Terrilyn H.

Ladd
AT Department- Lead Teacher/2 years
Activity: Conducting Climate/Culture Survey and Project


In partial fulfillment of our Culture and Climate class, we had to complete many projects. This particular
project consisted of completing a culture and climate survey in the school where I worked. Before the survey was
administered, permission from the principal and the teachers (to use their answers collected) were obtained through
a form that they had to sign. After the form was signed granting me permission to use the results of the survey for a
school project, I was then able to provide the participants with a survey of questions and a way for them to return the
survey anonymously. The survey was issued to all of the schools teachers and staff members. The survey consisted
of several questions regarding the schools culture, climate, and ultimately the schools overall health. Once the
completed surveys were received from the staff members, I analyzed the results in terms of: institutional integrity
(II), collegial leadership (CL), resource influence (RI), teacher affiliation (TA), and academic emphasis (AE).
There were several things that went well with the administration of the climate and culture survey. Those
things included that fact that I had very high participation compared to the number of participants that I sought out.
The number of students in the school was approximately 140 and there was approximately 12 teachers and
paraprofessionals. I received a total of ten survey forms returned. The teachers and staff members were willing to
participate in the survey and they returned the surveys in the proper way as to not taint the results. Once the results
were analyzed, it was noted that the school was relatively healthy according to the parameters of the
Organizational Health Inventory. It was no secret that the school environment where I worked felt good. It was
obvious that teaching and learning were taking place. The teachers were committed to helping students improve
their performance.
As I mentioned, there were several things that went well during the survey. However, there were also some
things that did not go as well as I had hoped. Although the majority of teachers participated in the survey, the
number of participants was small compared to most organizations that were surveyed. Another thing I noticed is that
the teachers said almost exclusively nice things regarding the school. The school did appear to have a positive
climate and culture. However, some of the survey answers appeared to be too good to be true. The results of the
analysis made me wonder whether my positive rapport with the teachers influenced their answers (even though the
surveys were returned to me anonymously). I also wondered whether the teachers felt free to tell the truth about the
schools climate. Even though I never noticed any teachers under duress, I do not know if the teachers did not
somehow feel that this survey could save the school. By the time the survey was issued and returned, the school was
closed and students were slated to be transported to a school 15 miles from most of their homes.
If given the opportunity to complete this project over again as a school administrator, I would do some
things differently. If there was a way that I could request that my co-workers complete a survey completely
anonymously (meaning that they would not know it was me that wanted the surveys completed), I would gladly ask.
I had such a positive relationship with the teachers and ultimately positive relationships tend to result in a more
positive climate and culture of a school. However, I am sure that my relationship with the survey participants
influenced their answers to the test. I would have liked to be able to provide some type of incentive for completing
the survey and perhaps I would have been able to get 100% participation for completing the survey. The ultimate
goal I would have if I had the chance to complete this project again would be to actually use the analysis to
influence some positive changes in the areas of need. When I am actually an instructional leader, I will do exactly
that: affect positive changes in the school environment that would relate to increased student performance.