From the Desk of Jeff Kuhns

Rednecks and hillbillies (and some of you may even remember scumbags): we've all heard it. That's what some would like to call us Perry Countians. I've lived in the County for over 30 years. I know; I'll never be a 'real' Perry Countian, but all of those monikers have been used towards me; sometimes in jest and sometimes not. Some of us own it, and some of us don't. Those words generally refer to a perception of our culture on this side of the mountain.

Climate and culture are talked about a lot, not just in education but in the business world at large, but does anyone really know what that means? Some people will assume that they are one and the same, but there is a distinction. The climate of a school is the mood. Climate is the 'how are we feeling.' Culture, on the other hand, is built up over time. It is 'the way we do things.'

When we talk about the culture of places, the common definition is the ideas, customs and social behavior of a society. Perry County has a culture. Actually, Perry County has many cultures. All of us are part of one or more of those cultures. When we talk about the culture of our schools, we talk about a set of shared values, goals and practices. As diverse as our schools are, we should have one culture. Every decision should be guided by the same values and goals and implement the same common practices.

Climate has a myriad of different definitions. Commonly we would think of the weather when we think of climate. The definition that most fits what we experience in organizations would be the prevailing influence or environment that characterize a place.

As you can imagine, each of our buildings has its own climate. Unfortunately, some of our buildings have their own culture or many cultures. This creates a challenge for leadership, especially new leadership. A single person can change the climate of a building but it takes a group working together to change the culture.

In the last few months, I feel that we have made great strides in improving the climate of our schools but we need some time to rebuild, or more accurately reconnect, to our culture.

I want to clarify that I'm not seeking to change the culture of every building. The traditions and histories of the schools and the structures established over time may be good. We do need to make sure though that the culture in our buildings includes the values that every student can learn, family and community involvement is essential, and high quality teaching is important. My goal is to make sure that our culture includes those values. Does everybody in our buildings believe that students can learn and succeed? Do families and the community feel welcome in our buildings? Are we holding our students, teachers and administrators to high standards?

I have no desire, or quite honestly the ability, to change the culture of Perry County. I have chosen to make this my home. What I do want to do is make sure that Perry County remains part of our schools while assuring quality education. When people speak of West Perry, I want us to be able to hold our heads high with the knowledge that our schools are just as good as the one's over the mountain. I take that back: that our schools are the best schools on either side of the mountain.