents: "response opportunities," "feedback" and

of interactions previously discussed. The teacher istrying to use the technique with all students, but theobserver records only the frequency of interaction withtarget students. To reduce anxiety, it is stressed that theobservations are for reporting purposes, not for evalua-tion.

Students show gainsAfter a three-year study in Los Angeles, 2,000 low-

achieving students whose teachers attended TESA

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SHAPING CLIMATE THROUGH INSTRUCTION

73

showed statistically significant academic gains overtheir peers in control classes.

There were nonacademic benefits, too. While theprogram's main purpose is improved student achieve-ment, "TESA improves the climate of the school byenhancing teachers' feelings about their students andreducing teacher stress levels," Kerman noted. "We candocument that students of teachers who have beenthrough TESA have fewer discipline referrals and betterattendance. The teachers have fewer sick days as well."

The program has evolved to a three-day training ofTESA coordinators, who can then implement what theyhave learned in their districts. Information on TESA,including a seminar schedule, can be obtained fromSam Kerman, Director of Kerman Associates, P.O. Box5748, Diamond Bar, CA 91765.

Gender and expectationsThe same kind of biasq demongtrnted toward low-

achieving students have been found in studies ofteachers in their interactions with females and withminority students. The Gender/Ethnic Expectations andStudent Achievement (GESA) training is similar inapproach to TESA in that it emphasizes teacher behaviorsthat reflect their expectations of student performance.GESA addresses these areas of interaction and behavior.I. Instructional opportunities

Response opportunitiesAcknowledgment/feedback

2. Grouping and organizationWait or "think" timePhysical closeness

3. DisciplineTouching (that which communicates encouragement, such as on the shoulder or ann)Reproof (verbal or nonverbal disapproval that iscalm and respectfid rather than emotional)

4. Self-conceptProbing (staying with a student, offering clues,rephrasing the question until the student is abie torespond)Listening

5. Evaluation of performanceHigher level questioningAnalytical feedback

In addition, GESA sessions raise perceptions aboutpossible biases in instructional materials and how theycan be adapted to create a more equitable atmosphere inthe classroom. 75

When GESA was being developed, pretrainingobservations found that teachers were from four to ninetimes more likely to call on boys than on girls. Follow-ing training, teachers report an increased use of non-stereotypical interactions and materials.

Stu:lents whose teachers have completed GESA haveshowed significant gains in achievement test scores.Information on GESA and a workbook for administratorscalled The Equity Principal are available from GrayMillEducational Consultants, Dolores A. Grayson and PamelaR. Miller, 2029 Hickman Rd., Des Moines, IA 50325

EMPOWERING STUDENTSStudents will be more engaged in the classroom if theyhave some control over their learning. The dominantmodel under which most teachers were trained is tofollow a textbook, lecture, and test. The format ispredictable, and many students do no more than theyhave to just to get by.

A more risky but potentially rewarding approach is togive students choices and the freedom to design theirlearning, within a structure. In this enviromnent,students can find the increased power and freedom aheady experience in which they take responsibility fortheir own learning.

"I learned that center stage belongs to everyone,"Jane Juska, a Concord, California, teacher, wrote inImproving Writing Instruction, about a one-semesterexperiment with her class of non-college bound stu-dents at Ygnacio Valley High School.

Early in the year, Juska presented a list of availablebooks and let the students decide which book to readand whether they all wanted to read the same book ordifferent ones.

The first day they met in small groups and mappedout a plan of attack. It included rules about classdiscussions, vocabulary tests, a schedule for complet-ing the book they chose, and how homework andclass time would be spent. The groups shared theirideas and selected the best elements for a singlestudy plan.

Each group was responsible for some aspect ofteaching. One group explained a chapter and led adiscussion; another group selected the words for tivocabulary test.

. i4fAimpEbbs and flows

Over the semester, the system evolved. Whitinitially critiqued each group's work and had . ,..

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

74

keep reading logs, both of these eventually weredropped. In their place, the groups wrote to her abouttheir work and she wrote back.

At one point, the students abandoned the structure

and little was accomplished for several days. Juskacasually asked how things were going, and thestudents recognized the problems and suggestedchanges. Late in the year, the students asked Juska to

Student QuestionsTransform ClassroomDynamics

6.

A s part of a readingassignment, teachers

typically ask questions thatdetermine whether studentshave read the assignment,recall the informationpresented, and understand thcpoint. Classroom discussionscan give students deeperinsights into the material byraising issues that mightotherwise not be obvious.

Although guidedquestioning by teachers hasits advantages, the benefitsapply primarily to the articleor book being discussed atthe time. Ideally, studentsshould be taught how to.tyelop their own questions,sd tile process can become anatural part of all rcadingassIgifinents. In this way,students will become activeparticipants in the reading,,sking themselves questionsIforerfluring, and after

el_w tare techniquesnmended by Samuel

of the University ofri...,40.4.Vn Eugene:

'.ter modeling of

4^ I. Ss

questioning. Theteacher takes studentsthrough a readingselection, shows themthe kinds of questionsthat are appropriate for aspecific content arca,and models the thinkingprocesses involved inconstructing thequestions.

2. Teach how to constructquestions. One goodplace to start is byhaving students turnstatements intoquestions. For example,the statement "Allmatter is made up ofatoms" could be revisedto "What material makesup matter?" The samemcthod can be used as astudy skill by turningchapter headings andsubheadings intoquestions.

3. Practice usingquestioning words.Studcnts can practiceformulating sentencesusing who, what, where,when, how, and why.They also should discuss

and analyze the types ofanswers required of thereader.

4. Ask questions that elicita question, not ananswer. Pictures,cartoons, illustrations,titles, and chapterheadings can be used tostimulate the student'sown questions. Forexample, the teacher canrefer to an illustration in abook and ask, "Whatwould you like to knowabout the illustration?"

Classroom discussionsgive students deeperinsights into materialby raising issues thatmight otherwise notbe obvious.

5. Have students ask andanswer questions of eachother. Student A asks aquestion of student B, whoanswers, then follows upwith a question of studentA. This continues until theinformation in the readingmaterial is exhausted.Teachers should take partin the question-and-answer exchange to modelgood questioning.

Launch a question-onlychallenge. This proceduresets up a challenge inwhich students obtaininformation important tothem solely throughquestions. The teacherannounces the topic andthe rules. Students mustlearn all they can on thetopic by asking questions,after which they will begiven a test The testincludes all informationthe teacher considersimportant, whether or notquestions on thatinformation have beenasked.The students ask questions

and the teacher answers fully,but without undueelaboration. The test is thengiven. A discussion followsregarding the questionsraised and those that shouldhave been asked.

In step four, students arcdirected to read their textscarefully or listen to a shortlecture to discover what theyfailed to learn in their initialquestions. In the final step,the teacher gives a follow-uptest. The scores of the twotests are combined. Theoutcome of the two testsprovides a good measure ofthe how well students havegrasped kty ideas and facts.

Front: Samuel A. Pcrez, TheClearing House, "ImprovingLearning Through StudentQuestioning," pp. 63-64,Oct., 1986, Vol. 60.

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SHAPING CLIMATE THROUGH INSTRUCTION

75

go back to the old way. "I try it for a couple of weeksand we are all miserable, bored, and disappointed inourselves," Juska wrote.

"The (students) learned that while power is at first aheady thing, it soon becomes hard work," Juska noted.But they also found that "once you've experiencedpower, second best is no longer good enough and justmaybe having power is worth the trouble."

"I learned that, with some guidance, kids will choosewhat's good for them," she continued. "I learned thatbelieving in them will not result in mayhem. I learned.that center stage belongs to everybody and that sittingin the critic's seat is a heavy responsibility. And Ilearned that if you have the patience and trust anddetermination to put it all together, you get greattheater."

Now, Juska routinely gives power to her classes. "Icharm, urge, and finally insist that they accept theresponsibility that goes along with power," she ex-plained. "If they do, we're all home free."

Worth the riskAs these examples show, creative teachers, willing to

take risks, can transform the climate of the classroomthrough making students more responsible for their ownlearning and through teaching techniques that makestudents active learners.

Administrators improve classroom climates byproviding training that gives teachers insights into theirown unconscious biases and helps them overcomeexpectations and actions that can have a negative effecton at-risk students.

Before trying to improve climate, it is important toknow what parts of school life represent strengths to becelebrated and where there are weaknesses to be im-proved. The next chapter describes ways districts andschools are evaluating their climates.

CHAPTER SIX

Measunn.g40"41 I1110 I I

AN IMPORTANT FIRST STEP

School improvementefforts start with gather-

ing information to identifystrengths on which to buildand weaknesses to correct. Inaddition to looking at studentcharacteristics and academicperformance, it Is importantto "take the temperature" ofthe school to assess theattitudes and satisfaction ofstaff, students, and parents.Measuring the climate can givevaluable information on howreceptive the school commu-nity will be to change.

Nearly half of the superintendents and principals (44 percent)who responded to the AASA climate and culture questionnairereported conducting climate surveys at the school or district levelduring the previous three years.

Nearly two-thirds of the respondents (61 percent) used the surveys for aspecific action plan, while 38 percent used them in planning staff developmentactivities. -

Respondents overwhelmingly surveyed teachers (87 percent), while theopinion of parents was included in 71 percent of the climate surveys. Two-thirdsof the administrators surveyed students, while only one-third surveyed otherdistrict employees, including secretaries and food service, custodial, and mainte-nance staff.

Three-fourths of the surveying schools and districts used written question-naires, either distributed at school or mailed to the home. One-fourth obtainedthe information through personal interviews.

Nearly all of those who survey (85 percent) shared their results with membersof the community, with about half sending the information in a newsletter andhalf sharing the information through meetings.

INTERVIEW VS. QUESTIONNAIREThe Connecticut Department of Education developed a personal interview formto survey teachers on effective school characteristics for school improvementplanning, "The teachers loved it," said Joan Shoemaker, a school effectivenessspecialist with the department. "Someone was spending an hour to hear them

MEASURING CLIMATE

talk about school issues. However, we discovered ittook three people three full days to survey the 24teachers at the average elementary school."

Because it was so time-intensive, the departmentdeveloped a written survey seeking the same informa-tion. Over time, the staff found the results were verysimilar and the written questionnaire was more efficientin terms of time and resources.

"There's a definite place for personal interviews ifyou need in-depth information from a small number ofindividuals," Shoemaker said, but she recommends thewritten survey for large groups.

Effectiveness indicatorsA number of schools and districts have keyed their

surveys to school effectiveness characteristics, includ-ing positive school climate. The Orange County PublicSchools in Florida uses separate color-coded writtenquestionnaires for teachers, parents, and students.

The 33-item student questionnaire measures seveneffectiveness indicators and characteristics:

Safe and orderly enviromnent.Positive school climate.High expectations.Frequent assessment/monitoring of achievement.Emphasis on basic skills.MaXimUrri opportunities for learning.Parent/community involvement.

Sample questionsThe surveys consist of declarative sentences, such as

"An atmosphere of respect and trust exists." Respon-dents complete a machine-readable answer sheet on acontinuum of one to five, where one stands for"strongly disagree," five represents "strongly agree,"and three is neutral.

Student surveys. Here are some sample statementsthat Orange County students are asked to agree/disagreewith using the 1-5 scale:

School conduct rules are fair.My parents know about the school's discipline rules.My parents support the school's discipline rules.Teachers respect all students at our school, no matterwho they are.I am proud of the way my school looks.My teachers expect me to do my best.My teachers expect me to learn as much as I can.My textbooks and/or workbooks are interesting.My parents are active in school events.

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Parent surveys. Orange County parent surveysinclude questions on the seven indicators asked ofstudents, plus questions to measure perceptions ofinstructional leadership and parent/community involve-ment. Parents indicate whether they agree or disagreewith the statements on a scale from 1 to 5. The state-ments include:

The principal has a strong role in instruction.Decisions about instruction are made based oninformation from parents, community, and teachers.The principal and teachers make good instruction themost important school priority.Teachers tell students what they are expected tolearn.Students are informed how they are expected tobehave in school and at school activities.Students are disciplined in a fair and consistentmanner.An atmosphere of respect and trust exists.Social and cultural differences are respected.Machine-readable surveys enable schools to collect

information on the gender and ethnicity of the personscompleting the questionnaires. For some questions,such as those dealing with the fairness of discipline,educators should examine whether perceptions differamong ethnic groups.

For example, if the survey analysis reveals a biaswith the fairness of discipline, a school improvementcommittee can start developing action programs onmulticultural awareness. Such a plan can enlist the helpof parents and community members in programs toreinforce pride in the students' heritage and increasestaff members' cultural understanding and sensitivity.

Teacher surveys. The Orange County surveys askteachers about the nine characteristics on the parentsurvey, as well as their opinions on the district'sprofessional development programs and how much theyare involved in decision making. Again, a five-pointscale is used. The statements include:

Frequent communication occurs between faculty andadministration.The principal is involved in the instructional process.Administrators complete fair and meaningful evalua-tions of each employee.The principal encourages teachers to participate inleadership roles.Students and teachers have a positive attitude towardschoolTeacher and student attendance is high.School facilities contribute to a positive school climate.

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

Expectations are high, appropriate, and achievable.Parents actively participate in establishing schoolpolicies and procedures.Professional development is tailored to the needs ofthe school.Teachers are involved in school planning andbudgeting.Teachers perceive that they can influence schooldecisions.

Part of the planning process"The climate surveys have been part of the strategic

planning process used by school advisory councils toidentify priorities for a school and develop actionplans," said Jacquelyn Hughes, associate superintendentfor planning and government relations in OrangeCounty.

The district has trained advisory councils and princi-pals in strategic planning. Additional training has beengiven to principals on the change process and on how tomaintain "viable school advisory councils," Hughescontinued.

"Strategic planning and the climate surveys thatidentify problems to address have created a climatefor change throughout the district," added WesBlamick, senior manager for strategic planning.

Recommendations for changeThe Connecticut Department of Education works

with public schools on school improvement at alllevels. At the elementary level, the department recom-mends climate surveys based on effective schoolscharacteristics, as discussed earlier in this report. Formiddle schools, Connecticut has developed samplesurveys based on the eight recommendations in the1990 Carnegie Corporation study, Turning Points:Preparing Youth for the 2 Ist Century. The surveys seekto learn the extent to which each of these recommenda-tions has been implemented.

Create a community for learning by fostering aplace where close, trusting relationships with adultsand peers create a climate for students' personalgrowth and intellectual development.Teach a core of common knowledge by includinglearning to think critically, lead a healthy life, behaveethically and lawfillly, and assume the responsibili-ties of citizenship in a pluralistic society.Ensure success for all students by eliminatingtracking in favor of cooperative learning groups,

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flexible scheduling, and expanded opportunities forlearning.Empower teachers and administrators by trustingthe adults who know them best to make decisionsregarding experiences of students.Prepare middle grade teachers by educating themabout adolescent development and providingmentorships and instruction in academic teaming.Improve academic performance by fostering betterhealth and fitness through student access to healthservices and by promoting healthy lifestyles.Re-engage families in middle grade education bykeeping parents informed, offering meaningful roles inschool governance, and giving opportunities to supportlearning at home and school.Connect schools with communities by providingopportunities for youth service, collaborating withhealth and social service agencies to provide access forstudents, and expanding career guidance and resourcesfor students and teachers.

A MULTIDIMENSIONALAPPROACHThe Anne Arundel County, Maryland, Public Schoolsdeveloped surveys to measure climate along four dimen-sions: academic, social, physical, and affective. Thedistrict's Instructional Leadership Program, which trainsdepartment chairs, originally developed the surveys tolearn how students perceived their schools' learningclimate. School leaders used survey results, along withother information, to determine local educational goals.

Like the Connecticut model, the surveys have sincebeen expanded to include versions for staff and parents aswell as for students. Improvement teams at the local levelanalyze the results for setting goals and developing actionplans.

