School Culture

From this week's readings I have come to understand that school culture is the way in which a school does what is does. By that I mean, how the school is ran and how stakeholders interact with one another: commonly shared beliefs and expectations of those stakeholders as well. Effective school leaders must understand the various components of their own school's culture in order to effect change in a positive manner. By understanding the culture, an effective leader will know how to got about rolling out initiatives and school reform efforts. It is essential that an effective leader know the intricacies of how their individual school thrives and functions in order to make appropriate and intelligent decisions. In turn when leadership and other stakeholders are able to identify and agree on what ideals and beliefs are important for their community (positive school culture), the chances of school reform succeeding is greater.

I have learned a great deal in this course so far regarding being an effective leader. I have learned that effective leaders wear many hats at the same time. At times, it will be necessary for an effective leader to step up and provide directives for stakeholders to adhere to. At other times it may be necessary, and more well received, if the leader takes on the role of being a facilitator and instead of telling team members how to accomplish a task, actually giving them the latitude to come to their own conclusions and methods for reaching certain goals and/or accomplishing certain tasks.

I have also learned that effective leaders are charged with the task of embodying and promoting the school mission and vision. The majority of tasks that an effective leader performs should directly tie into the goals and beliefs of the school they are leading. Providing this example of continuity will further promote the organizations goals and well as encourage other team members (staff, students, parents, community members) to buy into efforts and strategies that will promote school improvement and success. Effective leaders also realize that they cannot do it all and they are not afraid to embrace this reality. Instead they can clearly identify areas where assistance may be needed and have the wisdom and ability to be able to identify those in the organizations structure who can perform these tasks more effectively and efficiently. The effective leader will then encourage those individuals to step up and participate actively in contributing to the success of the organization/school, thus building a more positive school culture.