TranscEnDence Educational Partners’ culture-climate turnaround framework requires a student-focused agenda driven by the implementation of high expectations shared by all adults and students in the learning community. Our targeted framework is guided by clear culture-climate performance standards as we work in tandem with districts/schools to create systems and structures that promote positive, safe, and orderly school environments conducive to teaching and learning.

A National Response to School Climate and Punitive Behavior Patterns in Schools

In response to the Federal legislation of “Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015”, districts across the country have recognized the need to respond to student’s academic and behavior struggles very differently. As such, TranscEnDence Educational Partners also recognizes the necessity to assist districts/schools in applying systematic approaches that target effective academic and behavioral supports for students. These systems comprise what is known as Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), Response to Intervention (RtI), Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS), culturally responsive practices, and wrap-around services for students. Systems of Support are grounded in service to students who often come to schools with grave social-emotional challenges that inhibit academic progress, and working tirelessly to implement models of support designed to remedy all challenges a student may face.

School behavior management programming has historically focused on the use of punitive measures against students based on a lack of adherence to district and school policies and procedures. The result of this practice has been longstanding suspension and expulsion rates dominantly impacting minority students; thus, resulting in a cyclical process of ever-increasing behavior issues, academic failure and dropout percentages particularly in high-poverty schools. The work of TranscEnDence Educational Partners centers-around the implementation of positive behavior management systems that will decrease classroom distractions and allow teachers to focus on instruction.

TranscEnDence Educational Partners’ Culture-Climate Framework requires a “student’s first” attitude driven by the implementation of high expectations shared by all adults and students in the learning community. The TEP Framework is guided by clear culture-climate performance standards as we work in tandem with districts/schools to create systems and structures that promote positive, safe, and orderly school environments conducive to teaching and learning. To do so, TranscEnDence Educational Partners has developed a tight model of professional development and campus-based support structures to drive improvements. TranscEnDence Educational Partners’ Culture-Climate Framework includes targeted support to districts/school in six core areas:

• Pillar I: The establishment of School Climate and Behavior Leadership Teams responsible for the development and implementation of improvement planning designed to integrate strategies into school policies, practices and culture.
• Pillar II: The development and implementation of classroom and school-wide practices that build community, strengthen relationships, promote inclusiveness, and enhance communication across the larger learning community.
• Pillar III: The implementation of a continuum of strategies and practices that are guided by a Restorative Mindset rather than punitive responses to disciplinary infractions or conflict.
• Pillar IV: Training and development of staff in Systems of Intervention that include:
  • School-wide Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (SWPBIS)
  • High-Yield Classroom Management Practices,
  • Multi-Tiered Systems of Support
  • Restorative Practices
• Pillar V: The identification of partnerships to drive the ability to provide Wraparound Service offerings focused on the strengths and needs of the individual child, and the implementation of individualized “wraparound plans” that are culturally relevant.
• Pillar VI: School-Wide Teaching and Classroom Management Practices that engage students as partners and leaders in the classroom, stressing prevention and the teaching of desirable behaviors and culturally responsive classroom management.

TranscEnDence Educational Partners’ culture-climate work is framed around three phases of support in its partner schools as outlined in Figure 1 below:

Phase I:   Needs Assessment/Planning
Phase II:  Systems Development, Training, and Implementation
Phase III: Coaching Lite

Phase I: Needs Assessment/Planning

Phase I of our work with schools focuses on creating a positive, safe, and orderly school environment that is conducive to teaching and learning. TranscEnDence Educational Partners will work with school staff to implement a positive behavior management system that will decrease classroom distractions and allow teachers to focus on instruction. TranscEnDence Educational Partners will work with campus Culture and Climate Committees and school administrators to create clear and transparent processes and protocols for students and staff members.

