Book Study  Study Guide

Introduction

1. Consider the culture of your school. What's working and what needs to be changed? Talk with others at your school about the culture as they experience it.
2. What is the mission and vision of your school? Who developed the mission and vision and do they reflect the current priorities of the faculty, staff, students, and administration?
3. Review figure i.1. Are each of the below-the-surface elements available for evaluation?
4. Review figure i.1 again. Are the above-the-surface elements in place such that a culture of achievement can be created?

Chapter 1: Creating Culture in Schools

1. Consider the list of five factors of educational engagement near the beginning of the chapter. Do these represent your beliefs and those of your colleagues? Would you add anything to this list?
2. The interaction between a teacher and a leader that is presented in the middle of the chapter suggests that agreements about quality are important in the feedback and coaching cycle. Discuss this with other people. Do you have a common understanding of quality?
3. Use the Baldridge self-analysis (action research tool 1) to begin the assessment of your school. Which areas are strong and which areas need attention?
4. If your mission does not reflect the current priorities of the faculty, staff, students, and administration, use action research tool 2 to update the mission.
5. Begin a SWOT analysis, action research tool 3, and continue to update the SWOT as you discuss each of the pillars in the subsequent chapters.

Chapter 2: Welcome

1. Invite a visitor to your school and ask this person to think about how he or she was greeted and whether the school had a welcoming atmosphere.
2. Think about a recent visit to a store. Why did you select that store? Would you return to that store? Did the experience economy have any influence on your decision?
3. Do students and families choose your school? If not, what could you do to change that? What experiences might people be having that reduce the likelihood that they choose your school? What experiences are people having that increase the likelihood that they choose your school?
4. Is the attendance rate at your school acceptable? Have you considered the role of the welcome pillar in improving attendance? What specific steps could you take to improve the experience such that attendance increases?
5. Review Maslow's Hierarchy of Need. Does your school meet those needs? Are some students not welcomed?
6. Analyze the 10 organizational principals in the middle of the chapter. Which ones would be considered strengths at your school and which ones might require attention?
7. Consider using the action research tools from the end of the chapter to determine the different ways that people experience the welcoming culture of the school.