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©2026 Ingrove Press. All rights reserved.

CULT RED

L O O H SC URE

I W E R d Edition

2n

rt e n e u r Steve GWhitaker & Todd

ion

L O O H SC URE

T L U C RED I W RE

and e v i t i s re Po r All o M a Toward ive School fo t Produc

Arlington, Virginia USA

©2026 Ingrove Press. All rights reserved.

it 2nd Ed

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First published in 2023 by ASCD.

2nd Edition

SCHOOL CULTURE REWIRED

Toward a More Positive and Productive School for All

1

Defining Organizational Culture ...................................................................................... 1

2

Culture Versus Climate ......................................................................................................... 11

3

Building Blocks and Subcultures .................................................................................... 25

4

What Type of Culture Do You Want? ........................................................................ 45

5

What Type of Culture Do You Have? ........................................................................ 65

6

School Culture Management Versus School Culture Leadership ........ 81

7

The School Culture Survey ................................................................................................. 87

8

Developmentally Appropriate School Culture Change ............................... 99

9

Reveal the Invisible and Start Conversations ................................................... 109

10 The Beat Goes On—or Does It? ................................................................................... 125 11 How Long Does It Take to Rewire a Culture? ................................................... 137 12 Breakthroughs ............................................................................................................................ 143 13 Leverage Points ......................................................................................................................... 149 14 Building a School Culture Rewiring Team .......................................................... 167 15 Leadership Matters ................................................................................................................. 177 References ................................................................................................................................................ 183 Index ........................................................................................................................................................... 187 About the Authors ............................................................................................................................. 191

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Introduction to the Second Edition ..................................................................................... vii

We appreciate the incredible response and positive feedback for School Culture Rewired. Thank you all so much. It has been an honor to connect with many of you at workshops, at conferences, and virtually, including through social media. We learn much more from you than the other way around.

Many of you have told us that you would like to continue to deepen your understanding and application of the concepts from School Culture Rewired. After reviewing many ideas and suggestions, we have added new chapters to this edition and built upon some of the concepts from the first book with further insights from our experiences working with schools. In this new edition, you will read about • Developmentally appropriate school culture change, or reform focused on finding what is best for where your school currently is.

• The idea of school culture as guardrails preventing schools from changing too much too soon. No culture wants to change, and every culture resists changing too quickly. How does this thinking affect future efforts, and what can we do about it?

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INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND EDITION

School Culture Rewired

• Collaborative versus toxic school cultures. Each school may have its own brand of collaboration, and some versions of toxic cultures can even pretend to be effective.

• The symbiotic relationship between school culture management and school culture leadership, both of which are essential to improving school culture.

Our overarching aim is to help you efficiently and effectively move culture is less like turning a battleship around than it is like maneuvering a battalion: Whereas the battleship is a single large vessel, a battalion is made up of many component parts that can each be deployed as necessary. Obviously, such maneuvers require great thought and planning, but each component—or, in the context of schools, each subculture—can take quick action. A grade level, department, team, or even an individual teacher starting down the path of improvement on their own can eventually lead to systemwide improvements. Rewiring your school culture may feel like a battle at times, but the result—a more positive and productive place for both students and adults—is always worth it.

Why This Book Is Different This book is designed to help provide a true understanding of what culture is. You may already notice the difference between it and other articles, blogs, and books you have seen that address the concept of culture. Many of these might use the word culture in a vague way that can mean whatever you want it to mean. Sometimes they mean climate, other times leadership; what they describe may be important, but it’s usually not organizational culture.

Whenever a new CEO takes over a business or a new coach leads a sports team, they often refer to changing the culture—and, sometimes, they believe that they succeed in doing so. However, as soon as the

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your school’s culture in a more positive direction. Improving school

Introduction to the Second Edition

leader departs the organization, that “culture” shifts dramatically to where it was. This is not culture. It may be leadership, which is incredibly important and clearly affects culture, but it is not culture itself.

This is not to disparage other resources. Maybe your school needs friendlier staff or higher test scores. These are worthy goals and important. However, the culture is the core fabric of a school; everything else—dispositions, test scores, instruction, and so on—are the culture (Gruenert & Whitaker, 2021).

When people say they can tell the type of culture a school has as soon as they walk through its doors, they are most likely referring to the climate. Clearly, climate is a gateway to culture, but this is an example of using culture as a catch-all term. Sometimes leaders may feel like they have changed the culture when they have simply used the current culture in an innovative way to accomplish a goal.

This book is designed to help you understand school culture, examine what the culture of your school is, and provide a pathway for moving the culture forward so it serves everyone in your school and school community. To write the book, we had to go back to basics and clarify our understanding of what organizational culture actually is. Though what you read here may not cover everything you have read or heard about culture, it will hopefully provide you with a rich understanding of what this incredible force that affects your school is all about.

Thank you for letting us join you on your adventure. We look forward to your feedback and are excited to hear how the ideas in this book help enrich your understanding, practice, and culture.

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dependent on it. We cannot improve a school without changing

Defining Organizational Culture

1

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CHAPTER 1

School Culture Rewired

to restaurant? At some, you walk in and are greeted by a friendly, attractive host who whisks you away to an available table; at others, you can’t get anyone to make eye con-

tact with you, let alone greet you in a friendly way. Often, such a disparity can even be found among restaurants that are part of the same chain. What is going on? How can two restaurants from the same company be so dramatically different?

Similar disparities can be found between and within schools and districts: You walk into some schools and immediately feel welcome; you walk into others and you feel like an intruder. In some schools, every teacher seems to be out from behind the desk, lessons are infused with technology, and students appear to be highly engaged in learning; in others, teachers seem to use their desks as fortresses, and students appear distracted or disengaged.

In both schools, teachers will tell you that what they’re doing is effective.

Why is it that some schools embrace new ideas, whereas others consider them distractions? Why do some teachers roll up their sleeves, and others simply roll their eyes? More important, is there anything we can do to address these differences? Often, disparities within schools and districts are the result of separate cultures having been established over time. For schools to be effective, educators need to understand the organizational cultures in which they work and be able to modify them if necessary.

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H

ave you ever noticed how service can vary from restaurant

Defining Organizational Culture

Understanding an Elusive Concept This book is intended to help you better understand the general concept of school culture, learn the strengths and weaknesses of your specific school culture, and—perhaps most important—influence your school culture or, if necessary, shape a new one (see Figure 1.1).

In the following pages, you’ll learn what to do, what to expect, and what positive and negative signs to look out for when trying to improve your school’s culture.

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To improve your school culture, you must dig deep into the psyche of your organization.

FIGURE 1.1

The Keys to Shaping a New School Culture Understand the concept of school culture

Understand your school's culture

Shape a new school culture

Know what it is and what it is not

Know leverage points

Build the capacity to change

Know the roadblocks

Appreciate what is working well

Recognize and acknowledge the current status

Build a team Describe the desired change

Recognize and acknowledge the past

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