Culture/Climate Survey

Culture/Climate Survey
Omar R. Santiago Culture, Politics, and Reform Dr. Chinasa Elue 4/26/16 Powerpoint Templates

Introduction

Purpose of the Project To evaluate my school’s culture and climate
To identify the influence of culture and climate on student learning To pinpoint any strengths and challenges regarding culture and climate within my school To propose two research-based solutions for each challenge To create a three-year action plan to implement those solutions To reflect on the impact of the experience on self as leader and within the school community

My Understanding of Culture of U.S Education
In my understanding of Culture of U.S. education, there is too much politics and many policies that intertwine creating difficulties within the school community. Important problems aren’t being brought to the table and decisions aren’t being made collectively within different stakeholders. As stated by Marshall and Gerstl-Pepin, lots of people see themselves as disconnected from centers of power (31). Educators’ sense of powerlessness and anger is multiplied by their lack of connection to the decision-making arenas that create policies and programs that affect their work demands (31).

Additionally, I feel like schools are now turning into a place where students just come to do work, teachers teach, and that’s it. There is no real connection that I see between teachers and students. Many teachers I witness leave immediately after school. Not many teachers stay after school to engage with students in a professional manner. The student-faculty relationship should extend well beyond the specified contact hours and the roles of the lecturer and audience member. Students must not only know the content of academic subjects, they must learn the appropriate form in which to cast that knowledge, they must know with whom, when, and where they can speak with (Fusani, 1994).

Last semester, we read Pedagogy of the oppressed by Paulo Friere and he proposes an alternative “transformative model” that shifts the term of student and teacher to “student-teacher” and that views knowledge as generated through dialogue and mutual exchange. I just believe that if students and teachers have a great professional relationship, the culture of the school will change. Finally, if we apply Joseph McDonald’s theory of action space, school reform will be applicable and the culture of the school community will change.

School Culture/Climate Team
Mr. Kevin Herston- Social Studies teacher Mrs. Laverne Pendleton- Secretary/community member Mrs. Erin Benson- Athletic Secretary Ms. Kelsey Turner- 12th grade student Mr. Zach Dobrski- 10th grade student Ms. Kayla Westbrook- 11th grade student Ms. Taylor Young- 11th grade student

How does my school culture/climate team understand the culture of U. S
How does my school culture/climate team understand the culture of U.S. Education?

Mr. Kevin Herston “I have witnessed that policies are closely aligned with the vision of the schools. This has been determined and fully vetted by the board and it's elected members. The policies are very closely scrutinized as they are the road map for day to day function. I know this because I have read parts of the by laws. Students are also given little opportunity to express how the school may run better.”

Mrs. Laverne Pendleton “From my point of view, I just feel like the kids at the high school hate coming to school and see no point in coming. Nevertheless, community members admire the curriculum and want their respective child to learn as much as they can to prepare themselves for college.”

Mrs. Erin Benson “For me, the U. S Education is struggling right now because there seems to be a lot of pressure for teachers and even administrators, especially by their higher-ups, to complete a million tasks in such a short amount of time. It seems to me that teachers don’t get a lot of use of their time because they are always constantly working on unnecessary documents instead of devoting their time to creative and engaging lessons.”

Ms. Kayla Westbrook “I believe the U.S. education is going on a downward spiral. It seems like many teachers nowadays are teaching just for the paycheck and the benefits of not working in the summer. Then again, I have seen throughout my years at the high school more and more kids not motivated to do any work whatsoever. It seems to me that the expectations are not clear.”

Ms. Taylor Young “I feel like the culture of U.S education is slowly shifting in where everything now is test, test, test, and teachers aren’t allowed any flexibility with their teaching. My parents are both teachers and so I hear all the time about how they have to teach to the test and I see how taxing that can be.”

Ms. Kelsey Turner “I believe the culture of U.S education can be better if the teachers show some sort of care and or passion for their job and their students. Students are starting to feel so bored in school and they see no real meaning to progressing to college.”

Mr. Zach Dobrski “I have experienced first hand in a diverse school environment with people of different backgrounds, races, belief systems, etc. I have seen that U.S education has had to cater to many different people to achieving the goal of a better future through education.”

Conversation with Supervisor about School Culture/Climate

Mrs. Louise Teringo (High School Principal)
1) How are problems identified within the school community? “Problems come to light by parents, teachers, and other administrators. What we do is we have different committees that divide those problems and address them in a timely manner.”