How they meshThe affective dimension, or the feelings and attitudes

students share about the school, results from perceptionsabout the academic program, the social context, and theschool's physical environment the other three dimen-sions.

For example, many believe the presence of highexpectations, rewards, and praise for students, alongwith the monitoring of pupil progress, contribute to apositive academic dimension. Opportunities for inputand participation in goal setting affect how faculty

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members regard the social/emotional dimension of theschool.

The elements of the four dimensions become atemplate from which the survey questions are drawn toensure that data on all aspects contributing to schoolclimate are measured. In this way, school teams areable to address particular elements of a negative climateby pinpointing the source of the dissatisfaction.

The chart on the next page describes the elements foreach dimension.

Sample questions

Student surveys. The Anne Arundel elementarystudent survey has three questions measuring studentperception of school cohesiveness and seven measuringopportunity for participation in classroom activities.These are two of the six components of the affectivedimension. Below are some questions from the studentsurvey, showing the element and dimension measured:

Do you feel school is important? (cohesiveness/affective).Do you believe getting good grades in this school isusually due to hard work rather than luck? (participa-tion/affective).Do you usually keep your desk clean? (environment/physical).Does your teacher usually give you enough time toanswer when you are called upon in class'? (student-teacher interaction/social).Do students in this class help one another when theyneed it? (student-student interaction/social).Does your teacher usually help you when you arepracticing your classwork? (monitoring progress/academic).When you have done a good job, does the teacher tellyou that you've done a good job? (rewards, praise/academic).

Parent surveys. The 20-question parent survey inAnne Arundel tracks opinions on the four dimensionswith questions such as these:

Do you feel the professional staff (administrators,teachers, and counselors) of this school respects thecommunity? (respect/affective).Do you feel this school does a good job in educatingthe children? (morale/affective).Do you feel there are generally enough textbooksprovided for your child? (materials/physical).Are you aware of what this school's goals are for thisyear? (goals/social).

Are you satisfied with the amount of communicationcoming from the school concerning your child'sprogress? (monitoring pupil progress/academic).

Teacher surveys. The 96-item faculty surveycontains the following questions regarding the fourdimensions:

Do you feel the adults (administrators, teachers,counselors, secretaries, custodians, cafeteria workers)in this school treat each other courteously? (respect/affective).Do you think that this school does a good job ofeducating children? (morale/affective).Are there opportunities in your school to work withfaculty members of other departments/grade groups?(input/social).Do you feel this school makes an effort to meet theneeds of individual students? (expectations/aca-demic).Do you regularly communicate to students thecriteria used to evaluate their progress? (monitoring/academic).Do you feel interruptions to classroom learning time(P.A. announcements, assemblies) are kept to aminimum? (orderliness/ academic).Do you have an adequate area to plan for instruction?(resources/physical)Do you feel the professional staff tries to keep theschool attractive? (environment/physical ).According to the Maryland Department of Education.

the Anne Arundel climate surveys are the most widelyused in the state because of their comprehensiveness inmeasuring all four dimensions of climate. The surveyscan be machine-scored also and can report results bysubgroups such as grade, gender, ability, and race.

Addressing climate issuesOnce the survey results are back, teams from the

school develop climate improvement goals and specificaction plans for dealing with identified problems. TheMaryland State Department of Education recommendstwo general strategies for improving school climate:I . Development of school-based resource teams to

assist teachers.2. School-based staff development.

Both strategies rely on research findings showingthat successful school change efforts share thesecommon characteristics:

Clear goals and expectations.Collaborative planning and problem solving.

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DIMENSIONS OF SCHOOL CLIMATEFactors that collectively measure the school's social emotional health

Dimension Element Definition

AFFECTIVE The feelings and attitudes reflected by the students of the school.

Caring Each student in the school should feel that the adults in the school areconcerned about him/her as a human beinL.,.

The students feel the adults in the school have a positive unity andcommitment to education.

Cohesiveness

High Morale Students in the school feel good about what they are doing.

Opportunity forParticipation

Students feel they have the opportunity to develop the knowledge,skills, and atfitudes necessary to succeed.

Respect Students feel that other individuals in the school can be counted on tobehave in a way that is honest and fair.

Trust Students have confidence that individuals in the school can be countedon to behave in a way that is honest and fair.

The program, processess, and materials that influence the learning climate

SOCIAL The communication between and among persons in the school

PHYSICAL

ACADEMIC

From:Anne AtundelCounty, Maryland,

Public Schools

Student-TeacherInteraction

The interactions between the student and the teacher are open andfriendly.

Student-StudentInteraction

The interactions between and among students are friendly in nature.

Opportunity forInput

Students have an opportunity for their ideas to be considered.

The physical and material aspects of the school.

PhysicalEnvironment The students perceive the school to be clean and orderly.

Materials The school has enough materials available for each student. _The program, processes, and materials that together influence thelearning climate.

AcademicEmphasis

The students perceive the primary focus of the school to be oninstruction.

High Expectations There are reasonable but high expectations for each student tosucceed.

Rewards & Praises Students receive appropri ate recognition for their accomplishments.

Orderliness Students perceive the rules and consequences for behavior to be clear.

Monitoring ofPupil Progress

Students receive consistent and ongoing feedback on their progress.1 .04

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Flexible programs based on local choice.Training, technical assistance, and follow-up.Development of internal change facilitatorcapabilities.Systemwide support.

Training for teachersIn Maryland, the state department of education and

local school districts provide training on the changeprocess, as well as on instructional and classroommanagement strategies and techniques for schoolimprovement teams.

After action plans are developed, the teams take onthe responsibility for providing staff development andfollow-up for faculty members. This ensures thatteachers receive sufficient training and support to addthe classroom management strategies and instructionaltechniques to their repertoire. Over time, teams developtheir own expertise in effecting change.

In school-based staff development, instructionalleaders emerge and serve as resources to classroomteachers. These leaders can provide professional devel-opment on a wide range of climate improvement andinstructional techniques and collaborate with theprincipal to see that improvement efforts stay on track.

"These school-based leaders ensure the transfer oftraining by establishing a norm for collaboration andengaging in peer coaching so teachers can practice intheir classrooms the techniques they learned in staffdevelopment sessions," explained Peggy Walters of theMaryland Department of Education. "In this way,teachers acquire the skills to deal more successfullywith students' academic and behavioral needs, creatinga positive school and classroom climate that promotesstudent success and reduces student disruption."

Projects that Maryland school teams have developedthrough the process of conducting climate surveys anddeveloping action plans include:

Peer coaching programs where teachers observe andprovide feedback to each other on specific issues ofinstruction and classroom management.Peer counseling/buddy systems for students.Projects that involve students in evaluating their ownwork.New ways to recognize academic achievement."Adopt-a-Kid" programs.Programs to monitor the use of effective praisetechniques.Means of teaching students appropriate communica-tion and coping skills.

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Activities to improve student self-concept.Courses in study skills for students.Buddy systems for students with poor attendance.Student team-learning programs.

SITE-BASEDMANAGEMENTThe Jefferson County, Kentucky, Public Schools usedifferent written climate surveys to assist with site-based management. One survey gives principals thechance to evaluate both the central office and school-level decision making. Other surveys enable teachers

These school-based leaders ensure thetransfer of training by establishing anorm for collaboration and engaging inpeer coaching so teachers can practicein their classrooms the techniques theylearned in staff development sessions.

and parents to evaluate school-based decisions fromtheir perspective.

On the principal's survey, school administratorsevaluate how responsive central office departments arein meeting the needs of the local school. Principalsindicate whether they receive the support they needfrom the central office always, usually, sometimes,seldom, or never in areas such as:

AssessmentEmployee relationsMy supervisorInstructionStaff developmentSuperintendent's officeEarly childhood educationTransportation.The principal's survey also asks administrators to

report on the same continuum whether they involvestaff and faculty in planning school programsand whether the school staff practices "shared decisionmaking through input, decision/rationale, and re-course."

"We've spent a lot of time discussing what shareddecision making means," Robert Rodosky, JeffersonCounty's director of research, said in explaining the

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three-part question. "Shared decision making is a totalprocess, but there are also parts to the process.

"The opportunity for input is only one aspect ofshared decision making. If people ask questions, wewant them to get answers," Rodosky continued. "Wewant them to feel like the answer isn't arbitrary. Givinga rationale for a decision is one way to make people feeldecisions are reasonable rather than arbitrary. Also,there should be an opportunity to appeal decisions,which is recourse. The idea is to make people feel goodabout the decision-making process."

Seven criteriaJefferson County has developed surveys for teachers,

parents, support staff, and elementary and secondarystudents to evaluate how well their school is doing onseven effective schools criteria:

AcademicsPresence of instructional leadershipHigh expectationsDegree of ownership each group has in the schoolDiscipline/safetyEffectiveness of communications between keygroupsOverall satisfaction in the school.For example, parents and secondary students are both

asked to respond on a five-point, agree-disagree scale totLese statements:

The homework my child is assigned helps him/herlearn (academics).Problems in our school can be solved (satisfaction).If asked, 1 would tell my friends I have a good school(ownership).I have the opportunity for input in decision makingin our school (ownership).

Staff opinionsSurveys are given to teachers and support staff, using

the same seven criteria. Support staff are asked torespond to 31 statements including:

A strong educational program is offered at my school(academics).A positive learning atmosphere exists at my school(satisfaction).My work is appreciated and encouraged by thefaculty and staff of my school (leadership).Teachers are asked if they agree or disagree that:Following classroom observation, the principal (orassistant principal) provides formative feedback(leadership).

CULTURE

Our faculty and staff work together effectively(communications).Teachers feel they can make a difference in achieve-ment in our school (expectations).Curriculum offerings in our school meet the needs ofmost students (academics).Most of my students care whether or not they learn(expectations).

Comparative informationEach school receives a profile indicating how teach-

ers, students, and parents responded on the sevencriteria compared with the district average for allelementary, middle, or secondary schools.

Profiles also include data on standardized test scoresin reading, writing, and math; attendance rates for threeyears; student mobility; and retention rates.

"The school profiles enable schools to comparethemselves with other schools in the district," Rodoskyexplained. Scores below the district average wouldpinpoint areas the school might want to address in thenext year's improvement plan. Schools are encouragedto complete the questionnaires annually and are ex-pected to do so at least every two years, Rodoskyadded.

Evaluating the learning climateThe Learning Climate Inventory can be used for

school-based action planning or staff development. It isbrief (20 questions) and can be completed in 10 to 15minutes during a faculty meeting. The questions elicitteacher perceptions on the degree of autonomy theyhave and their freedom to innovate in the classroom.

The five characteristics measured are:Leadership. Extent to which teachers perceiveleadership behaviors in the school's administrators.Freedom. The amount of freedom teachers feel theyhave to experiment and determine their own instruc-tional activities.Evaluation. The extent of involvement teachers havein evaluating administrators, and students have inevaluating teachers.Compliance. Amount of pressure teachers feel toconform to rules of the system.Cooperation. Extent teachers are supported inefforts to team teach and use resource people.The survey contains a seven-point scale of "never"

(1) to "always" (7) with questions such as:

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You are free to experiment with teaching methodsand techniques in your classroom.You are free to bring supplementary materials(paperbacks, magazines, newspapers, films, slides.video, computers) into your classroom.You are encouraged to "teach to the test" to improvestudent achievement.You participate in the administrative decisionsaffecting your classroom teaching.You are free to discuss controversial issues in yourclassroom.You are supported in your efforts to employ teamteaching or other mentoring/cooperative teachingplans.You are free to use your own judgment in evaluatingand grading each student.Your teaching is evaluated by a mutually agreedupon set of objectives.Your principal keeps the teaching staff workingtogether as a team to improve the learning climate.Building inservice programs are planned to help youimprove the teaching/learning process in yourclassroom.Principals are asked to answer the questions as they

think their faculty members will, and the principals'perceptions are compared with the teachers' responses.The questionnaires are tabulated by an impartiP! thirdparty to encourage frank responses by the faculty. Theprincipal receives a report with average scores of theresponses, which protects the identity of the teachers.

Conversation startersFor action planning purposes, the low scores can be

starting points for discussion, said John R. Hoyle, aprofessor of educational administration at Texas A&MUniversity, who developed the survey. "The principalmay say, 'Why did you tell me (through the responses)that the classroom needs to be totally quiet? I'm tellingyou you ought to have fun," Hoyle explained.

"The teachers say, 'When the principal walks downthe hall, we think: he doesn't want to hear a pin drop.'Often, the problem is one of misperception," Hoylecommented. "You don't clear those up unless you talkabout them.

"They can talk about each survey item, and you don'tpin anybody down because the point of discussion ismean scores from all the faculty," Hoyle notes. "It'sgreat for staff development."

The Learning Climate Inventory uses a seven-point

scale, rather than a five-point scale. The wider pointrange gives the schools a "higher inference in researchparlance," Hoyle explained. "It's a finer distinction ofattitude, knowing exactly why people answer the waythey do, which forces people into more thinking pro-cesses."

He added that the LCI has fewer items, only 20questions compared with as many as 60 to 90 on someother school evaluation instruments.

Districts also can use the LCI to compare schools.With results from 15 to 20 schools, comparisonscan be made of the school climate, such as the back-ground and leadership style of the principal,Hoyle added.

CLASSROOM FEEDBACKHoyle developed another survey that gives individualteachers an opportunity to measure student perceptionson both the climate and the level of cognitive learningbeing required of them in the classroom. Like theLearning Climate Inventory, where principals anticipateteacher responses, teachers give the Secondary SchoolAttitude Inventory (SSAI) to one or more of theirclasses and then complete the survey themselves,anticipating the students' answers.

In the SSAI, students are given only four choices,"strongly agree" to "strongly disagree,"with no neutralanswer, to force them to state an opinion. The questionsare coded CI for Climate and CL for Cognitive Learn-ing. Among the 30 statements students must agree ordisagree with are:

The class actively participates ii discussions (CI).The teacher emphasizes memorization (CL).Every person in the class is treated equally as aperson (Ci).Logical reasoning and analysis are highly encouraged(CL).Class decisions are made by all students (Cl).Students are encouraged to discover the alternativesolutions to problems (CL).Joking and laughing occur in class (CI).Certain students impose their wishes on the wholeclass (CI).Students have little idea about what the teacher istrying to teach. (CL)The classwork relates to the real world (CL).Use of the SSAI is designed to be nonthreatening for

both teachers and students. "Teachers can distribute thesurveys themselves and send the surveys directly to

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A&M for scoring. The principal does not even see howindividual students are rating the classroom," Hoylenoted. Teachers can choose to administer the surveyonly to a particular class or to all students.

Disagreements commonThe cognitive levels are based on the classic Bloom's

taxonomy. "In almost every case, there is a mismatch,"Hoyle said. "Most teachers tend to think they areteaching levels four and five (analysis and synthesis)even level six (evahation)," Hoyle said. "When theygive the SSAI, students perceive the classroom environ-ment in terms of levels one and two knowledge andcomprehension.

"I have concluded that most teachers and schoolsystems are so test-driven that students don't alwaysrecognize that teachers are trying to get them to thinkmore critically in higher order ways," Hoyle mused."Teachers perceive themselves teaching to problemsolve. Students don't receive that message becausethey're so concerned about the test at the end of theunit.

"That's been really good to see the mismatch.Teachers are glad to know that, so they can beginadjusting what they're doing in order to get students tothink in more high-ordered ways. That's the real benefit

staff development."

Setting goalsTeachers can use the SSAI to set goals they will

work on in the ensuing months. Principals can discusssurvey results with teachers as part of their supervisoryfunction. In one Houston high school, 100 teachers eachgave the SSAI to a selected class and completed thesame survey themselves. The surveys were coded foreach class, and since the teachers used a different colorof ink, the responses for each class could be tabulatedand compared.

Based on the results, each teacher sets personalgrowth goals in an individual action plan. For example,one teacher was surprised to learn that students saidclassroom discussion is discouraged. "The teacher'sinitial reaction may be, 'I don't discourage discussion.'But on further reflection, he or she might remember,'Well, there were a couple of times I really nailedthem," Hoyle explained.

