School culture is a critical component of creating a positive and effective learning environment for students. According to educational consultant Anthony Muhammad, school culture is "the collective behavior of people who are part of an organization and the values, visions, beliefs, habits, working language, systems, and symbols that they share." In other words, school culture encompasses the shared beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of everyone in the school community, including students, teachers, staff, and parents.

Linda Darling-Hammond, an education researcher and professor, emphasizes the importance of school culture in promoting student success. In her book The Flat World and Education, she argues that a positive school culture is essential for creating a supportive learning environment that meets the diverse needs of all students. A strong school culture can help build relationships between teachers and students, foster a sense of community, and promote collaboration and shared decision-making among all members of the school community.

Both Muhammad and Darling-Hammond stress the importance of school leaders in creating and maintaining a positive school culture. They argue that school leaders play a crucial role in establishing clear expectations and norms, promoting a shared vision for the school, and providing opportunities for professional development and growth.

By prioritizing school culture, educators can create a positive and supportive learning environment that helps all students succeed. Below are four questions school leaders can ask themselves about their school culture:

With the end of the school clear coming, we extend an invitation to all leaders to slow down and reflect on these questions, take note of their learning, and plan forward. School leaders can continuously improve and strengthen their school culture and the academic and personal growth of their students by intentionally designing around these needs. Taking the time this summer to slow down, reflect, and design can help support the opening of your building in the fall!

This is the TIP sheet signing out for the 2022-23 school year. Enjoy your summer. May each of you find time to recharge, rejuvenate, and relax! See you again in August!

The TIP Sheet team

San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE)

This month our TIP Sheet team is pleased to spotlight Lee Romero, principal at Bonita Vista High School! Thank you, Lee, for all you do on behalf of students.

This year marks my 36th year in education. I enjoyed retirement for the last four years, working as an education leadership consultant in California, Texas, and Arizona. Prior to coming back to my alma mater (class of 1981), I served as a principal at Hilltop High School, Southwest High School, Montgomery High School, and National City Middle School.

When challenged with difficult staff issues, one of my mentors taught me the notion that "our school system is a social service agency for kids, it is not a social service agency for adults." Oftentimes, I have to recall this belief when leading decisions at my school.

At every site I served as principal, I've been able to create leadership teams that promote strong belief systems that celebrate student achievement and school pride. Creating such systems at school sites is not something that just happens. Rather, this work is strategic. Furthermore, the staff, students, parents, and community must be part of this movement.

As a principal, you must keep your line of communication open and authentic. Conversations should not be limited to my office, rather they are better suited outside during student lunch, at school activities, and in teachers' classrooms. As a principal, I always calendar two full days per week for visiting classrooms. These visits are oftentimes not formal observation, rather they are opportunities to catch teachers and students doing good things.

Tell us about something new you are trying on this year with your school site and why. Starting this school year on Oct. 3, I spent six full days meeting with all staff for 15 minutes each asking these three questions: What do you love about BVHS? What should we change? How could we make this change together?

With this data, we met on Jan. 9 and condensed these ideas to determine what would be our "next steps," or in other words, "BVHS's Initiatives." This work then structured my time/energy as the new principal.

Being retired for the last four years has been a challenge coming back as a principal. In four years, I forgot, albeit on purpose, many of the difficulties we (principals) endure daily. But what I realized is that I missed the many wonderful interactions with students, staff, and parents.

We are given a tremendous responsibility to lead and motivate our staff and students in a cycle of continuous improvement. And with this notion comes the need for us, as principals, to learn and get better also. Coming back after four years has afforded me a unique insight to our jobs and the important role we plan in the lives of our students and our staffs. This responsibility is both humbling and exciting.

The leadership and professional development opportunities calendar highlights SDCOE offerings that may be a good fit for your staff.

SDCOE's Preliminary Administrative Services Credential program​ is designed to prepare experienced educators for the challenges of school leadership. The credential allows program graduates to serve in a variety of administrative roles, which may include principal, assistant principal, program manager, coordinator, and others, depending on your district. Earning the credential will expand your opportunities as an educator. If you know any future administrators who might be interested in obtaining this credential, please encourage them to apply.

“Every year, over 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the United States alone. That’s a student every 26 seconds — or 7,000 a day.” (Partnering for Education Reform." U.S. Department of Education, 2015)

Middle school student engagement has the greatest influence on high school success. The SDCOE Middle School Aspire Network capitalizes on this by equipping staff and leaders with practical ideas and strategies to connect with students in ways that enable them for success in middle school and beyond.

School teams in the Network will engage in a cycle of improvement to increase student investment and sense of belonging in their school experience. Teams will learn about and use research-based tools and practices to transform systems and prepare students for high school success and a trajectory toward robust post-secondary opportunities. School staff will create powerful bonds with students that impact their success. The cohort gathers for four full days throughout each school year to support action period work and remains in the network learning for two school years.

Are you ready to engage in transformative networking that changes the trajectory of your student success? Application for participation is currently open. Don’t miss out.

For more information, contact Bernadette Nguyen at 858-602-9313 or [email protected].

Investigate powerful preschool through third grade (P-3) practices. The SDCOE P-3 team invites district and school administrators to a two-day institute where participants will develop and explore their P-3 system. This institute provides intentional, in-depth time for participants to examine their current strengths and opportunities within their P-3 system in order to make actionable and relevant site-based changes. This exciting opportunity will foster learning, collaboration, and action-planning to build a cohesive P-3 continuum. Come and leverage county partners in this exciting work.

Register today:

or

Find out how you can learn more about the California Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS), live MTSS, and scale up your MTSS efforts districtwide, in order to address the whole child in academics; behavior; and social, emotional, and mental health needs. What do these practices look like in your local educational agency? How is it systemic and transformational? How do you use continuous improvement to improve practices? How does the state MTSS relate to your Local Control and Accountability Plan?

We invite you to join us on the 2023-24 MTSS district leadership team journey! Learn more by attending one of the informational sessions.

Find school or education grants that may be a good fit for your students and staff. Throughout the year, this document will be updated with funding opportunities.  

Hello! I’m Rich Carreon, and I am honored to serve as an executive leadership coach with the SDCOE’s District and School Improvement team. I have been in the education field for over 27 years in a variety of roles from teacher, coach, coordinator, and administrator at both the middle school and high school levels.

I feel very blessed each day to be a part of the highly committed team. With my team, I get to collaborate and learn with highly skilled and knowledgeable coaches who want to support schools, districts, and leaders from San Diego County. I love going into schools and districts to collaborate with school leaders as we sort through data, systems, equity opportunities, and leadership strengths and challenges. Currently, we are serving schools and districts with 9th Grade On-Track and Master Coursework services which focus on "a-g" requirement completion with an emphasis on our historically underserved students.

Want more information? Connect with Richard by email at [email protected] or by phone at 858-292-3870. You can also follow him on Twitter: @CarryOnRich.

Find language you can take and use in newsletters or on your website to help teachers and families through a variety of timely topics in SDCOE's Resource Guide Library. New this month are a Black History Month guide and a guide to address antisemitism in schools. Be sure to bookmark the page for updates.

Receive daily news clips in your inbox each business day with links to news stories about local districts and general education, as well as new resources from SDCOE. Send an email to be added to the distribution list.

If you have any questions or comments about The TIP Sheet newsletter, email SDCOE Executive Leadership Coach, Julia Bride at [email protected] or call 858-292-3781.