2) What are the politics of policy implementation? “ Policy implementation is extremely difficult because policies come from board members. During these board meetings, community members come in and share their concerns. From those concerns, board members create policies to implement within the school.”

3) What is missing from policy analysis traditions? “At times, having people missing from policy implementation is tough because those people are not asked for feedback, not everyone’s voices are being heard.”

4) What role do values play in developing, interpreting, and implementing school policy? “Values play a huge role. A good example was a few years ago when a few teachers that teach Seniors displayed educational related movies yet were considered to be “R rated films.” There is a core group of religious, conservative, political in town and they pushed for “R rated films” to not be shown in school. Their values caused a policy revision at our school.”

5) To what extent are policies re-visioned and re-framed within this school community? “Everybody meets together for policy revision, but very rarely do policies ever get changed.”

6) How do students feel about their work in school? “Many students believe that they need to material from High School for college. They believe High School is simply a “game” and that they have to do it. In addition, students believe that everyone needs a diploma.”

7) To what extent do students feel safe in school? “Students actually do not get panicked, they say things more freely than before. Everyday, I have meetings with different students to hear any concerns they may have.”

8) How do students feel about their work in school? “Many students believe that they need to material from High School for college. They believe High School is simply a “game” and that they have to do it. In addition, students believe that everyone needs a diploma.”

9) To what extent do children feel safe in school? “Students do not get panicked in school. I believe they feel safe, actually safer than in previous years. They say things more freely than before.”

10) To what extent to children feel as though their teachers understand how they learn best? “It’s about half and half from my perspective. Some students believe teachers are just there to teach while others believe that the really good teachers really do care about them and go above and beyond for them.”

11) To what extent do children feel their principal cares about them? “Many students don’t know me or recognize who I am surprisingly. Kids tend to believe the office is unapproachable and the principal is out to get students in trouble.”

12) To what extent do children feel school leaders can identify their strengths? “Many students believe that teachers cannot identify their strengths rather they identify their difficulties.”

14) How comfortable do families feel in gaining access to the school? “Many families actually don’t feel comfortable at all. They don’t like coming in the welcome center. They prefer to go straight to a teacher, counselor, or principal but that simply cannot happen, welcome center is their for a purpose.”

15) To what extent does policy influence behavior? “Policy has a huge influence on behavior. Just a few years ago, students didn’t feel very safe in school building and therefore we implemented a welcome center. New policy states that all visitors must come through the welcome center with proper ID and reason for visit. Now students have a sense of safety with the new policy.”

16) Who are the key actors in making school policy? “The key actors in making school board policy is the School Board and the Superintendent.”

17) To what extent are policy and practice aligned? “Very much so. We have to practice what we put into policy. For example, there is a new policy now where every fight in school has to be reported to the school resource officer and they in turn communicate that incident with the parents and police. This is done as an attempt to decrease fights in school by reporting everything.”

18) To what extent is their a sense of respect among stakeholders? “In all honesty, there really isn’t much respect. Public opinion drive policy making and that is one of the biggest problems we have today.”

My reflection after meeting with Principal

Assessment of School Culture/ Climate via survey questions asked to the team

Questions asked to the team

Survey’s given to Team culture climate survey\student 1.pdf culture climate survey\student 2.pdf culture climate survey\student 3.pdf culture climate survey\student 4.pdf culture climate survey\teacher 1.pdf culture climate survey\teacher 2.pdf

Findings from assessment of school culture/climate

Adults on my team All 3 adults in my team stated that students feel work in school is “pointless” All 3 adults also stated that there are many policies to try to influence behavior but are simply not enforced 2 of the 3 adults stated that in most cases, students and staff do not feel supported by their work in school 2 of the 3 adults stated that students describe the school as boring. The last adult stated that students feel like there are too many rules all the while it is a nice school 2 of the 3 adults stated that community members admire athletics more than the school curriculum

Students on my team All 4 students stated that problems are identified by students and then report it to higher authority 2 out of the 4 students did not know how to respond to the question “to what extent are policies re-visioned and reframed?” and therefore left it blank All 4 students mentioned that school is a waste and students don’t like how much time it takes up from their day 3 out of the 4 students mentioned how they feel exceptionally safe in school, especially with the addition of the welcome center

Students on my team 2 out of the 4 students stated that teachers somewhat understand how students learn best. The remaining 2 stressed that students have a hard time in school simply because teachers don’t know how to accommodate to their learning style. 2 out of the 4 students stated that teachers somewhat care of the students while the other 2 stressed that students do not feel like teachers care for them at all When it came to policy influencing behavior, all 4 students simply stated “the worse the behavior, the tighter the policy. As policy becomes more restrictive, behavior worsens.”

