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Professional Development
A strong culture helps drive successful organizations. But what does it take to build a strong culture that strengthens how schools and districts work to improve student outcomes? The knowledge, skills, and strategies needed to answer this question are essential for school leadership that can transform the culture of their learning environments. Leading Culture Change: Strategies for School Improvement is an on-campus program offered by Professional Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education for school and district teams wanting to deepen their understanding of culture, identify strategies to develop it, and create an action plan for culture change.
Leading Culture Change, led by HGSE professor Ebony N. Bridwell-Mitchell, is a three-day interactive program that begins with school and district teams conducting a pre-program diagnostic of culture in their own learning context. During the program, teams are involved in instructional sessions and discussions with faculty experts to analyze culture’s key aspects. In peer working groups, teams target areas and strategies for developing a culture based on existing research and real-world examples of strong cultures in various sectors. By the program’s end, teams develop an action plan to transform school or district culture and can continue learning through a post-program impact assessment and professional community. Specific program activities include:
Ebony Bridwell-Mitchell’s research is on leadership, management, and organizations, exploring how organizational factors affect the success of public school reform.
Leading Culture Change is a team-based program for participants who want to improve culture within their schools or districts. School and district-based teams are strongly encouraged to include a minimum of four participants and a cross-section of stakeholders:
All teams who attend will be asked to complete the pre-program culture diagnostic of their school or district.
This program only accepts teams. First-time applicants need to create a Professional Education account to apply.
Designate one participant or an administrative staff member as the Coordinator.
Invoices will only be available upon your acceptance.
The tuition covers all instructional materials, a daily continental breakfast, and beverages and light refreshments during our scheduled breaks between sessions.
Travel, lodging expenses, and most lunches and dinners are not included in this fee. We have blocked a limited number of rooms in select hotels in the Cambridge/Boston area. The daily rates for these hotels typically range from $250 to $375 per room, plus applicable taxes. Once your applicants are accepted into the program, they will receive detailed information about these hotel options.
Professor Ebony Bridwell-Mitchell shares how leveraging social networks can spark meaningful change, and why schools must embrace the power of human connection to achieve lasting success