Phase I includes assessing school needs and developing a robust improvement plan to drive culture-climate improvements. To ensure fidelity to the TranscEnDence Educational Partners Culture-Climate Framework, core strategies for each phase of the initiative will serve as benchmarks for schools to continually measure progress against TranscEnDence Educational Partners’ standards. TranscEnDence Educational Partners team will provide on-going coaching to the School Culture and Climate Committee and develop the team in the ongoing practice of using data to inform decision making and drive instructional improvements and planning.

Phase II: Systems Development, Training, and Implementation

Phase II:  Systems Development, Training, and Implementation

A (2009) research study conducted by Deal and Peterson (2009), revealed tenants of strong, positive culture functionally benefits overall school productivity and performance inclusive of:

• Fostering student and staff effort and productivity
• Improving collegial relationships and collaborative activities that promote better communication and problem solving throughout the school
• Supporting successful change/improvement efforts across all facets of the learning community
• Building staff commitment and helping students and teachers identify with the school
• Improving energy and motivation of staff members and students in the school
• Focusing attention and daily staff and student behaviors on what is important and valued

To ensure that partnership schools are fully equipped with the tools and resources to drive culture-climate shifts, TranscEnDence Educational Partners prioritizes staff development during Phase II. Alongside the identification of campus needs and the implementation of new strategies to address challenges, partner schools participate in six customized professional development sessions to ensure that staff is equipped to own and drive change practices. TranscEnDence Educational Partners culture-climate modules include:

Module #1: Establishing a Unified Culture of Excellence & Achievement

Marrying elements of academic and school culture research, this module exposes school teams to the imperative for explicit work to be done around the establishment of sound approaches to teaching and learning that focus on valuing the academic press alongside positive cultural norms in a unified and coordinated manner. Designed around the work of national culture-climate researchers and practitioners Deal, Peterson, Fisher and Muhammed, this highly relevant module empowers school teams to be the key drivers of the change process through a deep understanding of the interconnected nature of establishing a healthy school culture to yield strong academic achievement results.

Module #2: Leveraging the Power of Teams through a Professional Learning Community Culture

The overarching PLC imperative associated with this session includes the essence of a true Learning Community that embraces a laser-like commitment to the learning of every student. School teams will come away with a clear understanding that a clear mission and vision works to support a PLC culture, and leaders will be able to recognize the systems and processes that must be in place to ensure that a high level of learning for ALL students.

Module #3: School Climate vs. School Culture

During a two-day highly-interactive professional development training session focused exclusively on School Climate teams will come away with an understanding of the difference between school climate versus school culture, and the role of adults in school to foster a positive school climate. Teams will also explore the conflict cycle and adults’ professional responsibilities as it pertains to driving school climate improvements.

Module #4: Driving School Climate Improvements with a Team-Oriented Mindset

This three-day professional development training focuses school teams on digging deeper into gaining a richer understanding of the content central to school climate improvements. Team work to develop school-wide systems, practices, structures and improvements to drive change.

Module #5: Multi-Tiered Systems of Support

The research-based module is designed to drive the creation of intervention models in schools based on the Multi-Tiered System of Supports framework. Team will learn the tenants of this evidence-based model of schooling paired with data-based problem-solving to integrate academic and behavioral instruction and intervention for students.

Module #6: From a Punitive Mindset to A Restorative Approach

Guided by the need to establish the conditions for developing and nurturing a culture based on high quality relationships among all school community members and positive community building, this training/action planning session in Restorative Practices provides the necessary information for school staff to move away from punitive actions to a student centered problem-solving approach to the appropriate restorative systems that are necessary to repair and support strong relationships.

Phase III: Coaching Lite

Following the intensive phases of identifying gaps, planning for implementation of new strategies, evolved professional development with campus staff, the final phase of work is grounded by a coaching model of support whereby the school leadership team and staff receives consistent “lite” coaching. This final phase allows TranscEnDence Educational Partners to maintain a portfolio of schools receiving lighter-touch support as they move through the implementation phase. TranscEnDence Educational Partners’ team will focus on capacity building and maintaining excellent practices during this phase. The emphasis during this phase will be on sustainability and achieving results in improved culture-climate.