Rebranding School Culture: Elevating Excellence and Equity Through Leadership and Community Engagement

Outline

Introduction (5 minutes)

Overview of Clear Brook High School’s journey to rebrand its campus culture, emphasizing both excellence and equity. Introduce presenters and their roles in leading this transformation.

The Why: Embedding Excellence and Equity into School Culture (10 minutes)

Address the historical challenges faced by Clear Brook, including SES, diversity, and community perceptions, and how the school is working to shift these narratives.

Explain how the school’s new vision centers around excellence and equity, making these the cornerstones of the school’s identity and culture.

Emphasize the importance of elevating voices from diverse backgrounds to create a culture where all students feel seen, valued, and able to succeed.

Student Leadership: Engaging Diverse Students as Ambassadors of Excellence and Equity (15 minutes)

Highlight how Clear Brook High School created diverse student leadership groups that reflect the school’s population and actively contribute to defining and promoting both excellence and equity on campus.

Discuss how students are involved in shaping the narrative of the school, ensuring their perspectives on excellence and inclusivity are heard and reflected in school-wide initiatives.

Share strategies for developing student ambassadors who promote equity and excellence across peer groups, creating a more inclusive campus environment.

Teacher Collaboration: Defining Excellence and Equity in Departments (10 minutes)

Explain how teachers are working within their departments to define what excellence looks like through an equity lens in their subject areas.

Describe the process of creating a common language of excellence and equity that reflects the diverse needs of students and ensures consistency across the school.

Provide examples of how this vision is communicated to students, parents, and the broader community, ensuring all stakeholders understand and support the school’s commitment to both academic excellence and equity.

Communication Strategy: Amplifying Excellence and Equity Through Stakeholder Engagement (10 minutes)

Outline Clear Brook’s communication strategy for sharing key milestones and achievements that reflect both excellence and equity.

Explain how the school’s communications team, composed of staff, students, and administrators, ensures that achievements from all areas of the school and all student groups are highlighted equitably.

Discuss how the school is using multiple platforms (social media, newsletters, and outreach) to engage its diverse community and keep stakeholders informed about the progress being made on both academic and equity goals.

Real-World Application: Success Stories and Case Studies (5 minutes)

Present examples of how Clear Brook’s rebranding efforts have positively impacted the perception of the school both inside and outside the community, with a focus on how equity and inclusion have been central to the process.

Highlight the collaborative efforts of students, teachers, and administrators in making Clear Brook a school where “Excellence Is Our DNA.”

Q&A and Resource Sharing (5 minutes)

Open floor for questions from participants.
Share resources such as tools for developing diverse student leadership groups, departmental collaboration templates that focus on equity, and communication strategies for engaging diverse communities.

Supporting research

Student Voice in School Improvement:
Mitra, D. L. (2018). Student voice in secondary schools: the possibility for deeper change. Journal of Educational Administration, 56(5), 473-487.

School Rebranding and Organizational Identity:
Frandsen, S., Johansen, W., & Nemec Zlateva, M. (2018). Organizational Crisis Communication: A Multivocal Approach. SAGE Publications Ltd.

Cultural Responsiveness and School Leadership:
Khalifa, M. A., Gooden, M. A., & Davis, J. E. (2016). Culturally Responsive School Leadership: A Synthesis of the Literature. Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 1272-1311.