Here's how you can foster a positive school culture by collaborating with administrators.

Having a positive school culture is to everyone’s benefit, and we are all working to that end. To work together on a shared vision there has to be a level of trust between teachers and administrators to smooth that process.

Vision for the school comes from the top down. While the teachers are the ones tasked with building the culture of learning it is the administrators who set the standards for that vision and work to get things aligned in a way that is beneficial for the schools community. As teachers we need to find schools where we fit within that vision and put out support behind it. That fit will be different for every teacher but is paramount to the success of the students.

Definitely, the directors or administrators of an educational institution must carry out an induction for all teaching staff to ensure that they know the vision or ideology of the educational institution in which they work. The next step is to ensure that the teaching staff endorses this vision or ideology; this will be done in permanent sessions. When teachers make this vision their own, we will be laying the foundations to achieve the objectives that the educational institution intends to achieve.

Communication is at the heart of most successful collaborations. Without it there will be a lot of frustration on all sides. Take the time to engage with your administrators and share your thoughts and concerns, ask for their feedback and assistance if there is an issue that radiates from beyond your scope.

Getting the schools whole community engaged in aspects of the learning journey will accelerate the growth of a positive learning culture. Work with your administrators to fold in as many stakeholders as possible to engage in activities and events.

Change happens, and often time it is what spurs growth at a school. If there is a change going on that you are having a hard time understanding the reasoning for reach out to your administrators and ask for some clarification on the matter. Once you have a better understanding of whats motivating the change and how it aligns with the schools vision and culture you can offer feedback or even to get involved.

My former Principal said 'I want people to have fun and enjoy coming to work.' When I became Principal, I reminded the staff they were the experts, their feedback was necessary and that I valued their opinions. I asked them to categorize challenges and recommendations into Quick Fix, Next 90 days, and Long Term plans. My motto was if the solution made sense and was in the best interest of children, let's do it. If no one could give me a rationale on why this "Past Practice" existed or why it could not be revamped, we revamped the protocol. Each month, we worked on that list and made adjustments based on their feedback. We celebrated success and revisited things that didn't quite work. Collectively the culture began to change.