Culture is still king. Perhaps even more in times of trouble. Culture is the function, the element, the muscle that ensures a healthy, effective learning environment.

Over what turned out to be our six-part blog series on culture, Sean Slade and I, along with guest blog contributors, Victoria Rodrigue and Maria Garcia explored the gamut as it relates to culture. Some of the most salient insights include:

• Culture is king and the school leader is the curator

• Maintaining and improving culture is a daily practice, and coaching helps

There is no substitute, and no shortcut, for one-on-one conversations with staff members. As a relationship-focused principal, I have always leaned on individual in-person conversations. However, I used this tool in a targeted way to move my school forward through a sticky spot I didn’t know it was in

As leaders, it has never been more important to address the culture of our schools. The past two years have highlighted the role that a safe, consistent and welcoming culture can have on our teachers and our students.

Culture, however, can be beneficial or it can be toxic. Our first two blogs of this series named this proverbial elephant in the room. This piece hits squarely on a leadership challenge: What is the leader’s contribution to building a healthy culture or allowing a toxic culture to persist?

As those of us in education know, a crisis was already brewing prior to the pandemic. Nationwide, total enrollment in teacher preparation programs has declined by more than a third since 2010. “Educators today are expected to cure society's ills, prepare young adults for life in a complex, technological society and accomplish both of these for salaries not commensurate with their education,” states a 1986 article in Educational Research Quarterly, “Educator Burnout: Sources and Consequences,” by Richard L. Schwab, Susan E. Jackson and Randall S. Schuler. Thirty-five years later, the consequences of educator burnout have become clear.