The teacher might then consider how to alter his orher teaching style to include cooperative learninggroups where students can have more discussions. "It's

not perfect," Hoyle said of the survey. "A lot of theinformation is subjective. But if you don't have somebenchmark data, you really are pushing at ghosts."

Principals and curriculum and staff developmentcoordinators can use results from SSAI to identifytraining needs. Results from several classrooms mayidentify common needs for skill development orinformation. Such information can ie used to designtraining sessions.

Atmosphere of trustAnother effective use of the SSAI is when principals

meet individually with teachers to suggest ways teach-ers can improve the climate or level of challenge in theclassroom. Central to such an approach is establishingan atmosphere of trust so that the teachers are comfort-able sharing the "grades" given by their students andare willing to take a risk and try new classroom tech-niques or approaches.

"Any improvement process has to have trust," Hoylecommented. "The atmosphere has to be nonthreaten-ing." One way to build that trust is to point outstrengths identified in the survey, as well as areas whereimprovement is desired.

In a hypothetical evaluation conference, Hoylesuggested this type of approach: "You succeeded herebut apparently you feel you have a need here. I appreci-ate the risk you're taking. I would like you to visitschool A or B, and I'll cover for you."

The principal also might offer a videotape, articles,or a training session. "The key is to remove the threat,to use lead-managing rather than boss-managing,"Hoyle concluded.

ALCOHOL, DRUGS,ANDTHE ENVIRONMENTThe school environment, and especially the extent ofdrug and alcohol use, is a critical factor in any schoolimprovement effort. That is why the Portsmouth,Virginia, City Schools survey parents, students, andstaff on drug awareness and the school environment aspart of the district's overall approach to school im-provement.

As the introduction to the parent survey explains,"This study is designed to determine the strengths andweaknesses of your child's school so that the effective-ness of the school can be increased. The study also is

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designed to determine the awareness of drugs and drug

usage by your child's peers."Parents are asked to leave the answer sheet unsigned

and to skip any questions for which they do not know

how to respond.The 76-question survey has seven sections that ask

for demographic information and attitudes regarding

drug issues.Parents are asked to respond regarding the frequency

("never" to "a lot") for which:My child makes good grades in school.My child gets into trouble in school.My child attends a church or synagogue.My child goes out with friends.I am strict with my child.I talk to my child about the dangerous effects ofdrinking alcohol. (A separate question asks about

drugs.)Parents are asked to express their opinion on a range

of issues, responding "no," "undecided,""yes," or"don't know" to questions including:

Drug and alcohol use is the biggest problem facingyouth in my community.

It would be okay with me for my child to use alcoholif he/she would not use other drugs.My child has friends who drink (next question:use drugs).I want more information about the harmful effects ofalcohol and drug use on students.I would attend training sessions on student drugabuse prevention if they were offered.I want to become more involved in student drugabuse prevention in my school or community.Parents are asked to estimate the percentage of

students in their child's grade who use various legal and

illegal drugs, including cigarettes, beer, wine coolers,marijuana, cocaine, depressants, inhalants (such asglue), and hallucinogens (such as LSD).

Parents also are asked where they think students mostoften report using drugs, with the choices: home,school, in a car, with friends, and other. They also areasked to estimate how easy it is for students in theirchild's grade to get the 10 drugs named in the survey.Choices are: "can't" (get drugs), "fairly hard," "fairlyeasy," "easy," and "don't know."

Finally, parents are asked their opinion on the

How Effective Are the Following Strategies forSolving the Drug Problem inYour Community?

a. Not effective b. Somewhat effective c. Effective

School-based education about the harmful effects of drug and alcohol use.Religious institutions providing drug education to young people.

Parents providing drug abuse education to their children.Parents taking responsibility for their children's use of drugs and alcohol.Keeping parents/the public informed about the extent of the student drug-use problem.

Support by civic and service organizations for drug and alcohol abuse prevention activities.

Parent action groups involved in drug and alcohol prevention.Active involvement of business and industry in drug and alcohol abuse prevention.

Training programs for teachers and other professionals in the community.

Student action groups' involvement in drug and alcohol abuse prevention.Alternative activities for young people in the community. Early help programs for students

beginning drug and alcohol use.Treatment for students who are drug andkvicohol dependent.

Fund-raising to provide resources for school/community prevention.

Laws prohibiting use of alcohol by minors.Laws prohibiting use of illicit drugs.School policy on student use of drugs and alcohol.Law enforcement to keep drugs away from students.

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a. AgreeStaff Environmental Survey

b. DisagreeParent-teacher conferences result in specific plans for home-school cooperation aimed at improvingstudent classroom achievement.Most parents understand and promote the school's instructional program.Most of my students' parents arc involved in an overall home and school support network.Many parents initiate contact with this school each month.I am enthusiastic about my work as a public school teacher.Public schools cannot really expect more than about 75 percent of all students to graduate.I am satisfied with my job in my school.I am satisfied with my control over my professional life as a teacher.In my job I am treated like a professional.Support is given to innovative ideas in my school.In this division (school district), the central office supports the teachers.

effectiveness of various community strategies forsolving the drug problem, rating the 18 strategies in thebox on the previous page as not effective, somewhateffective, or effeQtive.

Staff surveysThe staff surveys are completed by teachers, adminis-

trators, and other school-based employees, including

secretaries, nurses, librarians, and guidance counselors.In addition to the drug awareness questions asked of

parents, the dtaff members are asked about a number ofschool effectiveness and climate issues, such as safety,the condition of the building, parent attitudes, and thestaff members' level of satisfaction with the school andtheir general expectations of students. The above boxlists some of these questions.

Measuring Morale and Collegiality in Portsmoutha. Rarely occurs b. Sometimes occurs c. Often occurs

The mannerisms of teachers at this school are annoying.Teachers have too many committee requirements.The principal sets an example by working hard himself/herself.Teacher-principal conferences are dominated by the principal.Routine duties interfere with the job of teaching.Teachers interrupt other faculty members who are talking in faculty meetings.Student government has an influence on school policy.Administrative paperwork is burdensome at this school.Teachers help support each other.Pupils solve their problems through logical reasoning.The morale of teachers is high.The principal goes out of his or her way to help teachers.The principal explains his or her reasons for criticism to the teacher.The principal is available after school to help teachers when assistance is needed.Teachers socialize with each other on a regular basis.The principal uses constructive criticism.The principal talks more than listens.Teachers respect the personal competence of their colleagues.Teachers are protected from unreasonable community and parental demands.The principal is friendly and approachable.

d. Very frequently occurs

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Another series of questions assesses the degree ofcollegiality felt by staff members, teacher morale, andthn management style of the principal.

Student surveysSeparate drug awareness surveys are designed for

upper elementary students (grades 4-6) and secondarystudents (grades 7-12).

Elementary school students are asked questionssimilar to those in the parent survey, in terms of stu-dents' success in school, religious involvement, andwhere they think their peers find drugs and alcohol.Students are asked directly whether they have usedcigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs. Thefour choices range from "did not use" to "1-7 times amonth."

Students are asked whether they think they will tryany of these substances in the future and whether theythink each of seven substances is unavailable, easy, orhard to get. The final set of questions asks students:"Why do you think kids your age start to use . . .

cigarettes, chewing tobacco, beer, wine coolers, liquor,marijuana, and other drugs?" Possible responses arethat their peers want to:

Look older.Feel good.Be like their friends.Get attention.Other reason.Secondary students are asked more detailed questions

on their family life and experimentation with drugs andalcohol. The survey asks whether the students' parentslive together or apart, whether father and mother bothhave jobs, and what is the educational level of theirparents.

Other questions determine the habits, communica-tion, and self-esteem of the students. On a five-pointscale of "never" to "a lot," students are asked whetherthey play on a sports team, date, bring friends home,like the way they look, or feel lonely. They are askedwhether parents or teachers ever talk with them aboutthe harmful effects of using drugs.

An important section asks students "When did youfirst .. . smoke cigarettes, drink beer, drink liquor,smoke marijuana, and use cocaine or a number of otherillegal drugs? Responses range from "under 10 " to "19years and older."

Drug prevention and treatment experts say the age offirst use is an important marker of addictive and prob-lem behavior. The younger the first use, the more likely

the student will move beyond mere experimentation tochronic use, often with disastrous results.

INDIRECT CLIMATEMEASURESInterviews and surveys provide direct evidence aboutaspects of climate being measured. Useful informationalso can be obtained by indirect or nonobtrusive mea-sures. These techniques involve examining physicalevidence at a school, studying written records, andrecording observations of school life to assess theextent of positive or negative climate characteristics.

Such methods are nonobtrusive under two circum-stances:1. The technique must not interfere with the characteris-

tic being measured.2. The information must be gathered in a natural

setting.Unobtrusive measures appropriate for a middle

school setting are described by Cathy Vatterott inSchools in the Middle, a publication of the NationalAssociation of Secondary School Principals.

"Physical traces are evidence that builds up or wearsaway as the result of a group's behavior," she wrote.For example, a magazine that is barely hanging togetherin the school library offers mute testimony that it is themost popular. The type of magazine may indicatestudent social/emotional or academic needs that arebeing met.

Archives, the second type of evidence, exist asformal records kept by the school, such as records for

Drug prevention and treatment expertssay the age of the first use is animportant marker of addictive andproblem behavior. The younger the firstuse, the more likely the student willmove beyond mere experimentation tochronic use, often with disastrous results.

shool attendance, frequency of office referrals, orsuspensions, and informal records kept by individuals,such as a counselor's notes and the principal's recordsof disciplinary meetings. "Both types provide a history,

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of sorts, of the events of the school," Vatterott noted."Observations are among the most reliable and easily

managed forms of unobtrusive data," she continued."The principal simply watches what is going on andrecords it in some meaningful way."

For example, an urban middle school undergoingdesegregation used observations to measure the effec-tiveness of a peer bonding project. Researchers countedthe number of racially mixed groups who socializedin the cafeteria before and after the project began.The number of racially mixed groups that formedduring students' free time increased four-fold, indicat-ing the program had a positive effect on student socialinteractions.

Climate indicatorsBecause unobtrusive observations are less concrete,

they require more care in planning, Vatterott advised.She recommended having the principal in consulta-tion with the faculty identify school practices thatare indicators of a supportive climate.

For the climate area of belonging, for example, theprincipal would ask: "What can I see that will convinceme that the school encourages student belonging?"Such indicators are then listed, along with a plan fortheir observation.

Here is an example of one goal, the practices thatwould support it, and indicators to show that it works:

CLIMATE GOAL: Students have a sense ofbelonging to the school.

PRACTICES: Opportunities are given for studentsand teachers to socialize outside class.

INDICATORS:Time is provided for socialization.Space is available for teachers and students tomingle.Clubs and activities exist for teachers and students tointeract in nonacademic settings.Each student believes there is one adult in thebuilding to whom he or she can go for help.Ideally, the school will identify several practices for

each desirable climate characteristic, such as trust,respect, belonging, acceptance, and recognition.

An observation checklistWhile the previous example illustrates how an

observation format can be tailor-made to an individualschool's priorities, there are general observation check-lists as well. The School Climate Observation Check-list on pages 89 and 90 from Skills for Successful

School Leaders by authors John Hoyle, FenwickEnglish, and Betty Steffy, measures the degree ofopenness and orderliness present in a school. Otherquestions are provided for reference and are not scored.

CAN CULTURE BEMEASURED?The examples cited in this chapter have focused onmeasurements of climate ivhat some observers referto as the "personality" of a school. Chapter 3 describedan anthropological approach to studying the culture of aschool, which relies more on intuitive skills thanconcrete measures.

Can culture be measured through surveys and inter-views?

Most writers who have studied culture in corpora-tions and public schools recommend against paper-andpencil-measures. It is possible to describe a culture, theargument goes, by describing its artifacts, customs,heroes, and heroines. But experts say it would be amistake to try to attach numerical values to anorganization's culture.

They feel that because cultural values evolve over aperiod of time and are deeply embedded in the beliefsystems of the individuals involved, culture does notlend itself to measurement.

Not by the numbersThe danger of trying to reduce things to numbers,

according to culture expert Terrence Deal, is the effectit can have on the emotional commitment of thosecharged with motivating students.

"I teach as a profession," Deal emphasized. "I love tosee it when a light bulb goes off in one of my student'sheads. It makes my day. The joy of watching a kid learnis the most heady experience in the world. No success-ful business runs based on quarterly reports, but on thevisions that have been handed down."

Schools should have visionary leaders, but having avision isn't enough to ensure that the school will betruly effective. What is needed, in addition to vision, isa solid understanding of the dynamics of the changeprocess.

There are many opportunities for reform efforts toderail. The next chapter provides some guidance forkeeping school improvement on track.

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89

School Climate Observation Checklist(Note: information can be gathered by observations and interviews.)

Directions: Check each item appropriately as it applies to your school. Scoring directions are at the end.

1. Amount of Open Space for Instruction in the Building.100%50%10%0%

2. Instructional Group Size (Note: Indicate by percentage of time in each.)Large group, more than 30 studentsMedium group, 16-29 studentsSmall groups, 2-15 studentsIndividual

3. Staff OrganizationExtensive use of team teachingModerate use of team teachingLimited use of team teachingNo team teaching

4. GroupingDetermined by continuous assessment of student achievementDetermined by occasional assessment of student achievementDetermined by limited assessment of student achievementDetermined by normed tests at the beginning of school year

5. Noise in ClassroomsNoise level is comfortableNoise level is disorderlyNoise level is distractingNoise level is silent

6. Seating in ClassroomsStudents are:

Seated on floorSeated on "homey" furnitureSeated in movable desks or tablesSeated in fixed stations

7. Instructional MaterialsWide variety of teaching materialsMultiple textsExtensive use of AV equipment, including computersInstruction is confmed to single text

8. Teaching StrategiesWide variety of teaching strategies in all classroomsModerate variety of teaching strategies in all classroomsLimited variety of teaching strategies in all classroomsNo variety of teaching strategies in all classrooms

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9. Student MovementStudents are free to move about as they wishStudents may move freely with teacher's permissionStudent have little opportunity to move about

10. Teacher work AreasUsed by more than 20 teachersUsed by 11-19 teachersUsed by 5-10 teachersUsed by less than 5 teachers

11. Instructional Time to Promote Mastery by StudentsExtensive use of flexible instructional timeModerate use of flexible instructional timeLimited use of flexible instructional timeNo flexible instructional time

12. Use of Media or Resource CenterHeavily used by students all day longHeavily used by students during portions of school dayLimited use by studentsRarely used

13. Teaching and Learning TimeNo classroom time is taken from instruction by outside influencesLittle classroom time is taken from instruction by outside influencesConsiderable time is taken from instruction by outside influencesToo much time is taken from instruction by outside influences

14 . Instructional GoalsInstructional goals are clear and understood by all studentsInstructional goals are clear and understood by most studentsInstructional goals are clear and understood by a few studentsInstructional goals are not clear and students are confused

1 5. Community ResourcesResource people are used extensivelyResource people arc used occasionallyResource people are used rarelyResource people arc never used

16. Inservice Education for StaffExtensive use of inservice for morale building and cooperative problem solvingModerate use of inservice for morale building and cooperative problem solvingOccasional use of inservice for morale building and cooperative problem solvingMorale building and cooperative problem solving are never stressed

Scoring:1. Items 4, 5, 8, 11, 13, 14, 15, and 16 are scored by giving four (4) points if the first choice is checked on downto one (1) point if the last choice is checked. The higher total score indicates a more open and businesslike climate.

2. Items 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 12 are checked but given no weight. The evaluator uses the information asbackground or context for the scored item.

