2. Shaping Positive and Transforming Toxic Cultures Dr. Kent D. Peterson University of Wisconsin-Madison 1025 W. Johnson Street Madison, WI 53706 kpeterson@education.wisc.edu

3. Dear Diary, Please allow every teacher to realize what awesome power they hold in their hands and that they are the doors through which whole new worlds of possibility can open for their students. That by understanding students, day to day, and not judging them or shutting out the many opportunities for their success teachers can, and often do, make all the difference. Sandi Redenbach (Diary of a Dropout)

4. Culture is a Powerful Force School culture influences how people think, feel, and act. Culture is a key determinant of staff focus, commitment, motivation, and productivity.

5. “…the only real thing of importance that leaders do is create and manage culture and the unique talent of leaders is their ability to work with the culture. (Schein, 1985 p.2)

6. “Effective leaders know that the hard work of reculturing is the sine qua non of progress.” (Fullan, 2001, p.44).

7. Culture is a powerful force that exists in any organization in which people share some history. It develops as people work together, solve problems, cope with conflicts, achieve successes, and deal with tragedy. (Schein, 1985; Deal and Peterson,1999)

8. Culture and Effectiveness “At a deeper level, all organizations, especially schools, improve performance by fostering a shared system of norms folkways, values, and traditions. These infuse the enterprise with passion, purpose, and a sense of spirit. Without a strong, positive culture, schools flounder and die.” (Peterson and Deal, 2002, p. 7)

9. Performance and Spirit “The key to successful performance is the heart and spirit infused into relationships among people, their efforts to serve all students, and a shared sense of responsibility for learning. Without heart and spirit nourished by cultural ways, schools become learning factories devoid of soul and passion.” (Peterson and Deal, 2002, p. 7)

10. Key Roles of Cultural Leaders READ the Culture Historian and Anthropologist ASSESS the Culture Analyst and Evaluator REINFORCE or TRANSFORM the Culture Visionary, Symbol, Potter, Poet, Actor, and Healer (Deal and Peterson, 1994; 1999)

11. Elements of Culture Norms, Values and Beliefs that underlie thinking, feeling and acting Symbols and Artifacts that Communicate Meaning Stories that Herald Values Cultural Network Heroes and Heroines Rituals, Traditions, and Ceremonies “Culture is “the way we do things around here!”

12. Elements of Toxic Cultures Negative Values and beliefs hold sway in toxic cultures. Sense of purpose is spiritually fragmented. Relationships are negative and destructive. The cultural network’s most powerful members negaholics (Carter-Scott, 1989) The only heroes are anti-heroic. Few positive rituals, traditions, or ceremonies exist to develop a sense of community and hopefulness. Deal and Peterson (1999).

13. Ways of Reading Your Culture... List Six Adjectives to describe your school.List Six Adjectives to describe your school. Think of a song that depicts your culture.Think of a song that depicts your culture. Create a metaphor… If my school were an animal, it would be a _______ because_________________________.Create a metaphor… If my school were an animal, it would be a _______ because_________________________. Conduct a school history.Conduct a school history. Interview a school’s storytellers.Interview a school’s storytellers.

14. Norms, Values, and Beliefs Norms of Collegiality, Performance, Improvement Values of Achievement and Equity Beliefs about student ability, the community, staff collaboration Leaders shape these deep elements of school culture

15. Symbols and Artifacts in the School Communicate values Reinforce culture Build success through commitment Symbolize the mission

16. Informal Network Informal Network GossipsGossips Spies, Counterspies, MolesSpies, Counterspies, Moles StorytellersStorytellers Heroes and heroinesHeroes and heroines “ Keepers of the Dream ““ Keepers of the Dream “

17. Toxic Informal Network Saboteurs Pessimistic Storytellers “Keepers of the Nightmare” Negaholics Prima Donnas-Prima Donalds Space Cadets Martyrs Deadwood, Driftwood, Ballast

18. The Importance of Ceremonies and Celebrations Reinforce Values Build Culture and Community Recharge Motivation Communicate Purpose Celebrate Success

19. Types of Celebrations Beginning of Year Fall Solstice Ethnic Events Battle Preparations Retirements End-of-Year Large and Small Successes

20. Elements of Ceremonies

21. Map Your Ceremonies and Celebrations Over the Year

22. Elements of Toxic Cultures Negative Values and beliefs hold sway in toxic cultures. Sense of purpose is spiritually fragmented. Relationships are negative and destructive. The cultural network’s most powerful members negaholics (Carter-Scott, 1989) The only heroes are anti-heroic. Few positive rituals, traditions, or ceremonies exist to develop a sense of community and hopefulness. Deal and Peterson (1999).

23. Toxic Informal Network Saboteurs Pessimistic Storytellers “Keepers of the Nightmare” Naysayers and Negaholics Prima Donnas and Prima Donalds Space Cadets Martyrs Deadwood, Driftwood, Ballast (Deal and Peterson, 1999)

24. Toxic Nondiscussables “The health of a school is inversely proportional to the number of nondiscussables: the fewer nondiscussables, the healthier the school; the more nondiscussables, the more pathology in school culture. Nondiscussables are subjects sufficiently important that they are talked about frequently for are so laden with anxiety and fearfulness that these conversations only take place in the parking lot, the rest rooms, the playground, the carpool, or at the dinner table at home. Fear abounds that open discussion of these incendiary issues – at a faculty meeting for example – will cause a meltdown. To change the culture of the school, the instructional leader must enable its residents to name, acknowledge, and address the nondiscussables – especially those that impede learning.” (Barth, Roland, “The Culture Builder,” Educational Leadership, 2002)

25. Toxic Cultures Examples from practice. Examples from your experiences. Discussion: Ways to Reshape Toxic Cultures.

26. Culture Shaping Roles Anthropologist Historian Visionary Symbol Potter Poet Actor Healer (Deal and Peterson, 1999)

27. "Becoming a leader is a lot like investing successfully in the stock market. If your hope is to make a fortune in one day, you're not going to be successful." John C. Maxwell

28. “Teachers usually have no way of knowing that they have made a difference in a child’s life, even when they have made a dramatic one… Good teachers put snags in the river of children passing by, and, over the years, they redirect hundreds of lives… [Great schools are] made up of people who can never really know the good they have done.” Kidder (1989): Among Schoolchildren

30. Resources and Research

31. Research on Organizational Culture Effective Schools Research (Edmonds) School Reform Literature (Fullan) Professional Learning Communities (DuFour) Good to Great (Collins) Balanced Leadership (Marzano et al) Execution (Bossidy et al)

32. Elements of Positive, Successful Cultures a mission focused on student and teacher learning a rich sense of history and purpose core values of collegiality, performance, and improvement that engender quality, achievement, and learning for everyone positive beliefs and assumptions about the potential of students and staff to learn and grow a strong professional community that uses knowledge, experience, and research to improve practice an informal network that fosters positive communication flows leadership that balances continuity and improvement rituals and ceremonies that reinforce core cultural values stories that celebrate successes and recognize heroines and heroes a physical environment that symbolizes joy and pride a widely shared sense of respect and caring for everyone Source: Shaping School Culture: The Heart of Leadership (1999). Terrence Deal and Kent Peterson, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

33. Characteristics of Professional Learning Communities Shared Sense of Purpose Teacher Involvement in Decision Making Collaborative Work A Sense of Joint Responsibility for the Outcomes of Teaching Norms of Improvement Professional Learning (Kruse; Lambert; DuFour; Hipp et al.)