Students on my team In regards to students describing the school, each student had a unique, and different response “Boring and sometimes like a prison” “It’s a love hate relationship” “Students see school as a great learning environment” “Students wish for improvements” 3 students stated that families see the school as welcoming and delightful while the 4th students states families describe the school as overcrowded All 4 students stated that families are very welcome and feel respected at school

Reflection from my findings

Strengths/Challenges/Research-Based Solutions/Action Plan

4 Community Strengths 4 Community Strengths Safe school environment
Positive learning environment Welcoming, and diverse Athletics

Safe school environment
Students and staff within the school community mentioned that the school is completely safe. Students feel safe and have no worries due to the fact that safety drills are always practiced in school. Additionally, a welcome center has been placed as a protocol for visitors in where they have to check in with proper identification to be allowed into the school.

Positive learning environment
Students and staff among the school community stressed the idea of having a positive learning environment. An environment where no bullying occurs and students and staff treat each other with respect. Several policies have been implemented to promote a safe and positive learning environment.

Welcoming and diverse There is a diverse population of students and staff within the school community, including foreign exchange students from China, Japan, and England. There is a welcoming feeling within the school community where parents are always welcome to come to school events and programs. Parents are respected among the community.

Athletics Since it is a small town, the community appreciates school athletics. Athletic events are times when people from the community come together to rally and support the students from our school in their specific athletic event. It is a great way to show unity in where the community come together as one. There is a lot of fundraising and support organizations that assist our athletic department.

Challenges within the Twinsburg High School Community
Challenge Number One Challenge Number Two Based on the data collected, I concluded that some teachers don’t seem to care about their students. They are more concerned about making sure the required content is taught and students are tested on that material, making sure they look good in front of the administration. There is no real culture or identity within our school *Challenge based on data collected from student responses Based on the data collected and the interviews I had, one big challenge seems to be that public opinion drives policy making within our school community

Research-Based Solution Number One Research-Based Solution Number Two
Challenge Number One: Some teachers don’t seem to care about their students. They are more concerned about making sure the required content is taught and students are tested on that material, and making sure they look good in front of the administration. It seems that there is no real culture and identity within our school and that there is a disconnect among students and teachers. Research-Based Solution Number One Research-Based Solution Number Two Once a month, have an administration-led staff meeting after school where teachers and students interact by way of games and after school activities. Similar to field days (where students get a chance to go outside and play with teachers and friends in the elementary schools), students at the high school level can now enjoy bonding and interacting with their teachers by playing games and specific activities and not making the interaction strictly for educational purposes. Have teachers attend after school student events to demonstrate care for their students. Examples of different events can be after school sporting events, show choir concerts, drama plays, and participating in after school clubs

Research for Solutions for Challenge Number One
Nel Noddins (1992) argues that the first job of schools is to care for students. It is morally and practically wrong to assert that schools should concentrate on academic goals; children do not learn academically if they are not cared for. Caring for children prepares them to be receptive to learning such content (Bergin & Bergin, 2009). Hamre & Pianta, (2001) adds that when students feel they have strong positive relationships with teachers, they are more likely to believe and love the teachers and are more motivated (Illias & Nor, 2012). The student-faculty relationship should extend well beyond the specified contact hours and the roles of the lecturer and audience member. Students must not only know the content of academic subjects, they must learn the appropriate form in which to cast that knowledge, they must know with whom, when, and where they can speak with (Fusani, 1994). Paulo Friere proposes an alternative “transformative model” that shifts the term of student and teacher to “student-teacher” and that views knowledge as generated through dialogue and mutual exchange.

My Thoughts and Explanation for Challenge Number One
My belief is that teachers should want to interact in activities and events outside of the classroom to show students that they love their job and that they care. It’s all simply explained by Paulo Friere and his banking concept model. Most teachers become the oppressor and basically tell the students what to do, eliminating their voice. Teachers should change that and show that they care by shifting to a “student-teacher” transformative model. In my experience, when teacher attend sporting events and participate in after school events with students, students believe that they truly do care, therefore establishing a culture and a sense of community here at Twinsburg High School.