Adapted from: Skills for Successful School Leaders. AASA, 1985, 2nd edition 1990.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Cul:theTHE COMMUNITY

Climate and culturedevelop and evolve at

the school site, but they donot exist in a vacuum. Forcesoutside the school includ-

ing the attitudes and actionsof parents, community lead-ers, and groups serve toinfluence a school's reputationand, to some extent, itseffectiveness. Efforts toimprove climate and to shapecultural norms must considerexisting cultural norms andcommunity attitudes, andenlist key parents and commu-nity leaders in the changeprocess.

parents and community members exert a strong influence on the cultureof a school. A school's reputation is a combination of actualstrengthsof the instructional program, student achievement, and the perceptionthe community has about that school.

For example, a high school in an upper income area whose students typically

score well on college-entrance examinations may enjoy success because teachersset high standards and are effective in challenging and instructing the students.But another significant factor is the high expectations parents,communitymembers, teachers, and students bring to the school based on its past history.Students coming into that school know they will be expected to work hard anddo their best, and teachers expect that the students will enter prepared to docollege-preparatory work.

RAISING STANDARDSCherry Creek High School outside Denver, Colorado, described in detail inChapter 2, had a good reputation in the community, but standards were startingto slip. New Principal Hank Cotton raised some dust by cracking down on laxattendance and introducing professional development and higher standards.

He was able to convert parents to his point of view that rules should bestricter and should be enforced because parents and the principal shared thesame cultural value: students must attend class and apply themselves in highschool if they are to succeed in college and later life.

Teachers initially objected to Cotton's efforts to trim an excessive number ofelectives from the curriculum as an intrusion into a domain that had long beenunder th. control of individual departments. While some were never comfortablewith the new system and eventually transferred to other schools, most eventuallywere won over because of a shared cultural value that the curriculum needed tobe more rigorous. After a few years, the new standard had became so embeddedin the culture of the school and the community that new teachers felt pressure to

"measure up."

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A Culture that"HighlyValues" Education

ttitudes of parents andthe community can

play a role in shaping theculture of an individualschool. But the values of thecommunity at large, as wellas local traditions, can bepowerful culture shapers foran entire metropolitan area.

Denver-elected officialsand business and schoolleaders visited theircounterparts in Minneapolisto study metropolitancooperation in schools. Thevisitors were impressed withthe level of enthusiasm thatresulted from partnershipsbetween parents, corpora-tions, educators, and politicalleaders in Minnesota'slargest city.

"We're still living off of aculture here that has alwayshighly valued education,"

Curt Johnson, director of theMinneapolis Civic League,told the visitors from Denver."That probably explains asmuch as money."

The openness worksboth ways. When abusinessman criticizedlocal schools for notteaching informationrelevant to the workingworld, the schoolschallenged him todesign the perfectschool.

A Rocky Mountain Newsreporter accompanying thegroup gathered the following

evidence that the communityvalues education greatly:

Minneapolis MayorDonald Frasier told thegroup he devotes half histime to education.To start a "corporateschool" in a downtownbuilding, two of the city'sFortune 500 companiespledged grants of$100,000 per year forthree years.Honeywell has a schoolfor teen mothers in itsdowntown building,and businesses regularlygive schools technicalassistance.The openness works both

ways. When a businessmancriticized local schools fornot teaching informationrelevant to the workingworld, the schools challenged

him to design the perfectschool. Now, students at the"open community" schoolspend parts of each dayoutside the classroom onprojects such as mapping cityparks or being anarcheologist for a day.

Minneapolis has beenoffering school choice for 15years. Many of the magnetschools are the result ofcollaboration with thebusiness community andorganizations.

Community support ofeducation is not limited tothe Minneapolis-St. Paulmetropolitan area. The stateof Minnesota claims thehighest graduation rate in thenation.

PARENTS AS PARTNERSSuccessful principals can bring about change moreeffectively when they are able to enlist parents aspartners in setting and reinforcing the cultural normsthat promote good attendance and achievement.

From the time they help their offspring to learn towalk and talk, parents are a child's first teachers. "Theyhelp their children to channel energies into constructiveactivities by reading and talking to them, teaching themto extend common courtesies, encouraging them toraise questions, and sharing social and religious rituals

with them," wrote child psychiatrist James Coiner in a1993 Newsweek special section on education inAmerica.

"Children who have had such experiences are betterprepared for school. Teachers appreciate such childrenand convey their approval to the children and theirparents. In turn, parents sanction the work of the teacherand the school by getting involved. The link is critical,"Corner emphasized. "If it is absent, good learners athome can become poor academic performers,"

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Reinforcing disciplineAs children grow older and move into middle and

high school, educators often have more difficultyinvolving parents in the school, although the linkbetween home and school is no less vital. In fact, theolder the child gets, the more important it becomes toreinforce shared values to complete homework andabide by school rules.

Often, especially in low-income communities,schools and parents must surmount barriers to becomepartners. The barriers can stem from cultural misunder-standing, suspicions, and stereotypes.

Educators often complain that parents will not backthem up when their children are a discipline problem.Instead of siding with the school, many parents getdefensive and try to find fault, undermining the stan-dards the school is trying to enforce.

To bridge this divide, schools need to look at thesituation from the parents' vantage point.

Reaching outFor some parents, the bulk of contacts they have with

the school are negative. They receive phone calls ormailed notices advising them that their child has beenskipping school, making low grades, or getting intotrouble. Schools that make an effort to reach out inpositive, individual ways to parents can find a surpris-ing shift in attitude.

Wilson Middle School in San Diego, California,developed an assertive discipline plan to improvebehavior in the classrooms. One new element was thatteachers would make calls to parents to report positiveself-discipline early in the year, especially with familieswhere students had behavior problems in the past.Teachers called to let parents know their child had beendoing a good job of participating in classroom discus-sions, paying attention in class, and completing workon time.

The new approach "totally changed the climate of the1,300-student school," said Janet Chrispeels of the SanDiego County Office of Education. Parents becameallies rather than adversaries.

Improved community relations were dramaticallyevident at Open House. Previously the school, in a low-income area of the county, would attract just a fewparents to the Open House. The first year after thepositive phone calls began, 700 attended the event.They didn't set out to improve parent attendance at schoolactivities, Chrispeels noted. It was a byproduct of theimproved relations between parents and the school,

Poverty andSchool SuccessF

amines from all socialand economic levels can

and do play positive roles intheir child's education by therules and practices thcyencourage at home.

Researcher Richard Clarkstudied low-income AfricanAmerican families inChicago housing projectswhere some childrensucceeded in school whileothers did not. In the 1983study, Family Life andSchool Achievement, Clarkidentified these factors assignificant in contributing tothe children's school success:

Parents and childrenplaying games together.Establishing specificschedules, such as ahomework time andmorning and bedtimeroutines.Assigning family chores.Supervising televisionviewing.Encouraging reading, evenif the parent was not fullyliterate.Talking with the childabout schooling and otherissues.Visiting the school andbeing an advocate for thechild.Fostering hobbies andother extracurricularactivities.Visiting parks or museumsor other family outings.

Home curriculumSimilarly, researcher HI

Walberg found a "curriculumof the home" consisting of

parenting practices and thecommunication of familyvalues that contributed tostudent success in school.

Writing in Phi DeltaKappan in 1984, Walbergdescribed the importantfactors as:1. Parent and child having

conversations aboutschool everts.

2. Encouraging leisurereading and discussing itscontent.

3. Monitoring and jointlyanalyzing televisionviewing.

4. Postponing gratification toachieve long-term goals.

5. Expressing affection andinterest in the child'sacademic and personalgrowth.

6. Parent and child havingftm together.In Walberg's study, these

factors were found moreoften in higher socioeco-nomic families, but whenthey were found in the lowerincome homes, the childrenwere more likely to experi-ence school success.

Educators have longknown that the culturalvalues found at home affectthe culture of the school bothpositively and negatively,depending on the family inquestion. These studies showthat positive cultural valuescan be found in homes fromall ethnic groups and incomelevels. The challenge is forschools and conununities tohelp families nurture thosevalues that will help studentssucceed in school.

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CULTURE ANDECONOMICSThere are real differences in the culture and climate ofschools that are strongly influenced by the economiclevels in the community, according to San Diego'sChrispeels, a nationally recognized authority on parentand community involvement in the schools. "Cultureand climate of schools are defined by the interaction ofhome and school, which, in turn, are shaped by somedeep-seated beliefs," she said.

"There are certain underlying assumptions in schoolsserving low-income parents and high-income parentsthat are almost never examined," she explained. "Thereis much more congruence between teacher beliefs andparent beliefs in high-income communities. So often,expectations don't need to be discussed because bothparents and teachers hold high expectations. It ispredisposed by the income levels of the parents.

"In high-income communities," Chrispeels contin-ued, "there is a certain ambivalence between teachersand parents. They can collaborate because there aremore common expectations, more common understand-ings, and teachers find it easier to involve parentsbecause there are more shared values."

On the other hand, teachers can be intimidated byhigh-income parents because of the political clout theycan wield in a crisis. Unhappy well-to-do parents are agreater threat to teachers than are low-income parentsbecause the middle-class and upper-income parentssometimes know better how the system works.

In low-income communities there is more suspicionand lack of understanding between parents and teachersbecause the communities are more diverse. "There arelanguage barriers that prevent parents and teachers fromeven developing a common language or a sharedunderstanding because they can't communicate witheach other," Chrispeels observed.

Involvement or lack of itThe result is that parents in high-income communi-

ties play a more active role in shaping the climate andculture of the school because they have the resources tobe more actively involved and the knowledge of howthe system works.

In low-income communities, the culture often isshaped through a lack of parental involvement, stem-ming from an expectation by the school staff thatparents can't or won't be involved.

"We know that parents in low-income communities

can play a positive role if the school actively reachesout, taking the time to make the school a comfortableenvironment for parents," Chrispeels added. In theseschools, both sides win. Teachers get the opportunity toknow parents and the community better, and parentsconvey a positive attitude about the school to theirchildren.

Do they really care?Unfortunately, the more common response is to

assume that parents don't care or that they cannotbecome involved. For example, in one Southern Cali-fornia district that is 85 percent Hispanic, the assump-tion was that parents were apathetic and were notinvolved in the education of their children.

A survey was mailed to parents in both Spanishand English at the end of the school year. Because ofthe timing, the district was not able to make follow-upcalls, so they did not expect a high return rate for thetive-page questionnaire.

The district has approximately 6,000 students.Surprisingly, more than 3,000 surveys were returned,half of those completed in Spanish. The survey was nottranslated into Asian languages, so the return rateamong those groups was fairly small. Still, a 50 percentreturn is unusually high for a mailed survey. "Thedistrict was somewhat blown out of the water by theresponse," said Chrispeels, who was serving as aconsultant to that district at the time.

Teachers completed a companion survey. The mostdisturbing finding for the superintendent was thestriking difference between parent and teacher re-sponses to parallel questions.

"Parents reported helping children with homework.Their attitudes were overwhelmingly positive,"Chrispeels reported. "They felt the teachers cared. Theyalso wanted more communication from the school andfrom teachers." By contrast, more than 65 percent ofteachers felt parents could not help with homework andindicated that parents were not very supportive of theschool.

"We have a real communication and perception gaphere," Chrispeels noted. "The parents feel they want tohelp and can help, but they need more tools."

The parent and teacher surveys used in in San DiegoCounty were patterned after some developed by JoyceEpstein ofJohns Hopkins University for use in schools.hat had predominately African American. Thosesurveys found similar discrepancies in parent attitudes

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Involving Parents inthe Inner CityG oldblatt Elementary on

the West Side ofChicago does not fit thestereotype of inner cityschools that lack parentinvolvement. At Goldblatt,parents arc everywhere:volunteering in the computerlab, helping with disciplinein the lunchroom, andmaking items for the studentsin the parents' own arts andcrafts room.

"Ilaving the parents isfantastic," said PrincipalLillian Nash. "They don'tjust come when there's aproblem. Also, their presencehas a noticeable effect on the

children. ft has cut downdramatically on suspensions."

Paideia withparents

Goldblatt uses the PaideiaProgram, in which studentsand teachers explore majorhuman themes in literatureand art through the Socraticseminar. The discussionsbuild thinking skills whiledebating ideas and values.

When Nash arrived atGoldblatt, the school hadbeen part of the PaideiaProgram for a number of

Having the parents ir fantastic. They don't lustcome when there's a problem. Also, theirpresence has a noticeable effect on the children.it has cut down dramatically on suspensions.

Goldblatt uses thePaideia Program, inwhich students andteachers exploremajor human themesin literature and artthrough the Socraticseminar. Thediscussions buildthinking skills whiledebating ideas andvalues.

years, but test scoresremained disturbingly low.She decided to place apriority tm the fifth goal inthe school improvement plan:getting parents involved intheir children's education.

Improving communicationwith parents would help themundetstand the purpose andimp 3rtance of Socraticseminars, Nash reasoned.Parents also could follow up

at home with homework ifthey knew it was beingregularly assigned.

The school sponsored anevening program with aSocratic seminar designedparticularly to appeal toparents. The theme was theCivil Rights movement, andthe seminar wu based on akey event the death ofBlack Panther Fred Hampton

that happened in their partof Chicago. Dinner wasserved after the program and50 parents attended, about 10times more than typicallycame to such meetings.

"That broke the ice," Nashsaid. Parents are invited tovisit school on Wednesdaysto observe their child'sseminar, and they arewelcome to drop in to theParents Room anytime towork on a project or justrelax.

and teacher assumptions about parent attitudes,Chrispeels said.

BRIDGING THE GAPTo build strong partnerships in low-income andmulticultural communities, schools need to take theinitiative in making parents feel welcome. Someschools have developed parent centers: a room or area

of the school designated for parents where they cancome and feel they belong. In other schools, there areformal programs with volunteers or paid coordinators toplan workshops for parents.

In still others, the parent room is a drop-in placewhere parents can stop by, have a cup of coffee, andvisit. A school that encourages parents to volunteerregularly can provide a parent center for volunteers tomeet with teachers and to store materials.

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Home-school communicationTeachers are the front line of communication be-

tween school and home because they have informationof greatest interest to parents news affecting theirchild. Principals can encourage greater communicationbetween home and school in several ways:

Set an example, sending regular notices home lettingparents know of upcoming dates such as testing daysand parent-teacher conferences.Offer to make "good news" calls for teachers.Purchase portable phones, making it easier forteachers to call parents during the school day.Install voice mail systems for teachers, allowingthem to leave recorded messages for parents and toreceive such messages.Make increased positive contacts with parents part ofthe school improvement plan.Make increased teacher-parent communication one ofthe objectives on which teachers are evaluated.Encourage tenhers to send notes home for parents tosign, informing them of major projects students areassigned, along with requirements and gradingcriteria. Parents can help students budget their time ifthey are alerted in advance to the scope of theproject.

Making parents feel welcome throughoarent centers and evening programscan improve attitudes and the climateof the school, leading to such positivedevelopments as improved attendance.-;nd discipline.

Gains in student achievement areharder to track, because the linkbetween parents coming to school and-tudent cchievement is indirect.

Programs linked to achievementMaking parents feel welcome through parent centers

and evening programs can improve attitudes and theclimate of the school, leading to such positive develop-ments as improved attendance and discipline.

Gains in student achievement are harder to track,because the link between parents coming to school andstudent achievement is indirect. Such achievementgains have been documented in programs with parentcenters, the more effective approach is to involve

parents in projects that are directly tied to the instruc-tional program.

Family Math. One national program that encouragesfamily involvement is Family Math. Schools canpurchase the Family Math books in English or Spanishfrom the EQUALS project at the University of Califor-nia at Berkeley. The EQUALS staff also can recom-mend individuals who can provide training around thecountty.

"Family Math" is a program for students in kinder-garten through grade 8, with hands-on activities thatparents and children can do together. It is designed tobuild problem-solving skills and to reinforce basic mathconcepts.

Family Math includes six to eight sessions, 90minutes to two hours in length, conducted by teachers,parents, or community volunteers who have beentrained in program techniques. The activities aredesigned to be fun for parents and children to dotogether in a relaxing atmosphere with other families.The program also suggests easy ways parents canreinforce math skills while doing daily tasks in thehome.

