Staff Culture

2. Staff Culture

3. Agenda • 8:00am-8:10am (10 min.) • Why Staff Culture? • 8:10am-8:30am (20 min.) • Staff Survey Results and Findings                               • 8:30am-9:00am(30 min.) • What are the 5 traits for a successful staff culture?                    • 9:00am • Closing • Homework: Staff Survey Analysis • Closing/Submission of SOP and SOP-Teacher Edition, July 19th

4. Why is staff culture important?

5. EdPower Staff Survey Analytics2012-2013 Survey Administered: October/April • Entrance Interviews: 20 • Response Rate: 63.5% • – Fall: 59% • – Spring: 68% • Total Staff: 167 • EdPower Network : 21 • Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School: 43 • Tindley Preparatory Academy: 23 • Arlington High School: 80 • Tindley Collegiate: relevant per transitioning staff • Tindley Renaissance: relevant per transitioning staff

6. Tindley Accelerated, Fall 2012

7. Tindley Accelerated, Spring 2013

8. Tindley Accelerated Staff Survey Responses • “There are times when the Culture impacts efficient job function such as non-communication about planned programs, meetings, extracurricular activities, etc. creating a backlog of calls for related inquiry.” • “Our communication as a school and network is horrible. On a weekly basis things are communicated at the last minute.” • “I think one of our biggest problems is a few teachers who may not share the same high expectations of all scholars. Allowing children to be anything less than excellent is something that if allowed is a culture killer. Even one teacher who allows a child to leave early when they are not eligible for early release, or chew gum when the rules say they shouldn’t, or smack their lips in response to a directive derails our entire mission and can erode the fabric of Tindley until we are just another school. I believe and continue to fight in the trenches of Tindley because I believe we are special and we offer that to every kid.”

9. Tindley Prep, Fall 2012

10. Tindley Prep, Spring 2013

11. Tindley Prep Staff Responses • “Copiers are malfunctioning way too much to perform at my best. Copiers are essential machines when we are required to make ladders that serve as our textbooks and when we give up our personal time to prepare and they are not working, it makes this job of being a teacher at an Ed Power school much more difficult then it needs to be.” • “I am stretched far too thin to be at my best. Our workloads hold us back from transformational teaching.” • “I am not actually familiar with our mission/purpose on a network level.” • “Every position is important, but are not considered valuable within the network.”

12. Arlington Staff Survey Results, Fall 2012

13. Arlington Staff Survey Results, Spring 2013

14. Arlington Staff Responses • “Staff is sometimes held accountable for duties of which we are not aware.” • “The campus administrator often makes corrections via email regarding staff behaviors that have not been discussed prior to the email correspondence.” • “Is there a staff handbook? I have never received one.” • “Meetings are called at the last meeting; the team is in flux because of deadlines that are set with less than 24 hours to process.” • “During extended day, I feel like a babysitter. This has been expressed several times, and not much has happened. The Campus Admin. does not like hearing others input on the systems and routines that have been put into place.” • “The time needed to complete all of the tasks we are assigned is not given during the school day and requires more time than we can devote in the evenings and weekends. We are threatened repeatedly regarding the incompletion of these tasks even though we have consistently communicated that we do not have enough time to fulfill all of these responsibilities.” • “Teachers' feedback is dismissed.” • “While the mission is admirable, it's application at my school lacks in excellence and does not result in the best outcomes for most students.”

15. What is noteworthy from looking at schools across the country, however, is that one realizes that having a vision or a set of school values was not a distinguishing factor of exceptional schools. What sets top leaders apart is that they transform their vision into meticulously built systems that operate across every single classroom. -Bambrick-Santoyo, p. 168

16. If exceptional school leaders use their time effectively and translate their vision into meticulously built systems, who then does the leader’s time and systems most focus on? Staff, Staff, Staff

17. What are the 5 strategies for a successful staff culture?

18. 5 Strategies for A Successful Staff Culture • Set the Vision • Wisely design clear and palpable vision for the work environment in your school. • Get the Right People on the Bus • Without great people, little else matters. Ensure your vision drives your hiring. • Put a Stake in the Ground • Prioritize how you want to develop staff culture from the first interaction of the year.

19. 5 Strategies for A Successful Staff Culture 4. Keep Your Ear to the Rail 1. Look and listen for negative culture warning signs that are coming down the tracks 5. Lather, Rinse, Repeat 1. Staff culture is fragile. If you’re not intentional about building, maintaining, or communicating your staff culture, some else will define it for you.

20. 5 Strategies for A Successful Staff Culture • Set the Vision • Wisely design clear and palpable vision for the work environment in your school. • What is the staff culture you want to build? • How do you want your staff to feel? • Staff Guestology Committee • What is the vision for your school? How do you want teachers feel about that? What is acceptable evidence?

21. 5 Strategies for A Successful Staff Culture 2. Get the Right People on the Bus • Without great people, little else matters. Ensure your vision drives your hiring. • Mission Alignment • Openness to Feedback • Fit on Team

22. 5 Strategies for A Successful Staff Culture 3. Put a Stake in the Ground • Build the culture early • The Interview and Hiring Process • The First Weeks of the Year

23. 5 Strategies for A Successful Staff Culture 4. Keep Your Ear to the Rail • Look and listen for negative culture warning signs that are coming down the tracks. • Look for Warning Signs • Acting on Warning Signs

24. 5 Strategies for A Successful Staff Culture 5. Lather, Rinse, Repeat • Staff culture is fragile. • Day to Day Excellence • Keep an Open Face • Listen First • Wait before sending emails…or just don’t • Use we instead of I or you • Revisit the mission often • Keep it up

25. A Quick Word on Mission The core mission of a staff culture…is that teachers need to know the school’s core mission…and be unified in putting it into practice. -Brian Sims

26. Closing Remember: Tomorrow a 20 min. Staff Survey Analysis will be presented to peers. Analysis should include: • Staff Survey Results • Findings from Results • Goals for staff survey results • SOP Priority List to achieve goals