An interesting dynamic that I have noted since living in middle Indiana and working at my current school is the way that school culture can be affected by many things, even small ones. It's as if culture is a set of dominoes all lined up. One small push in a direction can have an effect on many things. It is important as school leaders to be ever-mindful of school culture and the direction that even small decisions can take us. One of our primary responsibilities as Christian school leaders is to navigate the culture within our schools carefully, ever mindful of the larger cultural pieces outside of our schools that dishonor the Lord. Romans 12:2 tells us, "Do not be conformed to this world...." We are commanded in this to renew our minds and thus experience the transformation God desires in us. If we as a corporate church and we as individual believers in Jesus Christ should not be conformed to this world, neither should our Christian schools. In order to be "other-than" the culture outside, we must be proactive. We must create cultural "domino-pushes" to move our schools in directions that please the Lord and create a place that honors Him.
At BCS, we are known for being a "family," meaning our students and parents feel a sense of belonging there. It means new students quickly feel accepted. We don't hit the 100% A+ on this always, but "family" is a word we hear often when our constituents describe us. I've tried to place myself on the outside at times and peek in. Why is it this way? One such support for this that I see each day is a cross-pollination of upper and lower campus students. Our upperclass students commit study hall time to serve as cadets, where they work in classrooms as teacher support. This connects them with elementary students. In turn, I see elementary students participating in fund raisers to help them raise money for projects, such as their mission trips. I see the mix of all ages of students in the Red Zone, which is our end zone student cheering section for basketball and volleyball. Those little guys are living the dream, down there cheering with the big kids! Some of these examples are organic happenings. We did not force the Red Zone connection; it just happened. Other examples were intentional domino-pushes to create the culture we want.
One intentional school-wide connection is scheduling a photo of all of the students in the entire school in our school's theme class t-shirts. We all traipse into the back of the school. Our head of school climbs to the roof with a megaphone to direct the grade levels. It's a time of wondering when the picture will be taken, moving and shifting, giggling, and getting out of class. In this small way, we want to show them that they are part of this place. We are a family. From the little gal in K3 whose t-shirt comes to her knees to the 6'4" basketball player new to our senior class this year, each student belongs. We want every single student in our yearly picture.
What are some ways that you cultivate your school culture? Have you had intentional domino-pushes? What has happened on its own without that?
And just to prove that we truly got all 560 students, teachers, support staff, administration in it, here it is!
The proactive push for a "family" feel is so important, especially in this day and age. For decades, there seems to have been a deliberate push to isolate the "professionals" as the ones who know better, and thus to eliminate the roll of parents in the education process. And now, we see the tragic effects of that as teachers complain that parents are not involved enough, that students are behind, and that behavior is horrid. It seems to me that schools which deliberately include parents, that deliberately foster a sense of family from 8-2, and that deliberately instruct students to honor authority figures at home and at school will come out on top. Our little cottage school has regular opportunities for parents to engage at the school with the teachers to form those precious bonds and to establish the same kind of culture you wrote about. Invaluable.:)
ReplyDeleteI love these thoughts! I routinely tell people who are touring our school, COME! SERVE! SHARE! YES, you can volunteer. Yes, we want you involved. Many schools have gone wrong in this area. We want the whole family involved. Thank you.
DeleteThank you!!! As crazy as that day was, it was so fun! I look forward to more ways to pair our older and younger students.
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