In most schools, Family Math classes are taughtwithin grade level groupings, depending on the size ofthe school and the number of staff members available toconduct the sessions. Topics in most classes includearithmetic, geometry, probability and statistics, mea-surement, estimation, and logical thinking.

The activities are stimulating and enjoyable. Part ofthe purpose is to help parents and their children toovercome math phobias and recognize the value ofstrong math skills.

Project Impact. A similar program, Project Impact,takes the Family Math concept a step further. Home-based activities are assigned by the teacher to comple-ment classroom instruction. Used in some 2,000schools in England, Project Impact "has shownincreased math gains where it has been systematicallyimplemented," Janet Chrispeels of San DiegoCounty said.

The idea is to place the child in the role of teacher incarrying the activity home from school. Also, theactivities are fun, so they are not intimidating to stu-dents or parents. One exercise on the worth of money,for example, has students trace their own hand and oneof their parent's hands. Each traced hand is coveredwith coins and the value of the coins is added up todetermine the "value" of each hand.

On succeeding days, the activities are reinforced in

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the classroom through the regular curriculum. Thechildren write in a journal about what they did at home,the methods used, and the results. The children makegraphs showing the various sizes of child hands com-pared with the adult hands.

Referring to the home-based part of the lesson,Chrispeels noted, "It's in the process of the childbecoming the teacher that they really learn the math.Children increase their understanding of math conceptsby having to explain the assignment to their parents."

Another important aspect of Project Impact's successis that the parent involvement is school-initiated."Schools must provide teachers materials clad trainingon how to do more 'family friendly' homework toincrease the likelihood that such ventures to makeparents-as-partners will be successful," Chrispeelsconcluded.

Cultural values andcommunication

In multicultural schools, teachers need to talk toparents of different cultures to see how they want to beinvolved. "Schools should not make assumptions thatparents don't care because they don't come to 'our'meeting," Chrispeels cautioned. "To many parents,'Open House' doesn't mean anything. They have nowords to translate it in their language."

In addition to language bathers, cultural valuesthemselves may shape a parent's response to andunderstanding of messages sent home from school.

In Hispanic cultures, homework is considered thechild's work that must be done alone. "The tendency ofmiddle-class Anglo parents is to rush in and help thechild as soon as he or she gets stuck," Chrispeels noted.Teachers complain that projects are assigned andparents may do more of the work than their children.

Thus, if the class includes Hispanic and Anglochildren, the teacher may be comparing apples andoranges, work students did alone with parent-assistedprojects.

To help or not to help?If the teacher expects parents to help with homework,

that expectation should be clearly communicated toparents. In classes where parents may not be comfort-able helping with homework, such as high school mathcourses, teachers need to assign homework with whichstudents can be successful without their parents' help.

Appropriate homework is work for which students

'40ts

will have an 85 to 90 percent success rate, saidChrispeels. "If the student is not able to do the work,it's not good independent practice. Homework shouldbe practice of skills they have mastered."

"Most teachers aren't willing to take a look at this.They introduce the skill, give a little time to practice,and expect the child to finish the rest at home. Theyneed to reinforce at home skills they've already mas-tered. Otherwise, you build in a lot of failure."

PARENT ILLITERACYParents who were not successful in school are them-selves hesitant to have any contact with their child'steachers. Sometimes the hesitancy may stem from adistrust of school officials, but more often it is due to afeeling of inadequacy or even fear.

Parents who are functionally illiterate an esti-mated 20 percent of the adult population of the UnitedStates live in fear of being discovered. According toexperts in the field, the stigma attached to illiteracy isgreater than it is for drug and alcohol abuse, because theilliterate person is convinced that everybody else knowshow to read.

Illiteracy is not only a problem for the adult, but ithas intergenerational implications as well. Childrenstart school at a disadvantage because their parents havenot read to them at home. These parents are unable tohelp their children with homework, particularly as thestudent advances to upper elementary grades andbeyond. The absence of reading materials in the homealso sends the message albeit unintended thatreading is unimportant.

Influence on children'sachievement

The National Assessment of Educational Progressmeasures achievement among American students ages9, 13, and 17 years old in reading, writing, math, andother subjects. Students are asked to report the highesteducation level their parents have completed. Oneconsistent theme across many subjects and age groupsis that students whose parents have completed highschool and college consistently score higher thanstudents whose parents have not.

As the 1988 NAEP test of reading proficiency shows,the disparities in student proficiency continue even toage 17, when parents' ability to help with readingwould seem less important.

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The Colorado Adult Literacy Commission conducteda series of regional hearings to probe the extent of adultilliteracy in the state and its effects on individuals,families and communities.

Most of the children enrolled in the Adams CountySchool District 12 Chapter 1 program, which workswith at-risk elementary students, "have parents whohave difficulty reading and writing," said programcoordinator Nancy Hawkins in the report, Silent Crisis:Adult Illiteracy in Colorado.

Conversely, at the school district's High Plains HighSchool, many adult students "say their children's gradeshave improved since they've enrolled," according toCarolyn Lambrecht, coordinator.

Educating parentsAt another hearing, one parent fought back tears as

she told commissioners that her own daughter decidednot to drop out of high school when she saw theprogress her mother had made in an adult educationprogram. The adult literacy hearings demonstrated thatcommunities could have a positive impact on theculture of the home, and improve its ildren's schoolperformance, by providing education... support toparents.

This approaa to helping the whole family can bedone collaborattvely by several community agencies. InDenver and Pueblo, Colorado, the local communitycolleges and school districts jointly provide a number ofservices for adults on public school campuses. AtCheltenham Elementary in Denver, the CommunityCollege of Denver provides literacy and English as aSecond Language classes with assistance from thefederally funded Amnesty Education program. TheDenver Public Schools contributes both classroomspace and the administrator who coordinates all eveninzactivities.

At Bradford Elementary in Pueblo, parents and othercommunity members receive basic skills instruction inreading, writing, math, and GED preparation throughPueblo Community College. Head Start providesparenting classes. Babysitting is provided free to adultsthrough funds provided by the college and the BradfordParent Teacher Organization (PTO).

. In Fort Collins, Colorado, a number of communityagencies are cooperatively providing a wide array ofservices to families with assistance from a federal EvenStart grant. Adults and their preschool children attendone-hour weekly literacy activities at a neighborhoodfamily learning center, followed by a weekly home visit

from a family mentor. Project cosponsors are thePoudre R-1 School District and the Colorado StateUniversity Office of Occupational and EducationalStudies.

Participants can study English as a Second Languageor prepare for their GED certificate through FrontRange Community College, Lutheran Family Services,and the Fort Collins Literacy Coalition.

At Miles Park Elementary, the active support foreducation works both ways. Parents organize summerenrichment programs and serve as tutors and classroomvolunteers. They are involved in governing the schoolthrough the PTA, a School Community Council, and acitywide school improvement organization. In return,the school helps parents improve their own educationthrough classes and offers all-day kindergarten andother child care assistance.

The scL.il uses a variety of channels to keep parentsinformed: newsletters, conferences, an educational aidewho makes home visits, and social and learning activi-ties at school and at home. As a result of this communi-cation and hands-on involvement, parents stronglysupport the academic program and the school's policies.

EIGH INCOME/LOWEXPECTATIONSStudies of tracking have shown the problems that resultwhen teachers and parents have consistently lowexpectations of students. A different kind of expecta-tions trap is occurring in some high-income communi-ties.

Often in schools, bright students will sail through anassignment that other students have to labor over tounderstand and complete. Over time, the bright studentscome to assume that performing a minimal amount ofwork is the way things should always be.

The cultural norm that evolves is that it's a bad ideato work hard to earn good grades. Consequently,students who want to apply themselves and learn thesubjects well feel pressure to slack off.

"It's cool to wing it, to do the least work possibleand get away with it," said Kelly Mercer, an Alexan-dria, Virginia, senior who was accepted at Princeton,Stanford, and Georgetown Universities, "If you workhard, others tell you to lighten up, go out and party, toforget about homework. Students will call to see howmuch you are doing." Mercer was quoted by Englishteacher Patrick Welsh in an article he contributed to The

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Washington Post. "They want to make sure you haven'tdone more than they have," she explained.

Ability vs. effortWelsh attributes part of the problem to colleges

desperate for admissions, which communicate tostudents "in subtle and not-so-subtle ways that theirability, as measured by standardized tests, is muchmore important than the effort they put in studying."

Along the way, American students and theirparents have acquired a skewed picture of therelationship between talent, effort, and achievement."Bright American kids feel that good work is justsupposed to emanate from them," said University ofMichigan Professor Harold Stevenson. "If they do acertain amount of work, they expect an A. They thinkthat if they are smart and they produce it, what else isthere to do?"

At Michigan, Stevenson and his colleagues haveconducted multinational research on the attitudes ofAmericans and other students toward hard work andschooling.

When Asian llth-graders were asked what were themost important factors in math performance, a largepercentage ranked "studying hard" at the top and "agood teacher" near the bottom. Answers from Americanstudents were almost exactly the reverse. "Americanstudents expect the teacher to bring knowledge out ofthem," Stevenson said. "It's supposed to be effortlesson their part."

The parents' roleParents can unwittingly reinforce this norm of

laziness, pressuring teachers to give students highergrades than are deserved out of concern that the lowgrade will hurt the student's self-esteem. Others at-tribute the parents attitude to guilt at being away fromhome or worse, an unwillingness to invest the time insupervising their children's effort on schoolwork.

"If schools demand a lot from kids, it would be anuisance for parents," said one Alexandria,Virginia,administrator. "They would have to be home more, turnoff the TVs. They are too busy providing for the kid tomake him study hard."

"Just to fail a kid takes so much paperwork that someteachers don't want to go through with it," said PatCollins, a history teacher in Charles County, Maryland."If you don't contact the parent, give administratorsnotices in triplicate, have a conference with the student,and follow a bunch of other procedures, the kid passes."

There is strong evidence that grade inflation hasoccurred in recent years. Welsh referred to one reportthat 24 percent of freshmen entering college in 1991had an A average, double the 1969 percentage.

"I can tell you from my own experience that ruthless-ness has its functions," Welsh wrote. Of all the newtechniques recommended for improving writing, "noneworks better than the technique I learned 40 years ago... give them a D or F on the first paper, and you'll seea miraculous improvement on the second."

The burden of abilityOne problem with the emphasis on ability, rather

than effort, is that the underlying message is non-motivating both to the high ability student and thosewho find all assignments challenging.

"Children who believe that their high ability issufficient to insure success find little reason to workhard," wrote Stevenson and James Stigler in their book,The Learning Gap: Why Our Schools Are Failing andWhat We Can Learn from Japanese and ChineseEducation. "Alternatively, children who perceivethemselves as having low ability and doubt that theycan master their lessons through continued effort alsohave little reason to work hard."

"In contrast," the authors continued, "Asian students,confident that the time they invest will lead to masteryof the academic curriculum, work long hours. Lowscores are not regarded as a sign of stupidity, butsimply as an indication that the student has not yetlearned what will ultimately be possible throughpersistence and hard work."

Another consequence of this prevailing emphasis oninnate ability rather than effort is that students come toregard not as skills to be acquired but the product ofrapid insights. Students think a math problem must besolvable in 10 minutes or there must be no solution.Also, fewer students sign up for advanced classesbecause they are considered too demanding.

"I keep trying to tell my students that out in the realworld, their bosses will judge them by the results oftheir work, not their test scores," Welsh commented."But it is hard to convince kids when their parentsand most colleges also believe that test scores aremore important than producing."

CHANGING ATTITUDESHow can Americans turn this emphasis on abilityversus effort around? The problem is subtle and deeply

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embedded in our culture, suggesting that public opinion

will not be changed rapidly.Certainly a first step is 'raising awareness among

parents, community leaders, and the media that thisattitude exists and the debilitating effect such attitudeshave on efforts to improve education.

Some schools are finding that awareness does make adifference in changing attitudes. In one affluent Califor-nia community, educators discovered that most of theirgraduates were enrolling in two-year colleges without

transferring to four-year institutions."The district started talking about it," San Diego's

Janet Chrispeels said. "All the parents were in the fast

lane. There was so much emphasis on material things,the community hadn't realized this was happening.Most of the parents had gone to four years of college,but their children were not following."

The district sponsored a series of workshops forparents on college education. The presentation urgedparents to take a long-term view of their child's future;balancing long-term success with short-term goals.Through the workshops, the district was able to callparents' attention to the trend to attend two years ofcollege, leave, and earn money, rather than pursuehigher educational goals.

Parents responded favorably to the workshops, whichshowed them "what kind of messages they were givingto their children when they said it was okay to attend atwo-year college," Chrispeels explained. By holding theworkshops, the school district was enlisting the parentsin an effort to change the cultural norm from one ofgetting out of school quickly and earning money to anorm that supported reaching each child's highestpotential.

Value-added instructionThe preceding examples show there are subtle

cultural norms that can negatively affect local schoolsregardless of the socioeconomic level of the commu-nity. In high-income communities, students, teachers,and parents sometimes can fall into a conspiracysupporting the minimal level of work as the path ofleast resistance.

The effort to raise expectations also can go awry ifthe kinds of assignments are inappropriate. For ex-ample, bright high school students may want to studyrecommended readings in more depth, rather than studycollege-level material, because students frequently havenot had the life experiences necessary to appreciatefully the messages contained in more advanced material.

"What we need to be doing in every community iswhat I call value-added instruction," Chrispeels said."The teacher needs to look at what knowledge the childcomes with in determining what ofvalue the schoolwill add on." The move to more performmce-basedassessments, should arsist teachers in fine-tuninginstruction that better meets the needs of the students,she added.

MENTORS SHAPEVALUESOne way the community can help to shape an achieve-ment-oriented culture at school is through mentorprograms. Mentors, who serve as positive role modelsfor students, generally are adults, but can be olderstudents working with younger ones. The regularpresence of a mentor on campus over a period of timereinforces constructive values the school is trying toinstill in students, such as:

All the parents were in the fast lane.There was so much emphasis on materialthings, the community hadn't realizedthis was happening. Most of the parentshad gone to four years of college, buttheir children were not following.

The value of setting goals in life.The importance of persistence in being successful.How trying hard in school can lead to success inlater life.Such programs are most effective when mentors are

paired with individual students with whom they meetregularly. Thus, each student has one adult who is not afamily member or a current teacher who takes a genu-ine interest in him or her as a person.

Some mentor programs are career-oriented. Giftedand talented programs, for example, will sometimespair a bright student with a professional in a field thestudent would like to explore. Others programs aregeared more to personal goals, such as motivatingstudents to try harder in school and to improve theirattendance, behavior, and study habits,

Helping at-risk studentsThe USAA insurance company, San Antonio's

largest employer, began a mentoring program in 1989

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with two elementary schools serving at-risk students.Program materiaL define at-risk students as ones with"low academic skills and a poor attitude." Mentors areexpected to meet a minimum of one hour a week withtheir students to tutor in-class work, and to be a friendand role model. The goals are to improve behavior,attendance, and academic skills and to lower thedropout rate.

By 1992, some 700 mentors were working withstudents in seven elementary, middle, and high schoolswhere student behavior and performance had markedlyimproved.

The program now includes Junior Achievementvolunteers and mentors from organizations throughoutSan Antonio. USAA's Educational Affairs staff pro-vides information and assistance to other companieswishing to establish such partnerships -with localschools. By early 1994, 39 additional organizations,including private businesses and local military installa-tions, were providing more than 4,700 mentors tostudents in 100 San Antonio-area schools.

For more information, contact USAA EducationalAffairs, USAA Building, San Antonio, Texas 78288.

