Ideas to Shift School Culture

One thing that I did early in my education journey was to read extensively and build up a library of books and articles that I identified with that would form the foundation of my approach to leadership and best outcomes for children. I have written a number of journals, and still do, that document my leadership journey, my thoughts and reflections, my planning and a record of key conversations and sayings from other school leaders. I have looked for mentors to guide me, to discuss ideas and to give me feedback. I have also made a deliberate attempt when I have been with other school leaders to make my voice heard so that I can expand my network, make a contribution to the discussion and see where I am in sync with my leadership peers. It is also where I further develop my listening and speaking skills and my risk taking skills. I know my challenges in this area and seek to learn from my mistakes and successes as I have to develop confidence when leading professional development programmes in school.

One author that has made a significant contribution to my thinking is Michael Fullan. His book The Six Secrets of Change has had the biggest impact on my thinking about what school leaders need to do to establish, embrace and recognise that change is a constant in education. This book has been the main building block from which I have launched discussions, intiatives and direction for my school. I have also used many of his other books. Another author that planted the seeds of progress is Rick Dufour. His many publications about professional learning communities challenged existing thinking about how school change can be significantly accelerated when teachers work together to narrow the gaps between low and high achievers. Robert Marzano and Carol Ann Tomlinson have also had me thinking in depth about absolutes that need to be in schools such as a valid and viable curriculum and the power of differentiation in classrooms. I am also a great fan of the Best Evidence Synthesis Iteration documents which have a wealth of excellent evidenced based approaches to leading, teaching and learning.

I also visit schools to talk and discuss with teachers and leaders about their current situation, their challenges and take from these visits many ideas. I am fortunate that my principal has been a very strong advocate for my growth and has encouraged these trips.

The single most important idea that I have read and seen that comes through strongly for me is that there are only two types of schools: 1) Failing Schools and 2) Successful Schools. The single most important factor in these schools is leadership. It is as simple as that.

As you will see when reading the rest of my blog, my AP and myself are massive ideas generators.We talk extensively about our school and what we need to be doing to move things forward. We record these ideas on A2 pieces of paper-mind maps, notes, prompts and comments that we leave in our office and come back to over a period of days and further reflect, review and refine and then work towards presenting to our principal, staff and board where ever the priority or target audience is.