Positive School Culture

As I reflect on school culture and the impact this has on a school and its community, it is clear to me that school culture whether lead intentionally or not, sets the tone for the school environment. Stoll (1998) explains that culture is a "complex and important concept in education".  Complex, because in my opinion schools bring together a richness of diverse people. Diversity in age, beliefs, experiences, cultures and so much more. William H Trusheim Ed.D (2015) explains this more clearly and says when there is purposeful and intentional leadership of a cultural identity, then there is a greater possibility for successful integration of a positive school culture.

From my own experience, I am privileged to work in a school where this kind of intentional leadership is evident. One of these key aspects of our cultural identity is that we are Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) school. This vision is embedded in all areas of learning and within our staff, students and leadership. We have a passion to see students realise their potential. We celebrate and acknowledge this positive school culture in many ways encouraging students to  

• Strive for excellence 

• Organised for learning 

• Act positively 

• Respect for self, others and the environment

What is the culture that the school is striving for? How is it manifested?

The culture we are striving for is that students will have the skills, knowledge, relationships and experiences to enable them to SOAR into the future with confidence. This is evident in our belief that every child can learn and succeed.  As a staff we spend our weekly staff meetings collaboratively celebrating successes and putting in place strategies to meet any areas of need that are raised by relevant up-to-date data collected. In addition, as classroom teachers, we spend the first 15 -30 minutes of everyday teaching and learning more about our SOAR values and how this looks, feels and sounds in our school. 

Recently I have been part of a new initiative in our school to celebrate students who have been SOARing. Students who have achieved SOAR awards during the week are drawn out of hat every Friday at Assembly, these students get to spend a lunch break in Manu SOAR Zone.  This is a special area in the school where 8 students per week get to play xbox games, shoot basketball hoops, play games, paint, eat popcorn and chill out.

References:

Academy for SELinSchools (2015). What is School Culture and Climate. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-_NvhlcusQ

Stoll. (1998). School Culture. School Improvement Network’s Bulletin 9. Institute of Education, University of London. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Understanding-school-cultures/School-Culture