Tips for mentoring programsThe benefits of a mentoring program are not auto-

matically achieved. School and business partners needto consider careftilly the goals of the program andprovide training and communication to the mentors,students, and parents. Other tips are to:

Include in mentrg training the program's goals,suggested activities, and information on childdevelopment.Give mentors supervision, feedback, and an opportu-nity to problem solve with staff at the school.Start small and build on success. One business, forexample, would begin work with one school.Designate an individual to coordinate communica-tion between the school and any organizationssupplying mentors.

CLIMATE AND ETHNICTENSIONSWhen students from several cultures attend the sameschool, conflict is always a possibility. Obviously,positive race relations or a history of ethnic tensions inthe community will be a major influence on the atti-tudes students bring to the school.

101

A 1992 study by the National Center on ImmigrantStudents found that racial and anti-immigrant tensionswere on the rise in America's public schools. Onecommentator noted that school leaders must stronglycommunicate that bigotry and intolerance are unaccept-able if racial conflict is to be avoided.

"All too often, a conspiracy of silence surroundsracial issues," Cheryl A. Almeida wrote in the Spring/Summer 1992 edition of New Voices, a newsletter fromthe National Center for Immigrant Students. "Adminis-trators fail to provide leadership ... by not setting clearstandards that are swiftly enforced, they send teachersthe message not to 'rock the boat' by confrontingracism. In turn, teachers are then viewed by students astolerant of racist behavior.

"Lack of leadership creates an environment whichallows intolerance to flourish," Almeida continued."Unless staff development and school curriculum arespecifically designed to challenge bigotiy and increasecultural understanding, the situation is inevitablyperpetuated."

Simply recognizing ethnic holidays, heroes, andfoods in isolation is not enough, Almeida added. Suchefforts tend to emphasize cultural differences, ratherthan similarities, and present content outside of ameaningful framework. Instead, references to thehistory, ideas, and contributions of various ethnicgroups need to be integrated throughout the curriculum.

Community members from ethnic and immigrantgroups can be valuable resources in these efforts asspeakers and sources of information. Including commu-nity members also can go a long way in building goodwill for the school and its goals.

A systemwide approachThe National Center for Immigrant Students, a

project of the National Coalition of Advocates forStudents, recommends a systemwide approach tobuilding a positive climate that promotes acceptance ofstudents from different ethnic, racial, and culturalgroups. Steps must be taken on several levels to estab-lish and maintain a tolerant environment.I. District policies The school board and adminis-

tration can set the tone necessary to promoteharmony by:

Developing a mission statement that valuesdiversity in the school community.Establishing school policies that clearly stateracism will not be tolerated and will lead toserious sanctions.

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Encouraging and rewarding staff efforts to con-front racism.

2. Teaching strategies Training can encourageteachers to use strategies that actively addressstereotypes and misconceptions, rather than ignorethem. Strategies include:

Teaching understanding and respect fordiversity as a basic goal of the schoolcurriculum.Creating opportunities for immigrant andnonimmigrant students to interact in socialsituations.Integrating immigrant and U,S.-bom childrenin problem-solving groups.

3. Educational materials Learning tools shouldreflect multicultural perspectives that challengeinequities and incorporate stories of local immigrantcommunities.

Curricula should directly confront andchallenge bigotry, prejudice, anddiscrimination.Immigrant students can teach their peers aboutthe immigration experience, and local historiesof immigrant communities can be incorporatedin the curriculum.Educational materials, as a whole, shouldreflect all cultural backgrounds represented atthe school.

4. New perspictives Teachers and school staff mustdevelop new ways of thinking about themselves,their students, and the communities in which theywork. One way to help teachers be aware of culturalstereotypes is through the training program, GenderExpectations and Student Achievement (GESA)described in Chapter 5. Strategies recommended byNCIS include:

Providing high quality training for all schoolstaff not just teachers that helps themcombat prejudice and resolve intergroupconflict.Providing time and a nonthreateningenvironment for teachers to examine theirown racial and ethnic biases.Providing long-term training for all school staffon the immigrant experience, including thespecial needs of immigrant students.

5. Equitable discipline Set proper standards ofbehavior for the community by:

Establishing discipline codes with strongconsequences for those who harass studentsusing racial, ethnic, or anti-immigrant slurs.

Monitoring school disciplinary practices todetermine the number of incidents involvingracial epithets or slurs against immigrants.Establishing discipline policies that emphasizepositive behavior, preventive measures, andcauses rather than symptoms.

6. Involve ethnic parents and community Reach-ing out to parents and leaders in the immigrantcommunity sends a message that the school valuesthe rich resources available by tapping their exper-tise. For example:

Holding roundtable discussions with communityrepresentatives to examine and ease intergrouptensions.Establishing communication with immigrant self-help organizations, drawing upon them for media-tion assistance in resolving conflicts.

Conflict resolutionTeaching students and teachers constructive ways to

resolve conflicts can reduce tensions not only betweenethnic groups, but also among students within the sameethnic group. In schools where students practice con-flict resolution techniques over a period of weeks,students show behavior changes and a reduction infights and suspensions.

The Boston Conflict Resolution Prot. un (BCRP)works with public school teachers, students, andadministrators to help them deal with conflicts thatoften occur in schools. The BCRP, a project of theBoston Area Educators of Social Responsibility, viewsconflicts as a normal part of daily interaction, which, ifhandled constructively, present opportunities for growthand progress.

The program provides a three-day workshop in whichteachers examine their attitudes toward conflict anddevelop skills in conflict resolution. There is a particu-lar emphasis on responding to conflicts that are racial orethnically motivated and on building a school climatethat encourages mutual respect and values diversity.

Participating teachers agree to spend one hour a weekworking with their students on conflict resolution orrelated skills. Trainers with the program provideongoing assistance to help teachers implement the newtechniques in the classroom.

For more information, contact at the Boston ConflictResolution Program, (617) 492-8820.

The National Center for Immigrant Students willmail its free newsletter, New Voices, upon request.Readers should indicate their interest in the newsletter

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by writing New Voices, National Coalition of Advo-cates for Students, 100 Boylston St., Suite 737, Boston,MA 02116-4610.

EFFECTIVE SCHOOLSEFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIPSResearchers are finding parallels between characteristicsthat are present in effective schools and those in effec-tive families. For example, just as a "safe and orderlyenvironment" is an important prerequisite to a well-functioning school, children thrive in homes wherethere is a regular routine and where parents havebehavior standards they expect their children to meet.

A number of researchers have established a topologyof home-school partnerships that defines ways parentsand the school can collaborate for the mutual benefit oftheir children.

The roles are arranged in a pyramid suggesting thatone level builds on another. Ideally, all parents will beinvolved as co-communicators. The term, co-communi-cator, implies that messages travel both ways. Parentscan support the school's goals more effectively when

there is regular communication back and forth. Schoolscan ensure that parents have received the messageswhen grade and assignment information is returned tothe school with the parent's signature.

Another effective schools characteristic with familyapplications is "frequent monitoring of pupil progress."In a paper for the National Center for Effective Schools,Research and Development division in Wisconsin, JanetChrispeels suggests the strategies on page 104 toenable parents and teachers to monitor jointly studentprogress with their assignments.

The other levels of the pyramid are defined byChrispeels as follows:

Co-supporters Parents support their children withbasic child-rearing obligations; they support the schoolby attending functions at the school and as volunteers.Schools can support families by making arrangementsfor after-school care and assisting parents in obtainingsocial services, where appropriate.

Co-learners and co-teachers Teachers andparents have the opportunity to learn much from eachother in formal and informal contacts. Teachers canlearn insights from parents about the child and thehome environment that can be helpful in instruction and

Home-School Partnership<44=3 Roles Continuum c>

Home & Schoolas Co-Advisors,

Advocates,Decision Makers

Home and School asCo-Teachers

rHome and School as Co-Learners

Home and School as Co-Supporters

Home and School as Co-Communicators

From: National Center for Effective Schools-Research and Development

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PartnershipStrategies forMonitoringStudentProgress

Assignment calendarsand homework journals.Homework contracts.Weekly, biweekly, ormonthly progress reportscompleted by thestudent, parents, andteacher.Telephone messages andanswering systems withhomework assignmentsand summaries of theday's activities.Two-way parent-teacher"telegrams" to sharecompliments orconcerns.Weekly folders ofstudent work or binderswith dividers.Class newsletters orlesson plans to illustratetopics being covered.

Quarterly back-to-schoolnights to reviewcurriculum, expectations,and proem= to-date.Information on how tohelp with homework andmonitor progress.Parent-teacherconferences at school or athome that focus on goalsetting and review ofprogress.Process portfolios thatshow ongoing studentwork in process.Curriculum reviews thatinvolve parents, students,and community members.Regular class observationtimes established andencouraged.

discipline; parents can learn through workshops andnewsletters strategies for helping their students orfor gaining a greater understanding of the curriculumand its goals. Parents and students can provide usefulfeedback on homework that can guide teachers inpreparing assignments that will be genuinely helpful.

Co-advocates, advisors, and decision makersParents can serve on school planning and managementteams. To be effective, the parent's role must be ameaningful one, not a rubber stamp of decisionspreviously made. In diverse communities, representa-tives may need to be recruited to ensure that all keysubpopulations of the school are represented.

KEY PLAYERSExamples in this chapter show how strong a roleparents and communities play in shaping the climateand culture lf local schools and to some extent, the role

the reputation of the school means to the culture of thecommunity.

The relationship the school has with parents is animportant influence on its climate. Schools that reach outto parents and make them feel welcome will find theirclimate enhanced if their overtures lead to increasedcommunity support.

Parents also influence the culture of the school by thenorms they set at home. Parents who read to their chil-dren, help with homework, and ask questions about theirschoolwork and activities signal to their children thateducation is important and should be the child's firstpriority.

The key to using these influences in positive ways is tobe clear about what cultural signals are being sent fromhome to school and to change those subtle messages thatare counterproductive. Secondly, schools can enlistcommunity and parent support in reinforcing positivenorms by increasing communication with the home andenlisting parents in specific partnership activities.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The ChallengeOF CHAN 1-:3EC hange. by its very

nature, is unsettling to

people. Those who have

studied both successful and

failed reforms have found that

the key to success is firstaddressing those factors that

influence the organization's

climate and culture. If thepersonal concerns of the

people who must implementthe change are not consid-

ered, those on the front linesmay go through the motionswithout making meaningful

changes in their behavior and

attitudes. Their attitude mightbe: let's just wait this one outuntil the next "new thing"comes along.

The effort to reform and restructure schools in this country is one offits and starts. Some schools have been very successful in embracingchange. Other efforts have been met with passive resistance oroutright opposition.

To ensure successful change, school leaders must take into consideration boththe climate and culture of the school. The process of change will be met by amore receptive staff if those involved feel they are valued members of the familywhose opinions are important.

CHANGING BELIEFSIn one Minnesota school, teachers who agreed to be trained on Teacher Expecta-tions and Student Achievement (TESA) received the instruction at a posh resortwith good food. Though these amenities may sound superficial, it sent a signal tothe teachers that they were important. "This changed the teachers' belief systemsabout staff development, about the kids, about themselves as professionals,"noted Shelley Roy of the Minnesota Educational Effectiveness Program.

"It was a change in the culture of the school," Roy explained. "The focus ofTESA is to change teacher behavior toward students. But when the principalplanned how to do that, he knew it was just as important to attend to the cultureand the climate at the same time."

Look at the recordAnother climate consideration is the track record of the school district and the

principal in taking suggestions from faculty and staff. If the principal has beengiving lip service to collaborative decision making and resulting decisions reflectlittle evidence of staff input, the faculty understandably will be dubious that newefforts would be worth their time and energy.

The culture of the school also plays an important role in the success or failure

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of reform efforts. "Reform proposals are more than juststructure," noted Wisconsin researcher Kent Peterson."There are implicit beliefs and assumptions on how yougo about your work ... about how things get done."

"It's pretty clear that in some schools there are normsof collegiality expectations that people will shareideas, problems, and solutions," Peterson explained. "Inthose cases, a shared decision-making model wouldwork well. If you don't have norms of collegiality,people don't want to work together. They're uncomfort-able with it. It's not part of standard operating proce-dures."

District culture a keyCulture also is found at the district level. Some

school districts operate with a very hierarchical culture,where decisions flow from the top down. These districtsoften impose strict rules about communication, such asprohibiting central office administrators from communi-cating directly with individual teachers and vice versa.In contrast, other districts give schools moreautonomy to innovate at the local level, and principalsare encouraged to compare notes and help each otherproblem solve.

Restructuring in a hierarchical system must beginwith a strong statement from the school board andsuperintendent supporting the change. Then, ways mustbe found to accommodate the reforms within therealities of the culture, or else the culture must bemodified to allow greater collaboration and autonomyat the school site.

An early step in school reform, then, is to analyzehow any new ideas will change staff roles and theconcepts of instruction and classroom practice. Coupledwith that is an understanding of the culture of theschool and whether existing cultural norms will serve tocomplement or undermine the proposed changes.

WHICH COMES FIRST?Whether reform efforts should first focus on theschool's climate or culture will depend on the indi-vidual school's circumstances. If there is a history ofconflict between union and management or other kindsof upheaval, for example, it will be critical to focus onclimate first. If relations between the staff and principalare fairly smooth, the first step may be getting rightdown to improving the school.

A new principal or administrator means another kindof upheaval that should be addressed. "When a princi-

pal first enters a school, all individuals have a height-ened awareness of what the new administrator does,"Peterson said. "Addressing basic needs of teachers andstaff can be very symbolic when a principal is new.Such actions will have less impact as the principal isthere longer.

"If in the past, relations between teachers and princi-pal have been strained because the previous principalnever responded to reasonable requests changing thework environment, such as by installing phones inclassrooms, may be very powerful," he explained.

When a principal first enters a school,all individuals have a heightenedawareness of what the newadministrator does. Addressing basicneeds of teachers and staff can be verysymbolic when a principal is new. Suchactions will have less impact as theprincipal is there longer.

Balanung actSchool improvement experts warn that attention to

climate requires a balancing act. It's important toaddress the needs of teachers when that is an issue, butreforms shouldn't focus on teacher needs to the extentthat they take precedence over all else.

The refonn if it is to have lasting effect musteventually focus on all the things that will make adifference in learning for the students.

"If you work on the periphery, you may never build agood culture because student learning is what's reallyimportant to teachers," Peterson warned. "At somepoint, teachers will say, 'Why are we doing all thesethings? They aren't important."

Start smallCarl Glickman, director of the Program for School

Improvement at the University of Georgia, suggestedthat school improvement efforts should start with whathe calls "zero-impact" activities those that he sayshave no direct effect on children, such as bus duties,parking spaces, or the faculty lounge so teachers willsoon think past their own needs to focus on those ofchildren.

The key is to recognize such efforts as transitional so the group eventually will move on to moresignificant projects.

THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGE107

The following chart illustrates the range of activitiesthat can be undertaken by site-based governing commit-tees, ranging from zero-impact activities to those thathave a comprehensive impact on education. Here aresome examples (though degree of impact of each isdebatable):

"Zero" ImpactParking spacesLunchroom supervisionFaculty loungeSunshine clubAdult recreationBms dutiesRefreshments

Minimal ImpactTextbook adoptionParent programsInservice daysDiscipline policy

Core impactCurriculumStaff developmentSupervisionInstructional programsStudent assessmentAction researchProgram evaluationInstructional budget

Comprehensive impactSchool budgetHiring of personnelDeployment of personnelPersonnel evaluation

GETTING STARTEDReform experts, including members of the Coalition ofEssential Schools and outcome-based education organi-zations, advocate starting the process with conversa-tions about what teachers want to accomplish with theirstudents.

In Johnson City, New York, for example, the conceptof outcomes-driven education evolved through a seriesof "gentle questions" that challenged teachers on howtheir behavior related to their beliefs about beingprofessionals.

