Principals Matter:
Creating a Culture of Success
Catherine Edmonds,
Northeast Leadership Academy (NELA)
North Carolina State University
Krystal Thompkins,
NC/NE Service Support Specialist
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Outcomes
Principals understanding their role in;
•Creating an environment conducive to learning for
all students
•Helping teachers hold students accountable for
their own learning
•Helping teachers explore their beliefs about
students
•Knowing the importance of the faces behind the
data
Positive School Culture is Imperative
Effective principals fully understand…
•importance of positive school culture and how it
can help student achievement
•positive school culture is the heart of improvement
and growth in any building
“A positive school culture is the
underlying reason why the other
components of successful schools
were able to flourish.”
Effective Principals
Shape school buildings characterized by the basics
– safety and orderliness
• but they also see to it that schools create
an atmosphere in which students feel
supported and responded to.
Significant Activities that Impact
Culture
• Creating a sense of belonging
• Providing a clear direction for all involved—
, teachers, parents,
and community.
Students
Highly Effective Principals
• Set expectations and help teachers
consistently send these same messages to
students and families.
• Lead teachers through explicit
conversations about their own beliefs and
expectations for students.
Culture Walk—Let’s dig a little deeper!
• Stand in a straight line in the middle of the floor.
• The facilitator will ask a series of questions.
• If a question applies to you, the facilitator will ask you
to take a step forward or a step back.
• If the question does not apply to you, you will remain
where you are.
Let’s Talk
• Debrief—Cultural Walk
• When you looked around to see where others were
standing, how did you feel about where you were
standing?
• How did you feel about where others were standing?
• What does this mean for our work with students?
How Students Take Ownership of
Their Learning
• Provide exemplars
• Give students feedback on their progress toward
success
• Keep a data notebook to monitor their progress
Students Owning Their Success
• Develop relationships with teachers
• Take ownership for their own learning
Translate to Practice
• Progression toward classroom goals are monitored
and posted for all to see - creating awareness and
ownership for the students.
• Present goal attainment concepts every day to
students
Contact Information
• Catherine Edmonds, NCSU NELA
catherine_edmonds@ncsu.edu
(919)691-1873
• Krystal Thompkins, NCDPI DST
krystal.thompkins@dpi.nc.gov
(919)835-6126
English II—Sample Data
Student Probability of Achieving a Level III
Student
District
School
Sex
Race
Grade
Prob
Joe Smith
ABC
XYZ
M
B
10
78.1
Lisa Doe
ABC
XYZ
F
B
10
.01
James Hall
ABC
XYZ
M
B
10
10.1
Tika Sam
ABC
XYZ
F
H
10
15.2
Linda Blue
ABC
XYZ
F
B
10
20.5
Matt Gray
ABC
XYZ
M
B
10
90.0
Jay Green
ABC
XYZ
M
B
10
31.4
Sue Jones
ABC
XYZ
F
W
10
65.0
Jim Black
ABC
XYZ
M
W
10
21.0
Lynn Reed
ABC
XYZ
F
B
10
41.6