Cultural Functions in Practice

Observe the culture of your school or a school you are familiar with, and create a one-page list or chart to include:

 The school’s mission and vision statements.

Our Mission: As a national family of non-profit public charter school campuses, Imagine
Schools partners with parents and guardians in the education of their children by
providing high quality schools that prepare students for lives of leadership,
accomplishment, and exemplary character.
Our Vision: Imagine Schools’ vision is for every student to reach his or her full potential
and discover the pathways for life-long success.
 At least 3-4 examples of administrators’ leadership behaviors that promote the
intended school culture, identifying a PSEL standard that aligns to each.
~ Leaders lead by example~ PSEL Standard #2 states “Lead with interpersonal and
communication skill, social-emotional insight, and understanding of all students’ and staff
members’ backgrounds and cultures.” Leaders must carry themselves in the way that they
would like their troops to follow. They set good examples in the one of the most important
ways by communication. They also encourage and plan paths for their students’ success.
~ Staff Recruitment~ PSEL Standard 6(c) “Develop teachers’ and staff members’
professional knowledge, skills, and practice through differentiated opportunities for
learning and growth, guided by understanding of professional and adult learning and
development.” Staff selection is imperative. Your goal is to find people who share some
same values as yourself. This helps implement the same integrity, justice, and
understanding.
~ School Enhancements~ PSEL Standard 10(c) “Prepare the school and the community
for improvement, promoting readiness, an imperative for improvement, instilling mutual
commitment and accountability, and developing the knowledge, skills, and motivation to
succeed in improvement.” School improvements come from every angle. Every year we
provide forms of data, strategies, and curricula to help our student with an easier way to
learn and comprehend necessary materials for their education. These standards are set
forth by the State board of Education.
~ Community Resource networking~ PSEL Standard 8(e) “Create means for the school
community to partner with families to support student learning in and out of school.”
Networking within your community help build opportunities for your student. This also
helps open door to place programs in our school to teach students trades and receive
experience in a professional field prior to graduating from high school.
 Examples of 3-4 staff functions or activities that promote the intended school
culture, identifying a PSEL standard that aligns to each.
~ High 5’s~ PSEL Standard 8(c) ~ “Engage in regular and open two-way communication
with families and the community about the school, students, needs, problems, and
accomplishments.” High 5’s are acknowledging students within the school and within the
community regarding their academic achievements. This can range from perfect
attendance, student of the week/month, and honor roll to name some.

~ Relationship Building~ PSEL Standard 8(b) ~ “Create and sustain positive,

collaborative, and productive relationships with families and the community for
the benefit of students.” Building relationships with student and families are
important for the success of the student. Open communication builds a trust
factor that is comforting and appreciated. This benefits the student because
they see the communication and the goals set in place to help them become
successful.

~ Lingo~ PSEL Standard 5(f) ~ Infuse the school learning environment with the cultures
and languages of the school’s community. Teachers and staff from different cultures
and backgrounds learn to understand the students’ lingo. Lingo does not just mean
verbal language. This also includes demeanor, body language, genre of music,
types of movies, etc. These help with building trust and understanding to the new
generation of youth that we deal with daily.
~ After-school activities~ PSEL Standard 2(c) ~ Place children at the center of
education and accept responsibility for each student’s academic success and well-being.
After-school activities build character in students. This is an opportunity given so that
students can be themselves with no strict guidelines. This is an opportunity to observe
students and their character outside of the classroom.
 A minimum of 3-4 examples of student functions or activities that promote the
intended school culture, identifying a PSEL standard that aligns to each.
~ Sporting activities~ PSEL Standard 8(e) ~ Create means for the school community to
partner with families to support student learning in and out of school.
~ Band~ PSEL Standard 1(d) ~ Strategically develop, implement, and evaluate actions to
achieve the vision for the school.
~21st Century Program~ PSEL Standard 8(j) ~ Build and sustain productive partnerships
with public and private sectors to promote school improvement and student learning.

 Provide 1-2 examples of behaviors, functions, or activities that occur regularly

that go against the intended school culture. (If you find no examples of this at
your school, you may write “Not Applicable” in this space.)
~ Drugs~ PSEL Standard 9(h) ~ Know, comply with, and help the school community
understand local, state, and federal laws, rights, policies, and regulations to promote
student success.

~ Violence~ PSEL Standard 9(a) ~ Institute, manage, and monitor operations and
administrative systems that promote the mission and vision of the school.

 What is working well~ Being a Title I school we pride and make sure that our
students are taken care of to the best of our ability. During this pandemic, we
have delivered meals to our students, provided free chrome books to each
enrolled student. It is our effort to make it a comfortable learning environment
whether they are in school or virtual. Providing meals for our students helps those
in need that are not able to afford meals for children. We provided breakfast and
lunches, even on days off and holiday breaks, we send extra healthy food home to
assist families.
 What is not working well~ Parent involvement and communication has been at
the upmost low. In order for our students to grow, they need to witness
interactions and conversations that consist of their growth and development.
Some educators are unable to adapt to the virtual learning styles and techniques.
As teachers, you are not thoroughly taught how to implement a lesson over a
 computer. You are taught how to do this “in-person”. This can be challenging for
some, and those may be the most important. This is how unstable our educational
system has been for years, going back to the fight for equality.
 Changes or improvements you would recommend~ Changes that I recommend
would be more plans in student/parent engagement. Staff structure is importance
is vital to the students and the community. Other improvements would be to have
a more precise safety plan.

References
Imagine Schools
https://www.imagineschools.org/our-approach/shared-values/

8 Ways Teachers Can Build School Culture with the Support of Their Principal by Jon Konen

(2018)

https://www.teacher.org/blog/8-ways-teachers-can-build-school-culture-with-the-support-of-
their-principal/

For teachers and students, remote learning during COVID-19 poses challenges, stokes creativity

By Tenzin Shakya, Stephanie Fasano, Mary Marsh, and Anthony Rivas

https://abcnews.go.com/US/teachers-students-remote-learning-covid-19-poses-
challenges/story?id=70770744