As noted earlier by Frank Alessi, project manager ofJohnson City's Outcomes-Driven DevelopmentModel, those developing the system first determinedthat teachers and administrators wanted allchildren to learn, then uked whether it wouldn't bereasonable to research effective teaching techniques to

,

ensure that children had a higher success rate.When teachers expressed skepticism about research,

they were asked whether they would rather go to adoctor who had kept current about new developments orone who had just been doing the same things year afteryear. Challenging basic assumptions and beliefs butin a gentle, nonthreatening way is one way to beginchanging cultural norms and conditioning.

The Coalition of Essential Schools encouragesprospective members to begin a conversation on thestaff members' goals for improving education. The nineessential schools principles including student-as-worker and diploma-by-exhibition can be part of theconversation. Any decisions on reform, however, mustbe jointly determined by faculty members, not seen as a"hidden agenda" being railroaded by a small clique.

Sciators and priestsThat is not to say that such discussions need to be

totally random. In building momentum for change,school leaders are wise to approach members of theschool staff whose opinions are sought by others.Theodore Sizer calls such influential staff members "thesenators." Authors Kent Peterson and Terrence Dealcall such carriers of the culture "priests and priest-esses."

"In every good school I've been in, there are a bunchof senators on the faculty who are generally respectedby all," Sizer said in an interview. "If the senators setthe standard or expectation, it tends to rub off. If peoplewho would be senators do nothing but moan, groan,gripe, and come in late, it's pretty hard to do much."

"The principal who wants to make changes shouldmake judgments about who the potential senators areand try to get them to join your parade," Sizer advised."I've been in many schools where that's been verydifficult, but in other schools, it works."

BUILDING A BASEHow many staff members does a principal need tosupport the reform before moving ahead? It depends onthe individual principal and the school, according toPeterson.

"A lot of principals talk about wanting to have a'critical mass' of support. The comfort level varies withthe person and the situation," he explained. "Someinner-city principals say they need at least 25 percent ofthe faculty with them. Other principals are not comfort-

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able proceeding unless 40 to 50 percent of the staff ison board.

Principals need to be careful that the group they startworking with is not seen as 'the inside group' or onethat has special access to the principal," Petersoncautioned. "Such a situation generates distrust andjealousy. With shared decision making, trust is veryimportant."

Rewards for participatingThe most effective principals are the ones who are

seen as rewarding teachers not for personal loyaltybut because they are modeling the mission, vision , andcore values. It's not easy because educational ends areso diverse, Peterson added. Do you promote higherorder thinking or improvement in basic calculatingskills?

For example, in Cherry Creek High School outsideDenver, Colorado, Principal Hank Cotton gave perks tocertain teachers such as permission to attend confer-ences but he made very clear it was because theywere supporting the new vision for the school.

One of the biggest challenges principals face inbuilding support for change is setting aside feelingsresulting from bad experiences in the past and givingstaff members the benefit of the doubt. "If the teachersays he or she is willing to try something new, theprincipal needs to accept and value that," Petersonadvised.

Picking your peopleIn their book, The Principal 's Role in Changing

School Culture, Peterson and Deal profiled a number ofsuccessful principals. The common denominator was thatthe principal and staff of the school had been together anumber of years. "One principal said it takes eight to nineyears to build a cohesive culture," said Peterson.

It's important to recruit and select teachers who arenot sycophants, but who share the principal's vision andvalues. The principal may also want a maverick ananalytical type who keeps the effort on track.

Peterson cautioned that principals must guard againstbeing elitist or exclusive. Unless new people come in withnew perspectives, the teachers won't continue to grow.

THE NATURE OF CHANGEThe failures of school innovations have been studied formore than 20 years, and recent research has revealed

that when an innovation results in "no significantdifferences," the problem is not so much with theprogram as with the failure to implement it. Successcomes down to how the innovation is carried out byindividuals.

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austinspent more than a decade studying the school improve-ment process, which led to the development of theConcerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM). AuthorsShirley Hord, William Rutherford, Leslie Huling-Austin, and Gene Hall developed insightful recommen-dations in the Southwest Educational DevelopmentLaboratory publication, titled Taking Charge ofChange, published by the Association for Supervisionand Curriculum Development. Here are their conclu-sions about the nature of change:

1. Change is a process, not an event. People tend toequate the complex process of change with thehanding over of a new program, which is an event.Change must be viewed as a process occurring over aperiod of time, usually several years.

2. Change is accomplished by individuals. Thetemptation is to think of change in impersonal terms.In fact, change affects people, and their role in theprocess is of paramount importance. "Individualsmust be the focus of attention in implementing a newprogram," the authors wrote. "Only when each (oralmost each) individual in the school has absorbedthe improved practice can we say that the school haschanged."

3. Change is a highly personal experience. Some willpick up a new practice rapidly; others will be reluc-tant. Change will be most successful when support isgeared to the diagnosed needs of the individual users.

4. Change involves developmental growth. Individu-als involved in a change tend to demonstrate growthin terms of feelings and skills. These change asindividuals develop more experience with theprogram.

5. Change is best understood in operational terms.Teachers and others on the front lines will relate to achange in terms of how it will affect them or changeclassroom practice. What changes in teacher orstudent values, beliefs, and behaviors will be re-quired?

6. The focus must be on individuals, innovations,and context. We tend to focus on concrete aspects of'a program, such as books or a curriculum. Theessence of any change lies in its human, not itsmaterial, component.

THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGE

Effective change facilitators, the authors concluded,work to meet the individual needs of people working ina system, recognizing that changes to accommodate theneeds of one individual may have an effect on anotherpart of the system. For these reasons, ideas about thetimetable for implementing the program, interim steps,and even the final product may need to be altered alongthe way.

Psychological phasesIndividuals go through clearly identifiable stages in

deciding whether to be involved in an innovation. Thephases are described by Ronald Sergeant in ProjectSUCCESS (Strategies Used to Cooperatively CreateEffective Schools and Staffs) of the Wayne Intermedi-ate School District outside Detroit, Michigan, as:

Awareness. Gaining information and insight into theneed foi the improvement.Interest. Developing a curiosity about how the"new" program works and how it may benefit theperson.Appraisal. Mentally evaluating the pros and cons ofthe innovation for ones own situation. The indi-vidual is concerned about how it affects him or herand how it would work.Trial. Trying out the new strategies on a small scaleand determining how to manage the changes.Adoption. Deciding to make continued use of thenew practice.

Models of implementing changeThe Concerns-Based Adoption Model puts these

psychological stages in terms of personal reactionsindividuals experience during the life cycle of thechange. One key to managing change successfully is tobe aware of each stage, to respond to the needs ex-pressed, and to realize that each stage is part of a larger,long-term process.

Communicating the programA common problem in implementing new programs,

according to the experts, is that teachers often havelittle information on how an innovation will work in areal classroom. Also, teachers will tend to adopt inno-vations in different ways, Some may use only a text-book, while others will embrace the entire program,including the textbook and supplementary materials,the record-keeping system, and the new assess-ment instruments.

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1 11

Teachers using only a quarter of the program willhave different questions and problems from those whouse all the elements. In reporting progress on imple-mentation to the school board and in measuring suc-cess, it is essential that those in charge have some ideato what extent the program has been truly implemented.

"Innovative Configuration"Gene Hall and S.F. Loucks developed a concept

known as an Innovation Configuration, which is used todescribe a new program in operational terms. Ratherthan depicting an innovation in terms of ultimate goals,which are difficult to translate into concrete practice,the Imiovation Configuration characterizes the programin terms of:

Instructional materials.Teacher behaviors (such as grouping students).Student activities (such as a prescribed writingprocess).Record-keeping or testing.In describing the particular components, the change

facilitator should identify which aspects of the programare critical to its success and must be used andwhich merely would be "nice to have." Once thosecomponents have been identified and analyzed, achecklist is developed that shows an "ideal" use of theprogram, minimal use, and what partial uses wouldbe unacceptable. The Tutoring Program Checklist onpage 110 is a sample.

The development of such checklists contributes to aculture supporting change by establishing norms ofbehavior. By specifying what behaviors are "ideal,""minimally acceptable," and "unacceptable," theInnovative Configuration helps to build a sharedunderstanding of how teachers will act if they areembracing the program and trying to make it work,rather than paying lip service to the innovation.

The checklist also helps individuals personalize theinnovation. Since the IC clearly spells out the bound-aries, teachers can, within prescribed limits, adapt theinnovation to their teaching style.

ADDRESSING CONCERNSAccording to the Concerns-Based Adoption Model,teachers move through the stages of concern in asequential, predictable pattern at least in the earlystages of awareness, seeking information, personalconcerns, management, and consequence (how the use

CLIMATE AND CULTURE110

of the program is affecting students). Depending on theprogram itself, smaller numbers of teachers will moveto collaboration with other teachers and to refocusingtheir efforts.

To ensure that changes are adopted, facilitators needto be aware of where each teacher stands in these stagesof concern in order to address them.

In the early stages, the teachers' concerns willbe typically personal. They wonder how differentthe change will really be, how much the newprogram wiI1 change their teaching style, whetherthey will succeed, and in some cases, whether theinnovation is going to eliminate their jobs (forexample, by deemphasizing electives). These

personal concerns must beaddressed before eachindividual can look at theinnovation objectively.The Various Forms of an Innovation

Tutoring Program Checklist

1.Materials andEquipment

(1)At least 5 different programmaterials are used with each child(each session),

(2)At least 3 different programmaterials are used with eachchild each session.

(3)Fewer than 3 differentprogram materials are usedwith each child each session.

2. Diagnosis(I)

Children are diagnosed individuallyusing a combination of tests andteacherjudgment.

(2)Children are diagnosedindividually using teacherjudgment only.

(3)Children are not diagnosedindividually.

13. Record-Keeping

(1)Individual rucord sheet is used torecord diagnosis and prescription.

(2)No individual record sheets are used.

4. Use of Teaching Technique(1)

Continually readjusts taskaccording to child needs; usesrewards to reinforce success.

(2)Does not continually readjust task according to childneeds; does not use rewards.

5. Grouping(1)

Children are taught in pairs.(2)

Children arc not taught in pairs.

6. Scheduling(1)

Children ate taught for 30 minutes 3times per week. Each session isequally divided between children.

(2)Children are taught for 30minutes 3 times per week,time for each child and eachtask varies slightly whennecessary,

(3)Children are not taught for30 minutes per week 3 timesper week, or time for eachchild and each task variesmitkedly ot is notconsidered.

This chart sets up a continuum of possible modifications to the program:the far-lefl column representsthe ideal; those modifications to the right of the solid lines are unacceptable.

Denotes critical components.Reproduced with permission from Taking Charge of Change. 019117, Southwest EducationalDevelopment Laboratory.

1 12

The next stage, manage-ment concerns, often in-volves time management orthe degree of paperwork andrecord-keeping that will berequired. If teachers at thisstage receive inservicetraining that is overly philo-sophical or otherwise off-target, they often will reactwith increased anxiety oreven resentment.

Effectively identifyingindividual concerns andaddressing them in a timelyfashion, then, is key tomaintaining a positive schoolclimate during the implemen-tation of a new program.

The authors of TakingCharge of Change, a bookpublished by the Associationfor Supervision and Curricu-lum Development, recom-mend three methods foridentifying and addressingteachers' stages of concern:

Informal, face-to-faceconversations.Open-ended statements(used with groups).Stages of Concern ques-tionnaire (fonnal re-search).

Informalconversations

The face-to face conversa-tion is the most practical

THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGEI I I

Stages of Concern During Change

Stages of Concern(from greatest to least)

Expressions of Concern

6 Refocusing I have some ideas about something that would work even better.

5 Csdaboration I am concerned about relating what I am doing with what otherinstructors are doing

4 Consequence How is m7 use affecting kids?

3 Management I seem to be spending all my time getting material ready.

2 Personal How will using it affect me?

Informational I would lilce to know more about it.

0 Awareness I am not concerned about it (the innovation).

From: The Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, Austin, Texas

method of addressing individual concerns in a localschool. A good place to start is to ask casually how theteacher feels about the new program or a specific aspectof it.

Experts also offer these tips for an effective inter-view:

Ask appropriate questions in a relaxed manner.Be a good listener by allowing sufficient time for aresponse, and avoid directing the answer or puttingwords in their mouths.Avoid selective listening by giving cues that you arepaying attention, such as by asking for elaborationsor restating an answer to make sure it was under-stood correctly.Analyze the content of the answer for the concernsbeing expressed.Sometimes the interviewer must look beyond the

surface words to determine the actual underlyingconcern. Another problem is focusing on one part of aresponse without considering the entire statement.

For example, a teacher may say he is concerned theprogram is not meeting his students' needs because hedoes not have time to prepare all the materials. Focus-ing on the first part of the statement would indicate a"consequence" concern that it was not helpingstudents. Analyzing the entire sentence, however,reveals that the concern is one of time management.One solution would be to help the teacher organize theclassroom to allow more time to develop materials.

I

Open-ended statementsOpen-ended statements are more appropriate for

analyzing the responses of groups because the techniqueis more formal than conversation. Teachers are asked torespond in complete sentences to the question, "Whenyou think about (the innovation or someaspect of it), what are you concerned about?"

The authors said it is not uncommon to get entireparagraphs in response. But again, it is important tolook at each statement separately and the entire re-sponse collectively to get an accurate picture of whereeach teacher is on the continuum of concerns.

The authors cautioned that both these methods tendto elicit the areas teachers are most concerned about,maaking other concerns that also may need addressing.Since concerns change over time, they should beaddressed periodically.

The third technique is formal research using aquestionnaire. A copy of the Stages of Concern Ques-tionnaire is available from the Southwest EducationalDevelorment Laboratory, 211 East 7th Street, Austin,Texas 71,701.

Stages of concernTaking Charge of Change suggests that movement

through the stages of concern cannot be forced, butprogress can be encouraged with appropriate backing."Concerns do not exist in a vacuum. Concerns are

CLIMATE AND CULTURE112

influenced by participants' feelings about an innova-tion, by their perception of their ability to use it, by thesetting in which the change occurs, by the number ofother changes in which they are involved, and most ofall, by the kind of support and assistance they receive asthey attempt to implement change," the book says.

It is critical to address the individual concerns ofteachers involved in implementing a new programbecause of their profound impact on school climate. Tothe degree that teachers believe their concerns are heardand addressed, they will be more likely to feel confidentabout their success and they will support the change.The fact that teachers' feelings are solicited and re-sponded to will reinforce the message that teachers areimportant to the school's success and that their con-cerns are taken seriously.

NEW CULTURAL NORMSCulture which is built over time is at odds withchange because it threatens the old way of doing things.Therefore, the key to institutionalizing change is tosurround the reforms with cultural norms that supportthe new system. Culture expert Terrence Deal under-scored the value of transition rituals to "graft new startsonto old roots."

A place to start developing consensus for new normsis to explore as a school staff a series of questions aboutwhat values the school considers most important andwants to promote. In an article in Educational Leader-ship with Allan Kennedy, Deal posed the followingquestions:I. What are shared values of education that unite your

staff?2. If principals, teachers, students, custodians, and

parents are asked what a particular school standsfor, can they reply, and are these replies similar ordifferent?

3. Who are the educational visionaries?4. Who are the heroes of the school and what values

do they represent? Are they celebrated or ignored?5. How meaningful and alive are faculty meetings,

parent get-togethers, and other rituals?6. How memorable are opening day ceremonies, back-

to-school nights, graduations, and other culturalceremonies?

7. How does the school begin the day?8. What stories do professionals tell each other?

9. What smiles circulate in the local community?10. Who are education's storytellers?11. How can new teachers learn the profession without

heroes as role models or stories as exemplars?12. Why should principals spend time observing in

classrooms when they are rewarded for the prompt-ness and neatness of paperwork?

13. Why should students attend class, come on time, orstay in school if they do not identify with itsvalues?

14. How can we expect students to commit themselvesto schoolwork when the student subculture rewardspopularity, deviance, or athletic ability?

The value of nostalgiaWhen dealing with the stress of change, experts

recommend giving people a chance to relate to some-thing old and familiar. There is a place for nostalgia.Anthropologist Jennifer James calls this "the dance oflife two steps forward and one step back."

