TILS B (a)

Activity: Conduct a climate analysis in your school

Description: A climate analysis survey was administered to all members of the faculity and staff
at a Hamilton County Elementary School. The survey was completed anonymously and was
optional to complete. 90% of the staff completed and returned the survey.
What went well?
Members of the staff seemed to want to vent and express their frustrations and where glad there
was a survey option anonymously to do so. Several teachers were glad the survey was given and
their options were asked for in multiple areas.
What did not go well?
Not all of the staff returned or completed the survey and due to it being anonymous, there was no
way to track who did not return it. Some staff members didnt seem to answer completely
honestly due to being scared their identity would be leaked and the morale already being so low.
The administration was not interested in reviewing or meeting to discuss my findings from the
survey.
Given the chance to do it over, how would you do it better?
I would like to meet with the administration and have them support the idea of having a survey
and scheduling a meeting to review the findings. Hoping they would hear the opinions of the
staff and be concerned about changing areas of need. If I were the administrator at the time I
would meet with my other administration person and get one board to review the results and
using it help me improve as a leader.
Climate and Culture Survey Analysis Activity:

Once I reviewed the surveys from teachers in Mrs. Phillips elementary school, I found
that her school climate and culture is very opposite of that of my current school. I reviewed the
data and found some of the areas they need to focus and some areas they scored well in overall.
They seem to have, from the data of the survey, a highly helpful principal and the school as a
whole cooperates well together working on issues at hand, curriculum, grade level teams, etc. It
was interesting to speak to Mrs. Phillips about her building and the lack of resource influence
and the academic emphasis they all marked as low on the survey and the scoring on the Hoy
website confirmed this to be an area of concern and focus for years to come.
Strengths:
Collegial Leadership
After speaking with Mrs. Phillips about her principal and reviewing the surveys, it is
apparent that the principal is easy to speak to, supportive, engaged, trusting of her staff and states
the expectations for the teachers and helps them achieve goals they have set throughout the year.
The observation tool, as seen in some schools as a scary process for any teacher, seems to really
help to guide the teachers to become better and is used for what it was designed.
Teacher Affiliation:
The teachers seem to really care and are compassionate to one another at this school.
They work together as a team and then in smaller teams for each area in the building. They have
a real sense of family among the building which helps people feel valid and appreciated in a
social sense. They are all dedicated to the students and their whole child success. Everyone
there seems to be happy to be there, comfortable and focused on the same goal, student learning
in a positive atmosphere.

Weaknesses:
Academic Emphasis:
After reviewing the data and speaking with Mrs. Phillips this area is were she was a little
surprised for the outcome of the data. There she says that all the teachers attend professional
developments, strive to stay current with updated methods and strategies, work together to find
answers to common goals, and simply make every effort to ensure the students are succeeding at
the rate expected. The students work hard, trying their best, being engaged, and doing as the
teachers ask. The parents support the students at home and follow through for the most part of
what the teacher expects and asks of them. However, I do know from working in both school
settings, one of which is very similar to this school and my current school which is inner city,
sometimes the sense of urgency is lost in schools with students that preform on grade level or
advanced. They already have learned the material and do not struggle as much on grasping the
concepts. The sense of urgency normally is found in schools that are preforming below grade
level and are tirelessly working to improve. The threat of not making AYP and falling below the
proficient level in the inner city schools gives a very apparent sense of urgency for all students to
make gains and show growth. After reflecting on this weakness, I think the school must
implement a similar sense of urgency to gain more knowledge and strive for advanced grades.
Maybe an incentive plan can be put in place to encourage and acknowledge the students who
have this trait. Hopefully, the other students will see this happening and follow their lead.
Resource Influence:
This school is Title I, however is a much lower percentage compared to other Title I
schools in the county. The building is very old and seems as though most of the teaching

materials are also outdated. Mrs. Phillips said this year the leadership team spent the bulk of the
schools budget on technology to upgrade and be more current. The parents give the supplies
and things each teacher requests, however, if the family cant contribute as they would like to, it
seems as though the majority of the class suffers as a whole. The principal tries to gain access
and funds by speaking with the county office, but due to the demands of the county, they are
simply not able to fill every request from the school. Maybe there can be more focus on
materials and classroom education materials next year now that the technology has been put in
place.
Action Plan:
As the principal and leadership team meets, I would continue to focus on supporting the
strengths to ensure they are still and always in place as strongly as they are now. The
expectations of teachers should still be given at the beginning of each year and as the year
unfolds and moves along. There should be a relationship between the administration and the
staff in which any topic of concern can be discussed without fear and ideas expressed about what
is working and what is not. The personal relationships help build trust and compassion and
simply form an atmosphere where teachers feel comfortable to share and discuss ideas. There
should be feedback in a positive professional manner to help encourage and support the students
and teachers. To be strong and stay strong in this area, the principal has to be well rounded,
personal, professional, knowledgeable and willing to give support. The collaboration of the staff
and grade levels is key to ensuring all the students as they move up each year, get the best
education possible.
To address the weaknesses, the lack of resources needs to be put in order of what is most
important and needed as soon as possible and make a list down from there. The leadership team

and grade level chairs should discuss this and analyze what they already have and what they truly
need to improve student learning. This will help the principal understand and recognize what
areas are lacking and most deficient and where the goal would be to filling all the requests. Once
they compare the lists of each grade level in the school they can devise a plan to finding the
resources needed. There could be the possibility of the PTA, or fund raisers throughout the year
for the profits to fill these requests the principal cant get from the county. As for the academic
emphasis, the leadership team can also meet, as well as grade levels to analyze the data of the
standardized tests to identify the areas they could most easily grow in the first year of the action
plan. Once the a few areas are identified, the staff can all work together to help support and
encourage this growth. Incentive plans can be created based on students interest and teacher
interests to help give that sense of urgency to succeed.
The overall index score was high and proves this school is on the way to successful
learning and student performance. There are always areas in any school that can be improved,
with a little focus and effort on everyone behalf, this school will continue to be successful in
many areas. The surveys from this school shows that the focus and effort is in place of all the
stakeholders and has a positive overall culture and climate.