Envision the Future of Your School

What makes a school feel like a place where students, staff, and families truly belong? For school leaders, shaping a positive climate and culture begins with a question that often goes unasked: Who are we, really?

At its core, identity is the foundation of school culture. It influences how people relate to one another, what behaviors are encouraged or discouraged, and what it feels like to walk through the halls each day. When a school community shares a clear sense of identity, grounded in its values and beliefs, it can build a climate where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued.

Identity shapes Culture

A powerful way to begin is by envisioning your school five years from now. Imagine your community has worked together to define the values and beliefs that matter most. Your school culture is stronger than ever. Picture yourself walking through your campus and consider each group in your school community—students, staff, and families. For each group, ask yourself:

• What are they doing?
• How would they describe how they are feeling?

Now reflect on three things you want to start happening, or see happening more often, in the next year. These should be steps that move your school toward that future vision.

From that future vision, the next step is to name the values and beliefs that define it.

Values are what your school holds to be important.
Beliefs are what your school accepts as true.

• What are the core values, those principles that drive your behavior, that are most essential in your future school?
• What are the core beliefs, what you think to be true, that influence decision making in your school?
• While walking through your future school describe a time when you saw teachers, students, or families embodying some of the attributes you listed above. When you think about that time, what do you see happening?

These aren’t abstract concepts. They shape everything from how adults respond to student behavior to how families are welcomed at the front office. For example, if your school values inclusivity and holds the belief that every student can learn at high levels, those principles should be visible in instructional practices, hiring decisions, and professional learning agendas.

These aren’t abstract ideas. They shape everything from how adults respond to student behavior to how families are welcomed at the front office. For example, if your school values inclusivity and holds the belief that every student can learn at high levels, those principles should be reflected in instructional practices, hiring decisions, and professional learning agendas.

The more specific and concrete your vision becomes, the more clearly it can guide real change.

From Reflection to Engagement

Once your community begins to surface its shared identity, the next step is to involve others in refining and deepening that vision. Staff, students, and families all bring different perspectives to what the culture feels like now and what it could become.

To make this process inclusive and grounded, consider using tools like:

• Staff meetings or professional learning time to reflect on values and beliefs together. Small groups can explore guiding questions, share stories, and co-define core principles that shape the way people work and learn together.
• Google Forms or quick polls to gather staff input on what they believe the school stands for and how aligned they feel to its values. These tools are useful for surfacing trends anonymously and identifying areas where there may be gaps or inconsistencies.
• Grade-level or department team discussions that use simple prompts like “What do we believe about students?” or “What do we want students to feel when they walk into our school?”

Make space for honest input. Resist the urge to rush into consensus. The goal is not to force alignment, but to surface the truths and hopes that already exist within your team.

Listening to Families and Students

Students and families are essential partners in defining a school’s identity. They experience culture in real time, often in ways that adults may not see.

To gather meaningful insights, consider:

• Advisory councils or focus groups where families and students can speak openly about how they experience belonging, safety, and connection.
• Short, accessible surveys translated into families’ home languages. Ask what values they want to see reflected in the school, how welcomed they feel, and what actions would strengthen trust and partnership.
• Advisory or homeroom time as space for students to reflect on their experiences and share how school feels day-to-day. Teachers can collect common themes and bring them into broader conversations about climate and culture.

These methods don’t require elaborate planning. What they do require is a clear purpose, thoughtful facilitation, and follow-up that shows the input is being heard and used.

Turning Input Into Action

After collecting input across your school community, the real work begins. Review responses with your leadership team and look for patterns. Where is there strong alignment between your values and how people are experiencing the school? Where are there disconnects?

Then ask:

• What changes to structures or practices would help bring our shared values to life?
• How can we make our beliefs more visible in the way we teach, communicate, and lead?
• What should we start doing, stop doing, or do more intentionally?

As a leader, you set the tone. Not by having all the answers, but by modeling curiosity, listening deeply, and taking thoughtful next steps based on what you learn.

Culture work is not a checklist. It is an ongoing process of reflection, dialogue, and alignment. By centering identity and including every voice in the conversation, you can build a school culture that truly reflects who you are and what you believe.

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