Forcing change causes fear that things are out ofcontrol. For this reason, it is important when undertak-ing significant reforms like restructuring that schoolskeep some old rituals, such as assemblies and specialobservances to reassure the staff and students that somecherished traditions will continue despite the changes.

A nurturing placeAdministrators and change facilitators need to keep

climate and culture in mind during any reform. It isimportant to address the legitimate as well as theirrational fears of individuals to nurture a receptiveclimate for change.

In addition, reformers must reinforce cultural norms,including trust, collaboration, and support, which willencourage people to take risks and change their behav-ior. It is always more comfortable to do things the sameold way. Change is always somewhat risky.

When the climate meets individual needs and theculture is one that reinforces the desire to improve, thenschools will be places where children will be eager tolearn and adults will look forward to teaching andmanaging them.

How is culture transmitted at both the school anddistrict level? The answer is communication a keyelement in any program. The next chapter explores thisdimension.

114

CHAPTER N NE

Communication

C ommunication plays a

vital role in shaping both

climate and culture. If there is

to be success in any planned

change, school leaders must

mobilise all channels of

communication verbal,

nonverbal, symbolic, and

written to transmit mes-sages that will inform, inspire,

and persuade students, staff,

and the community.

Whether consciously or unconsciously, school leaders always arecommunicating. Those communications both at the schooland district level will set a tone that can either reinforceor undermine their goals

Actions are a symbolic form of communication. For ex-ample, the kinds of activities to which a principal devotes his or her time sends amessage about priorities despite what he or she writes in the newsletter. Thesuperintendent who says people are important but spends almost no time talkingwith teachers and principals is sending a nonverbal message that contradicts thespoken one. Such a conflict between stated and actual priorities negatively affectsclimate by causing resentment and lowering the administrator's credibility.

By contrast, the superintendent who visits schools regularly and the principalwho spends time in the halls and classrooms communicates that students andteachers and by extension, learning are the district's top priorities.

Leaders will get maximum value from their communication efforts by sendinga uniform message on several levels, verbally and nonverbally, through conversa-tion, speeches, actions, and written communications including memos, poli-cies, and publications.

While some of these efforts traditionally fall under the umbrella of "publicrelations," there is more to good communications than media relations and amonthly newsletter.

CLIMATE AND COMMUNICATIONSWhen Larry Nyland became superintendent of the Pasco, Washington, Schools,his top priority was to improve the climate of the district by building pride amongstaff members.

"The district had eight superintendents in 20 years, and the staff was demoral-ized," Nyland explained. "Teachers felt they were 'country cousins' to their

t.

1 /5

CLIMATE AND CULTURE1 1 4

colleagues in other districts. As a result, they woulddistance themselves from Pasco and from teaching."

Nyland decided to focus on the positive by rewardingteachers who demonstrated excellence. He sent"Supergrams" notes from the superintendentcommending those staff members who were reinforcingdistrict goals. Enclosed was an apple lapel pin for themto wear.

At the same time, he initiated the "Four Pointer"district newsletter, which published in bold type thenames of staff members recognized for their accom-plishments.

"I resisted efforts to make the newsletter a 'houseorgan' that promoted district goals," Nyland com-mented. "Instead, the focus was on building pride." Theeffort paid off. "When the emphasis was positive,people were pleased,"he said. "They knew they had aright to be proud."

Healing old woundsThe response was noteworthy in light of the district's

recent history. Three years earlier, there had been ateachers' strike and race riots. Striking teachers worelapel pins in theform of a "golden foot," so the applepin was a bit of a risk for Nyland.

"I was not sure they'd be receptive to a pin," herecalled. "To my surprise and delight, staff memberswore the apple pins with pride. It was not somethingbig where they were singled out from colleagues. It wassubtle, but it was there."

The district received a Chamber of Commerce awardfor excellence in education, creating a new can-do spiritin the community.

The Pasco example brings up an important point.When repairing relations that have been strained, it isimportant to start small and build credibility. Nylanddid not hold big assemblies and put a few teachers inthe spotlight, which might have created resentment anddivisions. Instead, he began sending small messages ofencouragement and recognition to many staff membersthroughout the district. The result was positive andinfectious.

CULTURE ANDCOMMUNICATIONReshaping a school's culture is more of a long-termproposition, but principals can use the same channels ofcommunication to mold attitudes. In dealing with

culture, however, it is often more effective to model thebehaviors they want to encourage and to conductsymbolic activities.

For example, Frank Boyden, legendary headmasterof Deerfield Academy, a private school in rural Massa-chusetts, saw the primary value of his school as that oftaking every opportunity to shape character, teach, andmotivate students. Writing in The Principal's Role inShaping School Culture. Kent Peterson and TerrenceDeal described how Boyden would put that value intoaction by regularly sharing a word of advice for hisstudents as they boarded the bus to go home for theweekend.

Boyden also believed in each person taking responsi-bility for the appearance of the school. To model thisvalue, he frequently was observed stooping to pull out aweed or pick up a piece of litter.

Inner-city challenges"Frances Hedges" was principal of an urban elemen-

tary school with many problems, including a rigiddistrict bureaucracy. The latter factor forced the FarWest Regional Laboratory to grant the school, and theprincipal, anonymity in its study of the school's suc-cesses, which was later reported by authors KentPeterson and Terrence Deal.

Hedges built a sense of community at the school andimproved order and discipline by focusing on two keyareas: academic achievement and self-esteem.

In multiple ways, Hedges emphasized the importanceof these core values: that all students must have soundreading skills and that the school must promote a warm,nurturing climate in which students could develop asense of self-esteem. Here is what she did:

Actions Hedges hired a MI-time reading special-ist and insisted that the librarian work with thespecialist. She monitored student progress andreviewed all report cards.Verbal In faculty meetings, she spoke of theimportance of using the reading specialist, encour-aged the use of reading centers, and suggestedreading lab activities.Modeling She visited classrooms regularly andworked directly with teachers to encourage anemphasis on reading and the development of readingcenters.To develop student and teacher self-esteem, Hedges

worked to make the physical and social environmentof the school a source of pride. This was typical ofher technique:

COMMUNICATION AND CHANGEI I S

She met with two students identified as having lowself-esteem and made them captains of a "chair crew"that would prepare the auditorium for assemblies.

As Peterson and Deal described it, "She called theboys into her office and, with a serious face, explainedthe job. Jimmy would be responsible for setting upchairs, Lafayette for putting them away. Each wouldselect a small group of other children, a team, to helpthem. 'You'll have these jobs for the whole year,'Hedges explained, `so it's up to you to make sure thatthings are orderly.' After she showed them how thechairs were to be set up and stored in the auditorium,Hedges left the boys. They leaped into the air, smiling,and shook each other's hand."

PUBLIC RELATIONSAND CULTUREShaping and transmitting culture is not solely the job ofthe schod administrator. Those school districts fortu-nate enough to employ a public relations director havesomebody who can help transmit a culture by providingthe context of language by defining what it is thatmakes a district or school special.

"Top public relations people build an image based onthe identity of the organization," observed TerrenceDeal of Vanderbilt University. The public relationsprofessional discovers and broadcasts the nature of thatidentity to build support for the district.

"You need to figure out who you are before you canbroadcast," noted Deal, which he said comes back toreading the culture. Once the identity is determined,public relations staff can mobilize every student andstaff member to cany the message.

"Each child and staff member goes home and sharessomething related to the school with someone else.Good public relations :wovides a context of language tohelp people talk about their experiences," he explained.

What is PR?Public reletions is a management function designed

to improve decision making as well as enhance commu-nications. The National School Public Relations Asso-ciation offers this defmition:

Educational public relations is a planned andsystematic management function designed to helpimprove the programs and services of an educa-tional organization. It relies on a comprehensive

. 1 1 7

two-way communications process involving bothinternal and external publics, with a goal ofstimulating a better understanding of the role,objectives, accomplishments, and needs of theorganization. Educational public relations pro-grams assist in interpreting public attitudes,identify and help shape polices and procedures inthe public interest, and carry on involvement andinfonnation activities that can earn public under-standing and support.The following generally are considered to be the

essential characteristics of a public relations program:Planned and systematic The public relationsprogram should be guided by an overall plan thatensures ongoing communication with the district's orschool's "publics."Two-way communication The plan shouldinclude mechanisms to receive feedback fromemployees and members of the public, to ensure thatmessages are received, and to find out what keypublics are concerned about.

Sample CommunicationsGrid, Representing Some of

the Publics and Channelssome school systems use a grid or matrix to check up onwhich communication channels reach certain key

publics. You may want to try this technique in yourschools. A V means that channel or activity reaches aspecific public. A (V) indicates a possible benefit as abyproduct.

ChannelsParent-Teacher ConferenceSurveysSchool BrochuresNews ReleasesTV, Radio,NewspapersActivity CalendarFact CardPhone Calls to ParentsSupt. Advisory CouncilSchool NewslettersOpen HousesBoard of Education MeetingStudent Advisory Board

aa

WI

1111111111111(/) ( )I I I I(V)I I 1(1)

(1)1 1 1 I

CLIMATE AND CULTURE116

Employee Opinions Affect Community Perceptions

c ach employee of the school district is an expertE on school matters in the eyes of neighbors,acquaintances, and family members. Those working atthe grass-roots level, including bus drivers, cafeteriaworkers, and school secretaries, often have the greatestcredibility. Their friends know they are in the schoolson a daily basis and expect them to speak candidlyabout what they see.

Thus, it can be a big mistake for schools to focusentirely on the teaching staff To mount a successfulpublic relations effort, school board policy shouldinclude public relations responsibilities in the jobdescriptions of all employees. The distict also shouldprovide training to all employees so they will have theskills and information to cany out this role effectively.

Mixed messagesWhen PR training for employees is not a priority, the

messages that get transmitted can be quite differentfrom what administrators and school board membersintend. A story is told about a Kansas school districtthat introduced a reading program for primary studentsdesigned to provide individual attention for students.After much study, the program was implemented.However, rumors immediately began circulating that itwas no good.

The AASA publication, Public Relations for SchoolAdministrators by Don l3agin, Don Ferguson, and GaryMarx, described the public relations director's efforts totrace the source of the nunor. Greeting the custodianone day, the PR director asked "Henry" his opinion ofthe new reading program.

"It's terrible," Henry replied. "It's just a cryingshame what those children are being exposed to." Tosupport his contention, Henry took the public relationsdirector to one of the second grade classrooms, wherethe door was open and they could observe firsthandwhat was going on inside.

The children were organized in small groups aroundthe room, with each group working on somethingdifferent. There wu a low buzz in the room as thechildren pursued their reading lessons enthusiastically.The teacher moved from group to group, as did an aide.

"See there," exclaimed Henry. "See all that chaos!Those kids sprawled all over the room, everybodydoing their own thing. How can they possibly belearning anything, especially something as important asreading?"

The public relations director had found the source ofhis rumor. When Henry went to church or to the Fridaynight football games, people asked him about the newreading program. The only problem was that theteachers and principal hadn't bothered to tell Henry,and the rest of the nonteaching staff, about the newreading program when they introduced it.

Since these were noncertified people, the rationalewent, why did they need to know about the curriculum?

The answer, of course, is that they need to know alot. In fact, they must be kept informed abouteverything that's going on at school. If they are districtoffice employees, they must know about what ishappening districtwide. If they are school-basedemployees, they must know about their own school aswell as about major district activities.

Internal and external To be successful, anorganization must work effectively and seek to buildunderstanding with its internal audiences and thecommunity on which it depends for support.Open and honest Credibility is a preciouscommedity that is built over time and can be shat-tered easily. Parents and the community have a rightto know what is taking place in the public schools.

PR for everybodyExperts recommend including information about

public relations in the basic orientation program foreach employee joining the district. Employees shouldbe told:

Available communications channels including tipsheets for feature stories or ideas for staffnewsletters.Suggestions on ways they can incorporate publicrelations in their jobs.Explanations about the demographics of the districtand the district's philosophy and priorities.The impact an employee can have on communityperceptions by what he or she chooses to focus on inconversations.Employees should not only be told the good news.

When there are problems, staff members should begiven a background on the criticism and what thedistrict or school is doing to address the problems.

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COMMUNICATION AND CHANGE117

In this way, the "grapevine" can be harnessed ina positive way.

Communication needsResearch on organizational communication has found

that employees generally have three communicationneeds. They want to know:

Where the organization is heading.How it will get there.What it all means to them."Employees understand that their individual well-

being and their very futures are tied closely to theoverall success of the organization," noted RogerD'Aprix in Communicating for Productivity. "Asmembers of the enterprise, they want to know generallywhat the battle plan is, what strategy has been workedout to make that plan work, and how hard they willhave to fight to do what actually has been charted forthe organization."

When school districts are under fire, either forstudent performance or on legislative issues such asschool finance, it is important to keep employees up todate on the issues over time. Regular communication,through supervisors and in print, of activities of thelegislature and where the district stands on givenissues can positively affect climate by reducing em-ployee anxiety.

Year.round public relationsCommunicating with all the important publics in an

organization is an ongoing activity. Just as anorganization's culture does not spring fully formedovernight in a new school, the attitudes, perceptions,and opinions held about a school evolve over time. Allconstituents develop their opinions based on theirvantage point as a parent, staff member, student,neighbor, or nonparent taxpayer.

For this reason, efforts should be made to communi-cate with all the target audiences who are affected bythe school and whose opinions have an impact on theschool. There are compelling reasons to ensur4 that all aschool's key audiences or "publics" receive communi-cation directly ftom the schools.

Gallup polls on education have shown regularly thatmembers of the public have a higher opinion of their localschool than of schools in general. That is because parentshave firsthand knowledge of the education their childrenare receiving, but they form attitudes about education ingeneral by what they read, hear, and see in the mass media

1 19w

Since news is defined as that which is unusual ornoteworthy, the stories that make news tend to benegative, such as violence, gangs, misuse of funds,dropouts, and low test scores. The media considerteaching and learning the schools' job, and thus storiesabout students achieving goals are generally not re-ported because they are not newsworthy.

Emphasize the positive. Under these conditions, itis imperative that schools and districts tell their storiesdirectly to constituents.

Employees, moreover, are important targets ofcommunication for at least two reasons: good commu-nication will contribute to a positive climate, andeffective employee communication helps disseminategood news in the community.

Climate buildersGood communication enhances climate by helping

the staff feel they are part of a team. Conversely,employees feel they are not valued if they are "left inthe dark" about what is happening in the school ordistrict. In the AASA survey for this report, a numberof the items cited that can "restore a climate" weredirectly related to communication:

Clear purpose (vision, mission, goals and objec-tives).Sense of direction.The knowledge that their supervisors and colleaguescare about them.Communication about problems.Positive, knowledgeable, energetic, and communica-tive leader.Ownership.

Key communicator networkOne effective method for getting a school's message

to the community is by developing a key communicatornetwork. As a bonus, the communicators give schoolofficials a pipeline into what community members arethinking.

The first step is for staff and community supportersto identify opinion leaders -- those who come incontact with many people and whose opinion is valued.Rather than members of the formal power structure, thelist more often includes barbers, small business owners,real estate agents, and post office employ ees.

The process can begin with staff members andsecondary students, then invitations are sent to theprospective Key Communicators. They are asked to

Bibliography

CLIMATE AND CULTUREI 2 0

Roueche, John; and Baker, George A. Profiling Excellence in America's Schools.Arlington, Virginia: American Association of School Administrators, 1986.

Schein, Edgar H. Organizational Culture and Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,1985.

Schein, Edgar H. Organizational Psychology. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1980 (3rd edition).

Sergiovanni, Thomas. "Leadership and Excellence in Schooling." EducationalLeadership, February 1984: 41.

Spady, William; and Marx, Gary. Excellence in Our Schools: Making It Happen.Arlington, Virginia: American Association of School Administrators and Far WestLaboratory for Educational Research and Development, 1984.

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