Staff Culture

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

Why is staff culture important?

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

Tindley Accelerated, Fall 2012

Do I know what is expected of me at work?

Do I have the materials and equipment to do my work well?

At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best everyday?

In the last seven days, have I received praise or recognition for doing good work?

Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?

Is there someone at work who encourages my development? In the last six months (if applicable), has someone talked to me about my progress?

At work, do my opinions seem to count? In the last year (if applicable), have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

Does the mission/purpose of EdPower make me feel my job is important?

Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work? Do I have a best friend at work?

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

NoYes

Tindley Accelerated, Spring 2013

Do I know what is expected of me at work?

Do I have the materials and equipment to do my work well?

At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best everyday?

In the last seven days, have I received praise or recognition for doing good work?

Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?

Is there someone at work who encourages my development? In the last six months (if applicable), has someone talked to me about my progress?

At work, do my opinions seem to count? In the last year (if applicable), have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

Does the mission/purpose of EdPower make me feel my job is important?

Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work? Do I have a best friend at work?

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

NoYes

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.”

Tindley Prep, Fall 2012

Do I know what is expected of me at work?

Do I have the materials and equipment to do my work well?

At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best everyday?

In the last seven days, have I received praise or recognition for doing good work?

Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?

Is there someone at work who encourages my development? In the last six months (if applicable), has someone talked to me about my progress?

At work, do my opinions seem to count? In the last year (if applicable), have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

Does the mission/purpose of EdPower make me feel my job is important?

Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work? Do I have a best friend at work?

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

NoYes

Tindley Prep, Spring 2013

Do I know what is expected of me at work?

Do I have the materials and equipment to do my work well?

At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best everyday?

In the last seven days, have I received praise or recognition for doing good work?

Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?

Is there someone at work who encourages my development? In the last six months (if applicable), has someone talked to me about my progress?

At work, do my opinions seem to count? In the last year (if applicable), have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

Does the mission/purpose of EdPower make me feel my job is important?

Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work? Do I have a best friend at work?

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

NoYes

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.”

Arlington Staff Survey Results, Fall 2012

Do I know what is expected of me at work?

Do I have the materials and equipment to do my work well?

At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best everyday?

In the last seven days, have I received praise or recognition for doing good work?

Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?

Is there someone at work who encourages my development? In the last six months (if applicable), has someone talked to me about my progress?

At work, do my opinions seem to count? In the last year (if applicable), have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

Does the mission/purpose of EdPower make me feel my job is important?

Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work? Do I have a best friend at work?

NoYes

Arlington Staff Survey Results, Spring 2013

Do I know what is expected of me at work?

Do I have the materials and equipment to do my work well?

At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best everyday?

In the last seven days, have I received praise or recognition for doing good work?

Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?

Is there someone at work who encourages my development? In the last six months (if applicable), has someone talked to me about my progress?

At work, do my opinions seem to count? In the last year (if applicable), have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

Does the mission/purpose of EdPower make me feel my job is important?

Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work? Do I have a best friend at work?

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

NoYes

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.”

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

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

What are the 5 strategies for a successful staff culture?

5 Strategies for A Successful Staff Culture

1. Set the Vision1. Wisely design clear and palpable vision for the

work environment in your school.2. Get the Right People on the Bus

1. Without great people, little else matters. Ensure your vision drives your hiring.

3. Put a Stake in the Ground1. Prioritize how you want to develop staff culture

from the first interaction of the year.

5 Strategies for A Successful Staff Culture

4. Keep Your Ear to the Rail1. Look and listen for negative culture warning

signs that are coming down the tracks5. 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.

5 Strategies for A Successful Staff Culture

1. Set the Vision1. Wisely design clear and palpable vision for the

work environment in your school.2. What is the staff culture you want to build?3. How do you want your staff to feel?

1. Staff Guestology Committee2. What is the vision for your school? How do you want

teachers feel about that? What is acceptable evidence?

5 Strategies for A Successful Staff Culture

2. Get the Right People on the Bus1. Without great people, little else matters. Ensure

your vision drives your hiring.2. Mission Alignment3. Openness to Feedback4. Fit on Team

5 Strategies for A Successful Staff Culture

3. Put a Stake in the Ground1. Build the culture early2. The Interview and Hiring Process3. The First Weeks of the Year

5 Strategies for A Successful Staff Culture

4. Keep Your Ear to the Rail1. Look and listen for negative culture warning signs

that are coming down the tracks.2. Look for Warning Signs3. Acting on Warning Signs

5 Strategies for A Successful Staff Culture

5. Lather, Rinse, Repeat1. Staff culture is fragile.2. Day to Day Excellence3. Keep an Open Face4. Listen First5. Wait before sending emails…or just don’t6. Use we instead of I or you7. Revisit the mission often8. Keep it up

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

ClosingRemember: Tomorrow a 20 min. Staff Survey Analysis will be presented to peers.Analysis should include:1. Staff Survey Results2. Findings from Results3. Goals for staff survey results4. SOP Priority List to achieve goals