Collaborative Culture

Collaborative culture

A change in beliefs leads to a change in behavior and improved student achievement

I became superintendent in July 2001, succeeding a superintendent who had the confidence and respect of the district. He was wonderfully supportive of me, and we shared a common devotion to our schools and students. A difference in our personalities was that he had a strong top-down leadership style. With the accountability of No Child Left Behind, schools needed to shift more emphasis and energy to curriculum and instruction. The theme of my first year’s state of the district speech was “Rolling Up our Sleeves to Improve Student Learning,” and it was my plan to keep working hard at minor changes and show necessary growth every year. The reality was that only 20% of our students were proficient in the core curriculum. However, given our

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Authors

Susan Scott and Elaine Cash

In each issue of JSD, Susan Scott ([email protected]) explores aspects of communication that encourage meaningful collaboration. Scott, author of Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success At Work & In Life, One Conversation at a Time (Penguin, 2002) and Fierce Leadership: A Bold Alternative to the Worst “Best” Practices of Business Today (Broadway Business, 2009), leads Fierce Inc. (www.fierceinc.com), which helps companies around the world transform the conversations that are central to their success.

Fierce in the Schools carries this work into schools and higher education. columns are available at www.nsdc.org. © copyright, fierce inc., 2010.

Elaine Cash, superintendent of Riverdale School District in California, has participated in a dramatic turnaround in her district’s performance. She describes how conversations transformed district culture and led to significant improvements in student proficiency in the core curriculum and a decrease in the achievement gap.With effective change, mind-set comes first: What you believe determines how you behave. And your behavior produces your results — the ones you like and the ones you’re not so crazy about. Here is Cash’s story about how a change in thinking led to an outcome worth celebrating in her school district. — Susan Scott