Inspect What You Expect

As leaders, we have spent the last weeks carefully outlining the expectations that we have for our school, our teachers, and our classrooms. How do you know that the work that is happening is meeting your expectations and that your students, staff, parents, families, and classrooms all share your vision for the culture of achievement? You must inspect what you expect - not once, not twice, but continuously, in order to ensure that the culture of achievement lives in the day to day work of the school. Likewise, if you are the classroom teacher, you must provide opportunities to model, teach, practice, and assess your expectations in order to ensure that the culture in your classroom will allow for students to reach high levels of achievement. 

Creating a classroom culture 

What are your beliefs for student learning? How are they in evidence in the day to day routines and procedures and what you expect or reinforce in your classroom? For instance, you might say that you believe in a culture of achievement in your classroom or in your school. How would I know what your beliefs were if I were to walk into your classroom? 

So, what is culture? According to NAESP, 

"Whenever a group of people spend a significant amount of time together, they develop a common set of expectations. These expectations evolve into unwritten rules to which group members conform in order to remain in good standing with their colleagues. Groups develop a common culture in order to pass on information to the next generation. That information, however, represents a set of beliefs that have been passed down by imperfect humans with personal preferences." https://www.naesp.org/resources/2/Principal/2008/M-Ap56.pdf

So, the amount of time that you as a leader must invest into ensuring that the culture - or unwritten set of expectations - of your school aligns to your vision cannot be discounted. It must be your top priority as a school leader or as a classroom teacher leader to ensure that your beliefs live in the culture of your building and your classrooms. 

Culture and climate are usually talked about in the same sentence - as if they are the same thing. Leaders often mistake making adjustments to the climate of the the school will impact the culture, but it is really two different things. Culture is the deep-seated beliefs of an organization and you can feel a school's culture in the exchanges between students and staff, staff members with one another, staff with parents and families, and the school and the community. 

Please take 10 minutes out of your busy day today to watch this video of Citizen's Academy in Cleveland, Ohio. The impact of school culture is evident in every purposeful teacher action, every student action, every leader action that has led to this school's academy and social successes. As a classroom teacher leader, think about your actions with students - are they are purposeful and on point as the teachers in the video? As a school leader, think about the expectations that you inspect and continuously reinforce in your school - do they all point in the same direction of high levels of student achievement? If your beliefs do not match your actions, then your school culture will reflect the fact that what you say and what you do are two different things. Kids, teacher, and families will know that and it will become the culture of your school or your classroom. Be purposeful. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Inspect what you expect.