This document summarizes Kristen Schroeder's presentation at WSU on November 6, 2014 about entering a new school and changing school culture. It discusses analyzing a school's history and culture through interviews and data. It emphasizes the importance of questioning current teaching practices and ensuring that plans for school improvement are developed with a moral imperative to help all students achieve. The presentation focuses on how to change belief systems through intentional experiences that shape actions and results, and ensuring staff have experiences that foster beliefs like all students can learn at high levels.

1. FIRGROVE
WSU Presentation
Kristen Schroeder
November 6, 2014

2. Entering a new school
◦ Interviews- Listening for hidden meanings and what is not being said.
◦ History
◦ Patterns of data
◦ BERC reports- culture

3. School Improvement Planning
◦What is our biggest obstacle?
◦Why are we teaching this way, to these kids, using these
materials, right now?
◦ Is the development or the action of the plan most important?
◦ Moral Imperative

4. Mission and Vision:
Ensuring Achievement, Inspiring Hope

5. How do we overcome belief systems?
◦ Build contradictory EXPERIENCES
◦ The current culture is not a bad culture. It’s simply a culture that won’t produce the new desired
results.
Experiences - Beliefs- Actions- Results
Change the culture, Change the result.

6. Belief 2: ALL kids can learn and achieve
at high levels.
◦ ALL means ALL
◦ Even SPED
◦ Even ELL
◦ Even Behavior
◦ Even Poor kids
◦ Even kids of ethnicity

7. Belief 2: Teaching works.
◦ Practice (the right things in the right way) helps.

8. Belief 2: What I do, say, represent
forms the belief system of the
people around me.

9. The culture surrounding the child, how they determine
what is important, how they view themselves as
learners, how they react to perseverance is a greater
determiner for success than ethnicity, poverty level, or
anything else.

10. What are the beliefs being perpetuated
either consciously or unconsciously about
abilities, learning and achievement?

11. Belief 2: Be curious, risky, and not afraid
of failing
◦ Failure is a step closer to solutions.
◦ Try something.
◦ Have the courage to ACT.

12. Belief 2: Love what you choose to do
with your life.
◦ I am the leader of it!

13. So….
◦ Intentionally design repeated experiences that will change belief systems, which will change the
actions you take, which will change the results you get.
◦ What repeated experiences does my staff need?