Angelo DelliSanti, a leadership solutions strategist with Capturing Kids’ Hearts, was the latest guest on “Education Matters,” a video podcast hosted by Ray Pinney, chief membership engagement officer at the New Jersey School Boards Association.
The two men chatted about an array of topics in an episode that focused on school culture, climate and leadership
DelliSanti, a former social studies teacher, middle school principal and high school principal, applauded Pinney for observing that school culture and climate are not the same thing.
“We put them together and they are really two separate things,” DelliSanti said. “Culture is what we do and how we do it – it is everything.”
That includes what the superintendent is doing, what teachers are doing and even what school custodians are doing. “That is what makes up our culture,” he said. “Climate is the result of our culture. It is how things feel – and how things feel is the result of what we are doing.”
When a school has a great culture, it is virtually inevitable that teachers and students will perform better, he said.
“Every single school system has a culture, and that culture is either getting better or getting worse,” he said.
Watch the full video podcast to glean an array of insights about school climate, school culture and leadership – and their connection to student achievement.
