Pam Gilmore
Chapter 5
Unleashing
a Culture of Leadership
A school’s culture results from the combined
behaviors of people in that particular school.
Culture is not the mission, the vision, or the strategy printed on the
letterhead or mounted on the wall. Culture
is not what is proclaimed out of someone’s mouth. Culture is how people
actually behave and treat each other on a consistent day-in and day-out basis.
Culture can be seen, felt, and heard.
It is no secret that culture has a direct impact on
the learning state of the students.
However, with all the other pressures facing school principals, many don’t
have the time to tamper with the existing culture, much less create a new
culture.
While facing the challenges and pressures every other
school faces, A.B. Combs committed to adopting a leadership theme and made an
effort to work on their school culture despite the other pressures and
challenges. A.B. Combs decided to look at the factors they felt determined the
culture of their school: Behavior,
language, artifacts, traditions/rituals, and folklore.
Behaviors: A.B. Combs
devotes the first week or more of each school year to working with students to
create or re-create their culture.
During that first week they don’t teach core subjects. Instead, they review the 7 Habits and write
class mission statements. They talk about accountability. The students create,
apply for, and interview for class and school leadership roles. They write
class codes of cooperation and create artwork to go on the bulletin boards in
the hallway. These activities help
students feel connected and this prevents and removes many of the discipline
issues before the year gets underway. Besides the 7 Habits, other skills are
taught and reinforced. These skills
include basic manners and etiquette, grooming and hygiene, greeting visitors,
making eye contact, etc. They also determine ways good behavior will be
rewarded.
Language: Language in the
hallway speaks volumes about the culture of a school. At A.B. Combs you
consistently hear positive, uplifting sayings and quotes. The bulletin boards and walls have
strategically placed words of encouragement.
When students arrive at school they are greeted by the teacher and a
student greeter. Students receive a
handshake, they are called by name, and something nice is said to them to begin
their day. Students are not the only
ones that begin their day on a positive note. Teachers go into the hallway
before the first bell and “huddle”. They gather for an inspirational quote, a
moment to connect with their grade level, and an effort for everyone to begin
their day with a sense of belonging and not isolation. At A.B. Combs,
celebrating and expressing belief in the potential of children is their
language.
Artifacts: The artifacts
that visitors come across when visiting a school tell them a lot about the
culture of the school. When visiting
A.B. Combs, one comes across posters, murals, and artwork demonstrating the
school’s mission statement. The halls
are decorated with artwork that further portrays the leadership theme. Quotes and pictures of leaders who have
visited or influenced the school are in prominent places in the hallways. Students have a spring art show to
demonstrate their talents and reinforce that everyone is important. The classrooms are full of artwork and
mission statements. Every item displayed
has a story and a purpose. The items are
not for cosmetic beauty only—they reinforce the leadership theme.
Traditions: Any culture
lends itself to developing traditions. A.B. Combs has developed traditions over
the years and are designed to fulfill five purposes: 1) to give students the
opportunity to become leaders, 2) to build relationships between students,
faculty, family, and community friends, 3) to complete academic requirements of
the district or state, 4) to reinforce school values such as service to the
community, 5) to create lasting memories for students.
Some of A.B. Combs more
popular traditions include:
Leadership Day
Inaugural Ball
International Festival
Silver Tray Luncheon
Service Projects
Celebrate Success Day
School or classroom
traditions have purpose, and in the end, students go away with new skills,
added measures of confidence, and lasting leadership memories.
Folklore: Folklore consists
of those stories that hang around for years.
Stories of the day the teacher was late and a student took charge, a
time when the students persuaded the principal to change a program or have an
idea that is better than hers or a time when the students and faculty rallied
around one of their own in a time of need.
Finally, culture is not
just talking the talk, it is walking the walk!
A quality school culture is not the work of any individual—it is definitely
a whole-school effort.
Chapter 6
Regina Lane
Rippling Across the Globe
Chapter 6 begins by a brief glance
back to A.B. Combs Elementary and how they began the leadership process.
