School climate and school "reform"

Creating an environment in which everyone - not just the teachers - feels valued and respected is not a “once-and-done” project; it needs to become part of the organizational DNA. This begins with the school board, who collectively set the tone for the entire district.

The reason this has to start at the board level is that you cannot begin the necessary conversations about school environment unless you establish a climate in which such conversations are possible.

If school officials – administrators and teachers - sense that the results are going to be used against them, this is the surest way to prevent the honest conversations that are essential to the process. People have to know that they will not be penalized for speaking honestly.

The logical first step is to find out where you “are”; that is, you need to make an honest assessment of your organizational, or school “climate”. What is the level of trust throughout the organization? Said another way, how do students, teachers, administrators and parents feel about their school and each other?

Most importantly, how conducive is that climate to learning? Here are a few questions to which you’d want answers:

Do students feel physically - and emotionally - safe? (Is bullying an issue?)
·    Intellectually safe? (Is it ok to be “smart”? Is curiosity encouraged?)
·    Do students feel connected to their teachers? Are their classes challenging and engaging?

Do teachers feel supported? Are their opinions valued?
·    Is it safe to expose their practices to administrators and other teachers for critical review?
·    Is “risk-taking encouraged? (Is it ok to try something new, even if it doesn’t work?)
·    Are there sufficient opportunities for collaboration?

Do the parents feel welcome in the school?
·    Are they encouraged to participate in their child’s education?
·    Do they receive adequate feedback from teachers?

Do principals have the skills needed in an educational leader?
·    Do they recognize good teaching, and can they offer constructive criticism?
·    Do they feel micro-managed by the school board?
Principals are the educational leaders of a school; more than anyone else, they are responsible for the school’s climate. Is that part of their evaluation process?

Does everyone feel that they have a say in how “their” school is run?

How these questions are answered will vary widely from one school to another - as will the actions the school community chooses to take in response - which is why a one-size-fits-all approach to school reform cannot work.

This brings me back to where I started this series: struggling to understand the Obama administration’s re-authorization blueprint. Why does the administration remain committed to a few approved strategies (including charters and school closings) for turning around low-performing schools?

The common thread is that each of their strategies requires a change in school leadership. But their reasoning is what’s important – Duncan and Obama see a change in school leadership as the key to changing the underlying issue of a toxic school culture.

On the importance of school culture, they are absolutely correct. The problem is there’s no evidence that any of the proposed interventions are effective!  (To me, they have an aroma of desperation.)

If you want to change the school climate, you have to go about it deliberately and patiently, with the full participation of all stakeholders. There are no quick fixes.


Next: If school climate is the foundation of school reform, then what’s the framework for the building?