Break the Script: Culturize Your School to Excellence

What was the speaker’s main message?

Joe Sanfelippo and Jimmy Casas inspired a packed ballroom of principals from across the country. Their message was clear from the outset: Our work as school leaders needs to be intentional and include balance.

Sanfelippo began by asking everyone to raise their hand as high as they can. “Now raise your hand higher,” he said. “How is that possible?” This was a visual of how administrators continue to see excellence and that average is not a place we aspire to be.

Casas asked the audience if they were “fixers.” The most in the room acknowledged.

What was the speaker’s best quote?

• “Be a great principal, but be a better person, better husband, better father …”
• “Can’t live life everyday with a To Do list but can follow your To Be List.”
• “Behavior is culture. Culture is behavior.”
• “You don’t make decisions from behind your desk.”
• “We don’t get to choose what they remember.”
• “Don’t want to be in the same place a year from now.”

What were the top ideas from the session?

• One of my biggest takeaways from Sanfelippo was the reminder to be intentional and notice what is going on in our buildings rather than just getting to the next thing on the list.
• Break the script along the way. Share one story. One Story. 
• Make connections and make positive phone calls not only for students but also for teachers as well. They will tell your story and reference those during the year.

What is one strategy that you will implement immediately?

Get out of fix-it mode.  

What is one strategy that will help you with instructional leadership?

It is important to respond when adults behave in ways that don’t match the Words on the Wall. If we address those actions and are upfront student relationships and learning.

What is one idea you want to learn more about?

I would like to explore the ways to balance the Innovators and Early Adopters with the Laggards and Saboteurs.

What resources will you check out?

Read Culturize: Every Student. Every Day Whatever It Takes.

What resources will you check out?

Remember who you were when you sat in the seat for your job interview. We can so easily forget the purpose and why we chose this profession. “Take yourself back to the interview chair. That is the real version of you.” 

Notes by Cheri Sacco, principal of Orchard Farms Elementary School in Cranston, Rhode Island.