Their success and the change in their school, both the climate and test scores,
became apparent within the first year of implementation. There were other
schools that desired the same results and they are discussed in chapter
6. English Estates Elementary in Fern Park, Florida is the first
school discussed. Their principal, Dr. Beth Sharpe, was very passionate
and a visionary deeply interested in where students go in life. At the
time, English Estates was a forty year year old, K-5 school that had lost most
of its glimmer. At the time, parents were taking their children out of
the school in droves due to a noticeable "lack of heart" and a daily
"going through the motions" of the faculty. The school
had not met AYP for quite some time and was considered a school in "need
of improvement." The principal, being new to the campus, invited Muriel
Summers to visit English Estates Elementary. She really believed that The
Leader In Me was exactly what the school needed to give it a much needed
boost for both faculty and students. They implemented the 7 Habits
and working goals and expectations for the upcoming fall of 2005. In one
year, they received the "Most Improved Academic Scores" with test
scores up as much as 35% in some subject areas. They received the
rating of an A from the state of Florida and the school met AYP for the first
time.
Another success story was Chestnut
Grove Elementary in Decatur, Alabama. A member of the community heard of
the success of A.B. Combs Elem. and went to the principal of Chestnut Grove and
desired to take a few teachers with him to go to North Carolina to see
firsthand what was happening. The community business CEO paid for a retreat for
the teachers so that they could be unified in the fall when they began
implementing the 7 Habits. After their visit to North Carolina, they began
planning how to implement the 7 Habits at their campus. They embraced the
concept because they knew that it would benefit all of the students and be a
lift for teachers on their campus. The teachers and students talk
performance. The students track their own progress. The children
reportedly practice the 7 Habits at home as well. The school is decorated
with the 7 Habits theme and leadership insights are shared on the morning news
(SNEWS) at the school.
Dewey Elementary School in Quincy, Illinois was taught the 7 Habits of Highly
Effective People by college students training to be teachers.
Dewey Elem. School is a K-3 school with about 220 students with 63% on free and
reduced lunches. The more the teachers at the school heard the lessons
being taught, they began to use the language and concepts in their
classrooms. Gradually, the 7 Habits became the common language at the
school. The principal, Christie Dickens, visited Leadership Day at A.B.
Combs. They figured out how they, a much smaller school with less
resources, could implement the program. Students began arriving to school
early and the climate of their school drastically changed. Parental
support changed. The PTA meetings more than doubled. Tardiness
declined 35%. Discipline referrals dropped 75%. The Illinois
Standards Achievement Test results in reading and math made drastic improvements
over a 2 year period. (reading 2005 - 57.4%, 2006 - 72.2%, 2007 - 89.7%) and
(math - 2005 77.4%, 2006 - 90.3%, 2007 - 100%!!) The attitudes and
behaviors of the students were completely changed as was their focus on their
school work.
In Alberta, Canada, the Crestwood
Elementary School was headed by principal David George. Mr.
George asked his faculty to be trained in the 7 Habits. The habits
quickly became a noticeable part of how the staff did things, particularly in the common
language at the school. The habits were introduced more gradually than
the previous schools I have mentioned. Over a two year period both
teachers and students became familiar with the language and habits. They
began to see an increase of students taking ownership and
responsibility for their actions. Parents began to comment on the
change in their children and parent involvement greatly increased over
the two year period. Parents outside the district were requesting for
their children to be placed at Crestwood Elementary. Local businesses called
voluntarily and offered to give financial help to the school because they, too,
were doing the 7 Habits. David George and his staff are now mentoring
other schools in Alberta, Canada.
Chua Chu Kang Primary School in Singapore has 2,200 students with an average of 40
per class. The Ministry of Education offered the 7 Habits for the 20,000
teachers employed and 1/2 of them accepted the offer. The ministry also
requires the students at all grade levels to be taught character building
as part of a civics and moral education section. Mr. Francis Foo is the
principal of Chua Chu Kang Primary School. Mr. Foo's staff was trained in
the 7 Habits. Upon teaching the 7 Habits, students hung posters,
large signs and wrote rap songs to sing that contained the 7 Habits
content. The schools approach is different than those mentioned
previously since the habits are only emphasized at the upper levels and are
taught as a designed curriculum instead of using the ubiquitous approach.
Mr. Foo's school was recently awarded the nations "Character Development
Award by the Ministry of Education. As for the national exams, the school
has moved out of the "average" range and into the ranks of the
higher-rated schools!
These schools span all cultures, all
creeds and all socioeconomic levels. The fact that each of these schools,
their administrators and teachers, add their own signature and unique way of
implementing the 7 Habits makes it unique and very rewarding for their schools.
They have what is best for their children in mind. Students are learning skills
that are necessary to be successful, not only in school, but in life!
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