What Does The Fox Say?
Special Edition: An Understanding of Staff Culture
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January 2, 2024
Dear Inspire Parent/Guardian,
What's going on with the staff culture at Inspire Elementary? To answer that question for today, I have to talk about yesterday and the days, weeks, months and years that we have lived through together. While this letter is intended for the greater community, I think the best approach to helping curious parents understand where we are as a staff is for me to actually write this letter addressed to the staff. I hope it gives parents a helpful perspective and if not, then you are always welcome to reach out and we can schedule a time to connect. This is a lengthly letter because I care about this staff, school and community. You have agency in reading it or simply clicking the "x" to close out the letter...
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Dear Inspire Staff,
We are enough... This is the text on the back of our first annual staff t-shirt (which we gave out before the winter break).
When I think about how people feel appreciated and affirmed, I know from a logical and intellectual space that there are different love languages. Writing a sticky note (or maybe a text message) as I leave a classroom, affirmations in the Inspire Weekly (the staff newsletter), paying for an adult beverage when we are out together, getting coffee for PD day, birthday balloons, etc. Sometimes, that isn't enough and I get that. During our overnight retreat before school started, I facilitated a session on "My Baggage". I am a former teacher and counselor and there are elements of those experiences that very much still matters to me. How people connect matters to me. Of the staff who shared, there were stories of our past, our families, friends and upbringing that made us feel less than. It's a feeling that unfortunately, resonates with many. A staff member recently reminded me that our previous experiences, fears, insecurities impact how we feel about the present. I get that too. We have to find a balance of feeling like we are good enough and having a growth mindset. We are all growing in our own ways and we are on this journey together.
The voices from within our current staff sound different than the voices who do not live and breathe the every day with us. That is to be expected and it is all right. We are a community because everyone loves the kids and cares deeply about their care. Raising and educating kids is complicated. You know I love me some Brene Brown and I deeply appreciate her take on armored leadership, daring greatly, and the power of vulnerability. I've also talked about Tuckman's Group Formation and we've come a long way in a short amount of time. We are well within the performing stage. When I first walked into this building four years ago students were seeking recovery from classmate trauma, the staff wanted support and the school needed direction. We were a staff that needed to seek agreement on who we wanted to be, a unified vision and language of supports. We also needed to learn to agree to disagree and to seek common ground. We have moved from well-being (21-22), to self-care, agency, and courageous conversation (22-23) to collective responsibility (23-24). We need to continue to work on all of these in order to be the best that we can be.
I sincerely appreciate those of you who have spent time wondering about whether we have a staff culture issue or if it's something else from outside that is creating confusion or doubt. Either way, my response is that we can always improve. I have candidly said that I cannot be responsible for 70 people's happiness (hence, self-care and agency) but I want to do what I can to create the best possible conditions that supports staff and students. As previously shared after staff interviews, the three general staff responses around staff culture are: 1) No significant concerns 2) Feedback about staff to admin relationship and 3) Feedback about staff to staff relationships. The three themes are:
- Openness to feedback
Application of courageous conversation
What are the best conditions for dialogue?
Being seen/heard
How can people be vulnerable in a way that works for them?
How do we create a safe space for not knowing something?
How can all staff have the same access to Admin?
Right before break we met with our Collaborative Director and the Director of Culture and Organizational Development (Culture, Equity, and Leadership Team) to design professional development for the staff. The current proposal includes sessions on:
- Belonging: The impact of differences
- Listening: How listening speaks volumes
- Acknowledgement and Validating: We all want to be seen and heard
We are looking for a cross-section of staff who are interested in providing feedback on the proposed sessions. In the meantime, for those who may need it, I want to pause and remind us of how far we have come. Compared to our counterparts, we were the lowest in student academic success and now (walking into this school year) showing double digit growth in literacy and math (Colorado Measure of Academic Success data), we have an Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) that is involved in providing feedback and seeking staff voice from their grade level teams, we have a consistent Data Driven Instruction (DDI) process, an improving Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS), a Collaborative School Committee (CSC) that has more staff participation than most other schools in the district, Content Cohort Meetings that dive into math, literacy and social emotional learning, we are teaching social studies and science (just our second year of doing so), we participated in the District Science Fair for the first time last year and had a student place at each grade level, we will have our first Spelling Bee this year, our respective grade level content teachers have advocated for curriculum that works for our school, we have a common language for conflict management, Morning Meeting curriculum, Zones of Regulation, and clear supports for restorative practices. We have field trips and Celebration of Learning three times a year, weekly Friday Celebrations, and so many Spirit Days!
This is our first year of being at full build out. Organizational change is not easy, especially through and coming out of a pandemic. To those who have been here for the entire ride - my goodness! To those who have joined our staff recently, I am thankful that we had the in-person moments of new staff hiking event, staff overnight retreat, Summer Institute and moments of team building. I still remember each of your interviews and "that feeling" that you needed to be here. This is a great school to be a part of. I hope you had a wonderful time at the staff event today and that you are refreshed, reconnected, and ready for tomorrow's return - the magical onslaught of kids back in the new year, free hugs!
We are enough,
Linda August
Principal
Inspire Elementary
Email: linda_august@dpsk12.net
Website: https://inspire.dpsk12.org/
Location: 5650 N. Elmira Ct., Denver, CO, 80238
Phone: (720) 424-4850