Welcome back. My name is Stewart Hudnall; we got another episode of School Story today. We’re doing another educator book review. I’m really excited about this one. This is one of my favorite books; it’s called “Culturize” by Mr Jimmy Casas, and it’s published by Dave Burgess Consulting. They’ve got a lot of great books out there in the education field.
The premise of this book is to give principals and school leaders the tools to build a thriving culture of learning and growth, and who doesn’t want that?
So, let’s jump into the book. First, though, let’s talk a little bit about what we’re talking about on our episode today. So, we have six segments:
We’re going to talk about the book
We’re going to dive into the book
We’re going to do a review of the book
How does it apply to education/Educators/schools/classrooms
We’ve got a question from a listener that we’re going to answer
My favorite part is the 5-3-1 wrapup: 5 takeaways, 3 quotes, and 1 thing you can implement today, tomorrow, or next week whenever you’re listening to this.
The author, Jimmy Casas, this book was fundamental for me when I started my Administration career, and I credit a lot to this guy.
About the book, what it does, what it’s aiming to do is try to provide some research-based strategies to shape a positive student-centered school culture. In fact the tagline is “Every student every day whatever it takes” and he continues to emphasize that throughout the book, throughout all the different chapters. What he’s seen is how the right culture, and if you’re listening to this, you’ve seen it too, fosters creativity, innovation, and belonging. But we’ve also seen where it doesn’t happen, and most of the time, that’s because it’s a top-down problem. If it doesn’t start at the top with the right type of school culture, it’s going to be really hard to see that positive influence reach throughout the school.
So, the book speaks specifically to principals and administrators looking to actively build an environment where every student feels validated. It could be used for teachers but is geared more towards administration.
When we think of culture, what I like about what “Culturize” does is it reminds us that culture drives everything. He has lots of research, in fact, quite extensive research into motivation, mindset, and leadership psychology. But they also blend it with their real-world expertise, being in the classroom and having experience, really being a consultant in many schools. So, in the end, they develop an excellent practical playbook built on studies and experiences.
Digging into the book, some of the key themes that they cover:
It really emphasizes that school culture stems from a clear set of core values. Without those values, direction will not happen; it will be pretty listless. He says there needs to be a clear set of core values, and he talks about how those values will decide the direction of behaviors. And he challenges you – what are your three or four pillars? What do you want your school to embody? Do you know what those giant pillars are that you’re building on? Clarifying these upfront will help maintain that vision and consistency because as you make decisions, you will compare them to those pillars to see how they fit against them and whether or not they work.
Another big one is building trust and psychological safety. He talks about how being vulnerable and relatable as a leader is critical in this and that if teachers and students don’t feel secure taking risks in the name of learning, you’re not going to have a positive student or teacher culture. But it does require patience, empathy, and a lot of resiliency.
It also focuses on empowerment – and talks about how when we give staff and students agency in shaping culture, they will feel more invested, which makes sense. We want to hear directly from the teachers and students what they want their culture to be, what they want their culture to have, what it should feel like, what it should be like involving those stakeholders, reaching out, seeking input, and then building the consensus within the classroom. Teachers need to have the autonomy to personalize instruction. What’s remarkable is seeing students also taking leadership roles within those classrooms. I work at a CTE campus now, and because it is more hands-on and job-focused, it’s enjoyable walking into a classroom and seeing kids that are not just leaders, but they’re quote-unquote the bosses, you know, for that class for that week for that month. So it’s cool to see that actually in place. They will step up to it when you give them that empowerment.
It also talks about motivational strategies and promotes tapping into autonomy, mastery, and purpose – people ultimately want control, their purposes, and if they don’t have control over their choices, why improve because you’re just going to feel like you’re running up a slippery slope? And by being a leader who motivates that, doing that with recognizing and modeling that hard work.
In regards to the book review, the main ideas:
My favorite part about “Culturize” is just how practical it is – the practical advice throughout it. He includes specific reflection questions, culture diagnostics, and action plans. He makes it easy for us, the reader, to figure out how to implement those strategies in our school. Also, another strength is the examples and case studies – there are so many throughout that depending on where you come from, the size of your school, and the dynamics, you’re going to find examples within the book that connect and make sense to you. Hearing directly from those administrators and teachers balances the field and shows how they work.
