You Don't Need a Title to Change the Culture

"Every one of us is responsible for the culture and reputation of our army and the environment in which we work….The standard you walk past is the standard you accept." This was stated by Australian Army Chief Lt. General, David Morrsion. His message was sent out to an entire nation in an effort to rid the Australian Army of those who commit acts to degrade women.  I applaud Mr. Morrison on his efforts, but his video (see here: Australian Army Chief Address to his nation) had a few lines that made me think about how to relate his message to a school culture.

I refer back to the top of this post.  Everyone is responsible for the culture and reputation of our _____:

• school
• district
• business
• franchise
• team
• family

Regardless of what you fill in the blank, as an organization it is a shared responsibility to create the culture we want to work in each day.  This is no different for for a school district, individual school, department, and classroom. 

Cultures remain static if you don't have the courage to speak about it.  As a principal who just completed my first year in a new school, the term culture came up very often and on purpose.  You often hear how it is the leader’s responsibility to help create the culture of a school. As a leader, I believe I do have a moral responsibility to cultivate and promote a positive school culture. A culture based on HOPE where our allegiance is to our students' social, emotional, and educational achievement.  However, one does not need a title to be the agent of change in school culture. I have had many conversations over the years with teachers who expressed frustration with how hard they work for their students, but others barely do the minimum.  I refer back to Lt. General Morrison's comment: The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.  Those teachers who inspire, motivate, create, love, care, and have that do what it takes attitude, should be vocal about what they do to promote students success. They shouldn't take a backseat to the perpetual complainers who tend to make others feel like doing the right thing is wrong. It's our jobs as leaders to promote and recognize their efforts.

As I reflect on the past year, our school leadership team needs to do a better job of publicly celebrating the instructional warriors who battle all the new mandates coming their way, yet still have the focus and drive to create a student first culture. I might as well start now and celebrate:

• One of our Language Arts teachers who worked tirelessly with an at-risk student. Told the student repeatedly she believes in her. Result: the student passed all of her core subjects for the fourth marking period, only thought to be unattainable in the beginning of the year.
• One of our science teachers for bringing in real life scientists into her class in person and using Google Hangout to spark students curiosity. 
• A special education teacher for transforming a 6th grade student who was headed for failure. This student went on his first ever field trip and has earned promotion to 7th grade.
• A chorus teacher who gets almost 30% of the student population (862) to perform in the concerts and completely rock the house. 

Of course, there are more examples. However, this is proof that you don't need a title to be a leader of change. We just need more people to share and celebrate all the positives that happen on a daily basis in our schools. Leaders can't shy away from conversing about culture. Ken Williams @unfoldthesoul, states, "Give life to a vision by communicating expressively, so that people can see their vision with the larger vision."  In our school, we are continually using the term collaborative force. As leaders, give life to what building a collaborative force will do for your students by engaging in the conversations that promote a positive culture. Continue to have a steadfast faith in the power of potential (both staff and students) because if you do, there is no doubt the culture will change.