Research-Based Solution Number One Research-Based Solution Number Two
Challenge Number Two: public opinion drives policy making within our school community Research-Based Solution Number One Research-Based Solution Number Two Engage in policy making by the formation of a reform team. This reform team can consist of students, teachers, administration, the school board, the superintendent and community members. Discuss the issues at hand and discuss possible solutions as a team for new policy re-visioning and or implementation. Utilize surveys (i.e., social media, online surveys, etc.) to engage in policy making in where all stakeholders have a say in policy implementation and therefore apply the theory of action space within the school community

Research for Solutions for Challenge Number Two
As mentioned by Middaugh and Kirshner, increased availability of digital media has a great potential to reduce gaps in political access across groups (4). Additionally, the use of mobile apps strive for generative utility allowing surveys to reach the population it is aimed for (31). As stated by Marshall and Gerstl-Pepin, formation of alliances, creation of networks, and construction of cohort training for building educational leaders are implemented to build advocacy coalitions in support of children, families, and educators (267). As stressed by McDonald, action space is built at opportune intersections of three resources, professional capacity (people who know their staff as educators, leaders, and reformers), civic capacity (people with great connections and great persuasion skills), and money (to boost operations into action) (8).

My Thoughts and Explanation for Challenge Number Two
My belief to avoid the challenge of public opinion to implement new policies is that school policy teams should be put into place. Creating a team to discuss policies and review old policies is the best way to avoid oppression. That way, all stakeholders have a say (students, teachers, administration, community members, board members, etc.) in discussing issues at hand and possibly creating new policies as well. I believe that using social media surveys would also be very beneficial to include all the silent voices in our school community.

Planned Work, Activities, and Tasks
Action Plan Long Term Goal(s): 1)To improve the relationships among students and teachers in order to increase the academic achievement 2) To include all the stakeholders when it comes to policy implementation or re- visioning Challenge #1: Some teachers don’t seem to care about their students. They are more concerned about making sure the required content is taught and students are tested on that material, and making sure they look good in front of the administration. Challenge # 2: Public opinion drive policy making Planned Work, Activities, and Tasks Resources Needed Timeline People Responsible Evidence of Success Challenge # 1: student-teacher games (chess, basketball, kickball, slow-pitch softball, soccer, ice-breakers, etc.) Board games, sports materials Beginning August (once a month) Administration- led teams, teachers TBD Challenge #2: meet 2 times a year, once at the beginning of the school year and once at the end of the school year to identify any potential problems and discuss any potential solutions to those problems as a team. Computer, paper Teachers, students, administration, community members © 2010 All kinds of minds Modified for Twinsburg High School

Presentation to School Culture/Climate team

Presentation to School Culture/Climate team
See Rubrics attached

Self Reflection

Throughout the process of completing this project, I learned that I obtain a few qualities that students and other colleagues appreciate, being the fact that I care about the students by engaging in conversations with them and making myself visible in the hallways. This job is pretty difficult but I learned that I need to do a few things better, like reaching out to the community and promoting a more positive culture and environment within the school. I learned that I need to be patient with students and that every day is not going to be the best day. There will be challenges each and every day present in the classroom, nevertheless, I need to remain positive and keep a smile on my face because students look up to me and I need to be a good role model to them.

I learned a lot about what matters to my school community here at Twinsburg. Many students that I talked to explained that they value learning and the education they receive at the high school. The majority of the students and teachers that I talked to emphasized the importance of the student-teacher relationship and how that affects learning. They believe a student really appreciates and learns best when they know that a teacher truly cares for them. In addition, I learned that students like when teachers are at events after school supporting the students.

Lastly, I learned that it is extremely vital for all stakeholders to work together when it comes to re-visioning a school. In most cases, like my school, power seems to be in the hands of a single person and there are many silenced voices. I believe schools are not successful like that. We all have to work together to put policies in place that everybody agrees on.

References Bergin, B., Bergin, D. (2009). Attachment in the classroom. Educational Psychology Review, 21, DOI: /s Fusani, D. S. (1994). 'Extra-class' communication: frequency, immediacy, self-disclosure, and satisfaction in student-faculty interaction outside the classroom. Journal Of Applied Communication Research, 3,22. DOI: / Friere, P. (1968). Pedagogy of the oppressed, New York, NY: Continuum Illias, K., Nor, M. (2012). Influence of teacher-student interaction in the classroom behavior on academic and student motivation in teachers’ training institute in Malaysia. Academic Research International, 1,2. Kirshner, B. (2014). #youthaction: Becoming political in the digital age. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. Marshall, C., & Gerstl-Pepin, C. (2004). Reframing educational politics for social justice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Allyn Bacon. McDonald, J. P. (2014). American school reform: What works, what fails, and why. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

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