motivation and achievement. Increasingly,
research is showing that perceptions of
school climate also inf luence student behavioral and emotional problems” (Voight,
Austin and Hansen 2013).
The foundation of learning must start
with a positive and safe working and learning environment. “If students and teachers
do not feel safe, they will not have the necessary psychological energy for teaching and
learning” (Marzano). So often the focus is
on student performance, and the emotional,
cultural, intellectual and physical needs of
the teacher are neglected.
If a school’s climate is to be positively reshaped, it is important for the administrator
to remember that the teachers’ and students’
needs are not mutually exclusive; they work
synergistically in order to build a positive
climate conducive to learning.
A safe and equitable school climate will
form the pedestal on which the teacher
stands; the construction of that foundation begins with a strong vision from the
administrator. “Leaders facilitate safe, fair,
and respectful environments that meet the
intellectual, linguistic, cultural, social-emotional, and physical needs of each learner”
(CPSEL 3C).
Administrators must maintain control,
coordination and interdependence, while
also allowing teachers and students the
autonomy, creativity, stability and predictability they need to help develop a prosperous school climate. This is a fundamental
paradox that must be managed as a school
administrator – a professional quid pro quo.
According to the California SPI’s Advisory Task Force on Accountability and
Continuous Improvement (2016), relying
on subsidiarity and reciprocal accountability
means holding every level of the system responsible for the contributions it must make
to support learning for every child.
So, how does one get movement in order
to develop and/or alter a school’s climate?
John Bliss, Folsom Middle School principal recommends the first step is listening.
“You’ve got to listen to your staff,” he said.
Bliss believes you have to hear people first
and build trust in order for them to work in a
collaborative way. Bliss states that you cannot effect change without first building a
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Leadership
strong relationship with stakeholders.
“You have to have your vision for things,”
Bliss said. “But I do think that you have to
be able to build relationships first in order
to effect that change. So, it’s who you talk
to and who you can get on your side. It’s institutions on campus (and) division leaders,
making sure you include them because that
is a shared approach.”
Bliss’ streamlined and successful approach to culture change implementation
is dependent on the Working Triangle for
Leadership model (Winlock, SCOE). First
and foremost, Bliss establishes the importance of identifying the relationships that
must be structurally sound before the presentation and implementation of a vision
that alters the school’s climate.
Initially trusting his stakeholders and
having faith in their ability to execute has
allowed Bliss to transfer ownership of his vision to the capable hands of his teachers and
parents. “You have to trust that they can do
it,” he said. “And that’s the thing: You have
to know how to get that vision out, or know
institutionally how you can place that vision
so it is shared.”
Element 3A: Operations and
Facilities
Learning cannot take place inside of
chaos, and chaos takes many forms. My first
ever teaching job was a private school, where
monthly tuition approached $1,000 per
month. There was one dayside janitor and a
private company for nightly cleaning.
Both parties accomplishments were a far
cry from stellar, and the administrator could
not have been less concerned for the cleanliness of the school. She was adamant that
the nightly cleaning of the one boys’ toilet
and urinal serving fourth through eighth
grades was sufficient. She was an ardent believer that campus cleanliness was not a determiner of student performance and voiced
that opinion on many occasions. Many years
later, I am still baffled by the lack of concern
for the campus environment.
Strangely, I was often regarded as a bit of
an eccentric by my colleagues because I recognized the importance of the floors being
stripped and cleaned before the beginning
of each school year. I organized a campus
clean-up so that we could take an active role
in cleaning blinds and windows, pulling
weeds and repainting doors and hallways,
rather than just complaining about it.
I would frequently take time out of my
planning period to clean bathrooms to rid
the building of the growing stench of uric
acid. To me, if a school cannot do the small
things well, it has little chance of accomplishing that which is most important.
Pulling double duty as the safety compliance officer for the school, it was my job to
“systematically review the physical plant and
grounds to ensure they are safe, meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements,
and comply with conditions that support accessibility for all students” (CPSEL 3A-1).
For an operation whose most important
objective was to ensure the safety of all
stakeholders, the