In regards to weakness, the only thing I would have liked to see a little bit more is while there is a variety, there are certain types of examples and structures that aren’t there from different populations or different types of groups, and that would have been nice in the book. But if you want to dive into that, there’s a great book we’ll probably review later. It’s called “We Got This” by Cornelius Minor – it’s a great book that dives a little bit deeper into that.
So what does it look like, how do we apply, how are we applying this to education? Even with just the minor critiques, it does offer profound insights into how you can shape your school culture and what you can do to improve it. It not just with big pie-in-the-sky ideas, which it does have some of, but it also provides anninvaluable framework for how you can diagnose and look at what your current culture is. They also share some questions you can reflect on to question your core values, trust level, motivations, and more within that school.
It also discusses how you can involve staff and students in cultural initiatives – student focus groups, principal round tables, cultural committees, shared vision planning, and teacher-created norms. There are many excellent examples of how you can co-create culture within the school. For leaders, it was a non-stop read about how the application can be used – talked about mindsets with leading with empathy first, coaching and observations, and feedback cycles. It even had some sample newsletters and questions for staff surveys. So, it was a framework that you could refer back to when trying to lead a school.
We have a question coming in from a fan, Sandra. So this is our listener’s corner, and she asks what is one thing leaders can do to start improving school culture immediately. Reading this book gives you a good mindset about what you can do. Because it is such a big thing. I had a high school principal who talked about being a high school principal, which is like driving a large cruise ship. You don’t make quick turns. You’re not a speed boat; you’re not going to have significant changes, at least initially or effectively. But with small turns, with minor changes, it can happen, and that’s precisely what they emphasize in the book – talk about how those small, consistent actions will lead to significant change.
One simple but high-impact idea I liked was just something as simple as greeting students each morning and modeling that care and connection for the entire school. It is a little thing, but it also signals to the rest of the school and the community that it’s your priority. I remember walking the halls after lunch with my principal once, and he stopped to pick up a piece of trash. It was interesting because he didn’t do it to be seen, but some people saw him do it. And they had a mindset shift of “Well, if the principal’s going to do it, I probably should pick up, you know, that trash as well.” When kids see it modeled but also when they feel seen, you know that sets the tone for learning. Even just simply standing outside welcoming students, I’ve seen the difference it’s made in individual teachers and also within the administration level. Do you know what that can look like? So, those tiny steps can lead to the significant transformations you’re looking for.
So, my favorite segment, let’s wrap up with our 5-3-1:
Five key takeaways:
- Identify core values
- Build trust and safety
- Give staff and students agency
- Motivate your people through autonomy and purpose
- Lead by example
My three favorite quotes: “Culture is not something you do; it’s something you are” – people, especially kids, I’ve got a good BS meter. They can tell when you’re faking it and will call you out for it.
“Strive for progress, not perfection” – it’s straightforward to get caught up and forget that we’re just trying to move forward. We’re not expecting perfection, and no one is.
“When adults change, everything changes.” – sometimes, we forget that when we make the change, the kids are going to follow, and they’re not going to make the change without us.
Actionable step – the last one – what you can do is ask your school community for input on whether that they think your school’s core values realign with what you think they are or want them to be. Find feedback from all stakeholders to finalize those three to five pillars to build and build what you want your school to be.
That’s the end of the book review. I can’t recommend it enough: two thumbs up, five stars. I love it, and it’s one that I keep referring back to. Thanks for riding on this journey episode diving into the education book “Culturize.” Many thanks to Jimmy Casses, I have yet to meet him, maybe one day. I love the leadership lessons he’s got in that.
Join me next time as we explore the groundbreaking book “The Innovator’s Mindset” by George Couros. I love that, too; it talks about how we inspire that innovation and spark in our school.
Please send any questions in, comment, and leave a five-star review. It helps us. Until next time, fellow learners, this is Steuart signing off – go out and “culturize” your school; see you!