Defining our Organizational Culture by Helena Pereira Raso

Who do we want to be at DAA?

2025-08-04 06:28:43 UTC

Inclusive and supportive - for students and for staff

We want to have a standard of excellence that permeates the building

Community - connection, safety, and belonging

Trusted - we want our families to trust us with their children and to trust each other.

What is most important at DAA?

2025-08-04 06:30:41 UTC

GROWTH - achievement and support looks different for all of our students, both academically and personally. We want our students and staff to realize their potential.

COMMUNITY - building connection and belonging with all.

How do you want to lead, model, communicate, and learn amongst our staff students and families?

2025-08-04 06:32:24 UTC

Modeling kindness, respect, and presence. Entering into dialogue with a shared sense of values to anchor ourselves. Teamwork and collaboration established by trust is essential.

How will we know we have built this culture and what evidence will we gather?

2025-08-04 06:35:03 UTC

Positive feelings within the school community, strong student growth and achievement. Increased opportunities for collaboration and team work.

Respect for individuality.

Feeling the sense of family and belonging.

Attendance!!

What do we want our school community to feel?

2025-08-04 06:45:23 UTC

Outstanding school with unique opportunities for our kids

Become a connected community- an extended family for all at DAA. Remove hurdles to enable everyone to focus on doing their best.

Warm, friendly environment created by all. People feel welcome and seen.

We are DAA. We are one school. We are united as a school. We are proud of our campus and work together toward excellence.

Let’s do what we say we do- culture of kindness, making connections, and excellence.

Elementary School Brainstorming

2025-08-04 06:45:42 UTC

Feel - trusted, valued, heard, care, support
See - effective modelling, collaboration, collective community, no heirarchy, joy, excitement, curiosity
What is most important and why does it matter?
- all comes back to our Culture of Kindness and Excellence
- instructional and emotional safety and growth
- inclusion and diversity
  1. How do we want to lead, model, communicate?
    - clear, intentional (word choice), explicit communication
    - normalizing "failure" and focusing on the journey instead of only focusing on the possible outcome (process over product)
    - model our own humility
    - creating opportunities for kids and teachers to demonstrate this process-oriented mindset
    - "Success favors the bold."
    - "Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It's the courage to continue that counts."
1. How will we know we've built this culture?
  - the overall "feel"
  - engagement of staff and students - if they feel bold enough, safe enough they will contribute more
  - surveys (ex. NPS)
  - feel, see, and hear the joy
  - data
  - K-12 padlet to highlight exceptional and innovative ideas, input from students, teachers and parents - aiming to feel inclusive, creative and collaborative "
  - have a "fishbowl" where students can give feedback (student feedback and input)
2. How will we communicate it with our community?
  - we need to be more intentional about the avenues we use for communication

Group - Sean, Regan, Ulysses, Rijesh and Juliana

2025-08-04 07:06:53 UTC

Students and Staff - Better communication, clear expectations
Identity, ownership of who we are
Reaffirming that we are an open community, listening
Accepting what we can’t change, communicating it well
Working on what we can change, been transparent with staff, internal communication
Working with positive attitude
Not the amount of communication, but prioritizing what needs to be communicated and be more specific
Modeling the culture that we want to create
Consider the amount of emails, been respectful of parents and staff time
Feeling in the hallways, surveys, well being committee, interactions with the teachers and all staff