Strong School Culture: Imagine Chancellor
Strong school culture has a feeling. You can’t put your finger on it exactly, but it hits you in 30 seconds or less. You just know when you know. And today – we knew.
School pride is a real thing – and it’s moving. I asked a student early in my visit how long he had been a student there. “Since Kindergarten… I’m a lifer,” he said with a grin. After about 10 students told me the same, with the same grin, Stephanie explained what a meaningful term that was, and you could tell. Growing students from Kindergarten inside of your school, your routines, the culture. The way that students that are lifers engage with you hits different. They’re incredibly present, and moreover, engaging.
And for the “non-lifers” you can see the culture embracing them, almost absorbing them into what the norm is there. It’s a destination, and there is a school there waiting to embrace them. There’s not an absence of students who need extra support, but there is a clear process for how it is provided. You can call it upstream – investing their time every day in doing the right things.
I was told there are about 16 new teachers, and with the hiring landscape being what it is, you’d think that they would stick out. I truthfully wouldn’t have been able to tell, if it wasn’t mentioned to me. They blended in, and that’s the culture piece one more time. It absorbs new staff as well, and there is a system for onboarding. What a lift that is, but again, they did it. They’re facing adversity, but they lean into it.
When it comes to establishing priorities in school, one of the first things that we learn as small children is the power of what is hung on the wall. It’s the important stuff, and it shows what we value. It builds pride, but also a sense of curiosity. There was no question about what they value at Chancellor. Relationships are the thread that is used to connect each wall to the other, weaving character strengths across each curricular area. Every inch of the school demonstrated a commitment to relationships, but also showcasing the achievements unique to each student. It was a decorating masterclass, but also seemed just right for a school with a culture like the Chargers have.
Jeff has been interviewed before, but each interview is really unique, and this one did not disappoint. The questions were crafted in a way that it was really clear that they were written thoughtfully, and after carefully researching P2. When I inquired about the process, the kids explained that there is a team of writers, and that upon completion, there is a final writer that screens and revises before distributing to the interviewer. There are actually news outlets without an approach that is that refined – just saying. Again, the explanation was stated matter of fact, almost to say “hey that’s just the way it works here.”
There is a growing habit to dismiss the accomplishments of schools like this, and their school culture because they get the kids that are easy to manage. I can assure you that’s not a thing here. They have what they built through careful effort, and support. They certainly have adversity, students that are neurodiverse, in need of support, and they’re facing the same climb as every other school. It was a real school day, and they’re dealing with real kids.
Their work was approached with passion, but also as a team. And that’s where strategy, training and resources have come in. They started slowly, laying down tier 1 carefully, getting buy-in through the ease of use of resources. Then they scaled, little by little they used additional resources, looked for school wide areas to incorporate P2, tied it to awards and incentives. Without needing to make up every resource from scratch, they were able to build the culture they have, dedicating their time to relationships and character.
As an original 33 school for P2, the development of their school seemed to happen parallel to the development of P2. As we head into next year, Imagine-Chancellor will see their first graduating class of 8th graders that spent their entire academic career implementing P2 right from Kindergarten to now. To say the connectedness shows is an understatement, and I think we are all hoping for that graduation party. Rumor has it that it’s a real event, and it should be. Work hard, play hard.
There’s much to be proud of, and much that is replicable. One of the things that struck me was that first core of individuals who brought P2 back to their school in 2016. Everyone on that team took their buy in and used it to propel the school, understanding that positive psychology’s 24 character strengths had a place at Chancellor. Unsurprisingly, those same individuals who brought back P2, continued to grow, building capacity and increasing in the leadership roles. They laid a solid foundation, but also brought others in, knowing that scaling takes a team. It was emotional for them to reflect on this, knowing they made the right decisions and stayed the course. It was awesome to see on display, plain and simple.
I’m on the plane home to New York, tipping my hat to Imagine-Chancellor. Like I said, the right culture can be felt in 30 seconds or less. And that’s empowering – it’s the social proof that investing in character works, that relationships are the cornerstone of happiness, and that strategy matters. It’s a million interactions, best practices, consistency and time. It’s mindset – knowing that other people matter, and putting in place resources that cultivate that. It’s the work of people who care deeply, partnered with people who care deeply that they have what they need to get there. Right now, more than ever, that’s what we are going to need in our schools.