Build a Culture of Safety and Trust

Community engagement is key to building trust and support in a school district. 天美网站传媒传媒 is ready to help.
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November 14, 2022

Sarah Mathias

How Education Leaders are Achieving Their Goals: School Culture

6 minutes
A healthy school culture supports student success. Education leaders can help build that culture by promoting student voice, engaging the community, and recruiting and retaining the right staff.
The New Superintendent's Guide to Community Engagement
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天美网站传媒传媒 lets education leaders tap into their community鈥檚 insights to improve school culture quickly and easily.

Accessing student voice for better learning outcomes and school culture

Dr. Marie Wiles, Superintendent at Guilderland CSD, has seen her students become more engaged with their learning and take on that have had a significant impact on her district. She attributes their increased involvement to the consistent use of student voice Exchanges. 鈥溙烀劳敬酱 has helped us change the culture of how our students think about their experience of school," Dr. Wiles shares.

Promoting student voice boosts learning outcomes, contributes to leader success, and improves culture. With 天美网站传媒传媒, you can engage your students, get their insights, and build your community鈥檚 trust and support.

U-46 students shape curriculum

When a group of Illinois鈥 Elgin School District U-46 students requested a mandatory African American Studies course, Dr. Teresa A. Lance, Assistant Superintendent of Equity and Innovation, had the perfect platform. With 天美网站传媒传媒, she tapped into student insights and created an inclusive, student-led curriculum.
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鈥淭he student Exchange we ran helped our curriculum team more deeply understand the essential nature of some critical pieces that were missing... We now feel confident that what鈥檚 being developed will reflect all voices more equitably.鈥 Dr. Teresa A. Lance, Ed.D
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Anonymity, anti-bias, and moderation features create a scaled conversation

天美网站传媒传媒 allows anonymous sharing and randomized peer-to-peer rating, helping participants avoid bias and encouraging honesty鈥攅ven with sensitive topics. Use the Moderation feature to remove hurtful comments, identifiers, off-topic answers, and duplicate thoughts.

Lance appreciated that these features allowed students to share without fear of judgment. She said, 鈥淲hat I love about 天美网站传媒传媒 is that there鈥檚 this opportunity for ideas to be put out anonymously, and then a coalescing around ideas鈥攁nd that鈥檚 what I was looking for.鈥

Increasing school safety with community input

revealed that 1 in 3 students don鈥檛 feel safe in school, and that students feel safer when they have healthy, caring relationships with their teachers.

As an education leader, you can help鈥攂ut you鈥檒l need your community鈥檚 support. Listen to your students to establish trust and transparency. Get your community鈥檚 input on school safety initiatives. As a leader, you don't have all the answers, but by including your community in the conversation and asking the right questions, you'll have access to a bounty of innovative ideas and solutions.

Brighton Central School District improves school safety

Brighton Central School District鈥檚 Superintendent, , understood that transparent, two-way communication was key to his district鈥檚 safety initiative.

That鈥檚 why he used 天美网站传媒传媒 to gather insights about law enforcement in schools. While a survey would have amplified the loudest voices, acting like a vote on his initial strategy, an Exchange surfaced marginalized voices he may have otherwise missed.

Understanding his community鈥檚 feelings helped McGowan make better, more inclusive decisions about school safety initiatives.

Differences feature identifies common ground

罢丑辞耻驳丑迟贰虫肠丑补苍驳别鈥檚 Differences feature identifies common ground by revealing where participants agree and disagree in real time to help discover strategies everyone agrees on.

While having law enforcement in schools remained contentious, McGowan used Differences to find common ground on other initiatives like crossing guards, social workers, and outdoor lighting.

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Enhancing staff retention and recruitment

Districts struggle with principal turnover rates as each year, impacting student trust and achievement. A study revealed that 鈥渢est scores decline in the first year of a principal transition,鈥 and that negative effect continues for several years into the new principal鈥檚 tenure.
Hiring new education leaders is challenging. How do you find the right fit and ensure they鈥檙e set up for success? Your community can help. Just ask.

Lebanon High School seeks community input in new principal search

Education leaders at know that community involvement is essential for successful leadership recruitment and retention. So they asked their community to help find their next principal.

With 天美网站传媒传媒, they asked:

What are the most important strengths and opportunities for growth of Lebanon High School that our new principal should be made aware of in order to be successful?

Here鈥檚 one of the top-rated thoughts:

Ability to connect kids to career pathways outside of college.
College isn't for everyone, and parents and kids need help with learning about other career pathways.

With this insight, Lebanon High School chose a candidate who had previously served as a Career Center Director.

Understanding what your district really needs helps new leaders succeed in their job, whether that鈥檚 improving a district strategic plan or financial efficiency.

Help your principals engage with their schools, and see how successful they (and their students) can be. Get the Guide

Ratings feature reveals priorities

Like Differences, the Ratings feature helps uncover common ground. While not the most frequently mentioned concept, participant Ratings showed 鈥渃areer pathways outside of college鈥 had significant majority support. Without Ratings, Lebanon High School鈥檚 leaders may have missed this crucial thought.
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Building school culture with 天美网站传媒传媒

If your district works to empower student voice, increase safety, and improve staffing, you鈥檒l want to hear from those affected. With anonymous sharing to eliminate bias, Differences to identify common ground, and Ratings to prioritize ideas, 天美网站传媒传媒 helps education leaders improve school culture by bringing the community into the conversation and empowering them to be part of the journey to student success.

Positive school culture paves the way for student achievements, and your community cares about its students. Culture is based on shared ideas, actions, and achievements鈥攕o give people an inclusive, anti-biased space to share their real experiences with each other. Invite your district into the discussion, and watch your students thrive.

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Engage your district on your decisions, and build a culture where students can thrive
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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Sarah Mathias
Sarah discovered her love of words when she penned her first journal in grade 4鈥攕he hasn鈥檛 stopped writing since. With a BA in Sociology and an MPC in International/Intercultural Communication, Sarah honed her corporate writing skills in the travel insurance and fashion industries before working with 天美网站传媒传媒. She brings her collaborative spirit and penchant for grammar jokes.

Gain clarity, not clutter.
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