2009 Dr. Kent D. Peterson University of Wisconsin-Madison 1025 W. Johnson Street Madison, WI

Dear Diary, Please allow every teacher to realize what awesome power they hold in their hands and that they are the doors through which whole new worlds of possibility can open for their students. That by understanding students, day to day, and not judging them or shutting out the many opportunities for their success teachers can, and often do, make all the difference. Sandi Redenbach (Autobiography of a Dropout)

“Effective leaders know that the hard work of reculturing is the sine qua non of progress.” (Fullan, 2001, p.44)

“At a deeper level, all organizations, especially schools, improve performance by fostering a shared system of norms folkways, values, and traditions. These infuse the enterprise with passion, purpose, and a sense of spirit. Without a strong, positive culture, schools flounder and die.” (Peterson and Deal, 2002)

School culture influences how people think, feel, and act. Culture is a key determinant of staff focus, commitment, motivation, and productivity.

 Norms, Values and Beliefs that underlie thinking, feeling and acting  Symbols and Artifacts that Communicate Meaning  Stories that Herald Values  Cultural Network  Heroes and Heroines  Rituals, Traditions, and Ceremonies  “Culture is “the way we do things around here!”

 Negative Values and beliefs hold sway in toxic cultures.  Sense of purpose is spiritually fragmented.  Relationships are negative and destructive.  The cultural network’s most powerful members negaholics (Carter-Scott, 1989)  The only heroes are anti-heroic.  Few positive rituals, traditions, or ceremonies exist to develop a sense of community and hopefulness. Deal and Peterson (2009).

Culture is a powerful force that exists in any organization in which people share some history. It develops as people work together, solve problems, cope with conflicts, achieve successes, and deal with tragedy. (Schein, 1985; Deal and Peterson,2009 )

READ the Culture Historian and Anthropologist ASSESS the Culture Analyst and Evaluator REINFORCE or TRANSFORM the Culture Visionary, Symbol, Potter, Poet, Actor, and Healer (Deal and Peterson, 1994; 2009)

Conduct a school history. List Six Adjectives to describe your school. Think of a song that depicts your culture. Create a metaphor… If my school were an animal, it would be a _______ because_________________________. Interview a school’s storytellers.

 Divide into groups representing the decades one arrived in the school.  Discuss the major educational events that shaped the culture of the school during that decade.  See possible historical elements to include.

 Major educational and other events  Key formal and informal leaders  Curriculum, instruction, assessment  Types of educational technology  Students and community characteristics  Key successes, challenges, crises  Rituals, traditions, and ceremonies  People, personalities, and relationships  Any unique events that shaped the decade  Clothing, hairstyles and music of the decade

Conduct a school history. List Six Adjectives to describe your school. Think of a song that depicts your culture. Create a metaphor… If my school were an animal, it would be a _______ because_________________________. Interview a school’s storytellers.

an image of a desired state of affairs that inspires action, determines behavior, and fuels motivation. Charles Garfield (Peak Performers)

 Vision focuses attention  Vision inspires the heart  Vision directs action  Vision reinforces meaning and purpose (Bennis and Nanus; Peterson)

 What are the core values of the culture?  Can you identify the shared purposes in the culture?  What is the culture’s hoped for future?  Is the vision and mission embedded in the culture?

 Work with the informal network  Recount stories and history  Role model core norms and values  Use symbols and artifacts  Communicate core values in your actions  Use ceremonies and celebrations to recognize accomplishments

 Gossips  Spies, Counterspies, Moles  Storytellers  Compasses  Navigators  Heroes and heroines  “ Keepers of the Dream “

 Pessimistic Storytellers  Rumor Mongers  “Keepers of the Nightmare”  Negaholics and Naysayers  Prima Donnas-Prima Donalds  Space Cadets  Martyrs  Deadwood, Driftwood, Ballast  Saboteurs  Rogue Pirates  Resource Vultures

 Reinforce Values  Build Culture and Community  Recharge Motivation  Communicate Purpose  Celebrate Success

 Beginning of Year  Fall Solstice  Ethnic Events  Battle Preparations  Retirements  End-of-Year  Large and Small Accomplishments and Actions

 Decide what in the school should be sorted into different places  Consider what you want to keep, store, repair, and discard  You will place aspects of the school in five different stations  The stations are: Museum, Not-For-Sale, Repair Shop, Garbage Can, Toxic Waste Hauler

Place items that have served the school well, but need to be “retired” to a valued place of honor.

These features of the school are some of the best things going on and are important to keep and celebrate.

These are aspects of the school that need some repair, fine-tuning, or improvement.

These are items that need to be thrown out. They no longer serve the good to the school.

These are negative, hostile, or toxic aspects of the school that take special handling. These need to be discarded carefully!

 Anthropologist  Historian  Visionary  Symbol  Potter  Poet  Actor  Healer (Deal and Peterson, 2009)

 1 Behavior Reinforced  2 Things Learned you want to share  3 Things to Do when you Return

“Teachers usually have no way of knowing that they have made a difference in a child’s life, even when they have made a dramatic one… Good teachers put snags in the river of children passing by, and, over the years, they redirect hundreds of lives… [Great schools are] made up of people who can never really know the good they have done.” Kidder (1989): Among Schoolchildren

Effective Schools Research (Edmonds;Brookover; Lezotte) Shaping School Culture (Deal and Peterson) School Reform Literature (Fullan) Professional Learning Communities (DuFour; Louis; Kruse) Good to Great (Collins) Balanced Leadership (Marzano et al) Execution (Bossidy et al)

 a mission focused on student and teacher learning  a rich sense of history and purpose  core values of collegiality, performance, and improvement that engender quality, achievement, and learning for everyone  positive beliefs and assumptions about the potential of students and staff to learn and grow  a strong professional community that uses knowledge, experience, and research to improve practice  an informal network that fosters positive communication flows  leadership that balances continuity and improvement  rituals and ceremonies that reinforce core cultural values  stories that celebrate successes and recognize heroines and heroes  a physical environment that symbolizes joy and pride  a widely shared sense of respect and caring for everyone  Source: Shaping School Culture: Pitfalls, Paradoxes and Promises 2 nd Ed. (2009). Terrence Deal and Kent Peterson, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.