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Program #3

School Culture Assessment/Profile
(3-4 Days)

Please note, this assessment has been developed especially for schools that score low on the School Culture Triage Survey.

What Is The School Culture Assessment/Profile?

This is a process for deeply assessing the culture of a school. A School Culture Assessment:

  • Discovers what people think and how they perceive their environment (sometimes called "emotional perceptions") What we perceive, we believe.
  • Collects Dominant Emotions
  • Involves ALL Stakeholders
  • Finds Patterns of Behavior including Thoughts, Actions, and Artifacts.

The Center's research and that of independent researchers have identified school culture as one of the most important factors in promoting school improvement in three major areas:

  1. Levels of student achievement;
  2. Levels of teacher and staff job satisfaction;
  3. Levels of parent involvement and community support.

How can an in-depth school culture assessment contribute to school improvement?

Here is the process we have used in hundreds of schools across the US, Canada, and Mexico:
School culture data is collected by certified facilitators over a 3-4 day span of time. They are responsible for the administration of a survey (different from the School Culture Triage Survey), interviewing every staff member, and making unobtrusive observations of school life. These three types of data are analyzed and combined into a School Culture Profile. The profile is shared first with the school administration and then with the school staff. The profile contains recommendations for improvement.

(You are welcome to contact superintendents, principals, teachers, and educational consortium directors for their perspective on the process and its results. Please see listing in the reference section.)

School Culture Assessment: A School's Eye View

Prior to the School Culture Profile Visit - Administration of the School Culture Profile Survey.

The school culture facilitators will ask the teachers and staff to complete a 13 question survey projecting how important the elements of school culture are to each individual. In addition, the survey asks to what degree are these elements present in this school.

During the School Culture Profile visit the school will notice:

  • Facilitators observing throughout the school. These unobtrusive observations are conducted, not as individual classroom observations, but as an overall view of the school's culture.
  • Teachers and staff will be asked to participate in conversations (a transformational interview) about the school and the people in it.

At the end of the School Culture Profile visit the faculty and staff will:

  • Be presented with a report on the findings;
  • Be offered some recommendations based on the findings and best practice.

Benefits of the School Culture Profile include:

  • An external examination of the school culture;
  • A statement of findings and recommendations that can be used for planning purposes;
  • Reflective opportunities for the faculty and staff;
  • Engagement of faculty, staff, and other stakeholders in improvement efforts.

For more information, contact Dr. Chris Wagner at chris@schoolculture.net or by phone at
270 791 3088

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Center for Improving School Culture
P.O. Box 737, Cloquet, MN 55720

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