School culture is the collective manifestation of the attitudes, outlooks, and behaviors of the entire student, administrative, and faculty body. It's what gives a school its own unique feeling as you walk through the halls. What feeling do you get when you walk down the halls of your school? As an educational consultant with 10+ years of experience and a footprint in over 5,000 schools, JC Pohl specializes in building school culture. This book will walk you through an easy, three step process that will empower student voice, build a cohesive campus, and create a connected community. Join schools across the country as we work to build positive school culture from the inside out!

Professional Learning Communities, Leadership

BUILD RESILIENT TEENS WITH PROVEN METHODS "I can't wait to see the impact that this book makes in our schools. A must read for anyone who works with teenagers!" - Vance Morris Principal, Burkburnett High School School shootings occur every year. Teens die by suicide each week. Thousands of students are crushed by bullying every day. Why can some work through the adversity while others can't? JC Pohl, LMFT offers a direct pathway to one singular solution: resiliency. It's the ability to take the hits and keep moving forward. It's the fortitude to get knocked down and get back up. This book offers a blueprint that is guaranteed to unleash the powers of resilience within your students. Don't wait another minute to read this book! JC's keys to building resilient students might stop the next potential school shooter, save a suicidal student, or remind every bullied child that brighter days lie ahead. GAME CHANGING CONCEPTS - The Power of One Charismatic Adult - The Need for Grit & Self-Efficacy - The Idea that You're Never Alone - The Value of a True Connection - The Importance of Solution Focused Thinking TESTIMONIALS "This book is the perfect recipe for creating successful, healthy, and happy students." - Brittney Neece, LMFT-S, LPC-S "This book is FANTASTIC! Some of the stories literally gave me chills." - Valerie Pope Assistant Principal, Keller Middle School "JC brings to light student-centered approaches that will support every teenager." - Thomas Mangloña II Student, Mt. Carmel High School FEATURING - Proven tactics that build resilient students - In-depth stories that will inspire both teens and adults - A step-by-step guide to building school culture ABOUT THE AUTHOR JC Pohl is an award-winning producer and nationally certified counselor who has reached nearly 10 million people in 7,000+ schools. His work with TEEN TRUTH has sent him around the world, inspiring students, educators, and parents to tell their truth and be the difference. He has keynoted conferences for CADA, TASC, BOOST, NASC, COSA, OASC, LEAD, NCSA, GAEL, NCASA, OSTI-CON, NASSCED, the Texas School Safety Center, and the PTA. His RISING UP: Coaching Program has reached students across the U.S. and consists of an SEL curriculum used by school counselors, the Texas Department of State Health Services, 21st Century ACE Centers, and Communities in Schools. Pohl is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of Texas. When not on the road speaking, he offers counseling services to select clients through Austin Divorce Recovery and his private practice. He holds a Masters Degree in Professional Counseling from Texas State University, San Marcos, and has sat on the board of the Austin AMFT. You can find him on Facebook and LinkedIn or connect directly at www.jcpohl.com.

This book examines the school as an operational organization through the lens of systems thinking. In this way it serves as an invitation to look again at schools and how they operate as learning systems. It begins by showing exactly why our inherited, industrial school model, can never be made to work effectively no matter how hard school leaders try or how well schools are judged. This book uses systems thinking to explain and describe the management unlearning and new learning needed to create deep and fundamental changes to the way schools operate as complete learning entities. It explains why the reinstatement of the personal tutor in a vertical system is essential to the creation of a learning organization within a complete home/school operational learning process; one capable of building a values driven and more purposeful school culture within a more relevant and coherent society.

In this inspirational yet practical book, the man Parade called “the most important coach in America,” subject of the national bestseller Season of Life, Joe Ehrmann, describes his coaching philosophy and explains how sports can transform lives at every level of play, from the earliest years to professional sports. Coaches have a tremendous platform, says Joe Ehrmann, a former Syracuse University All-American and NFL star. Perhaps second only to parents, coaches can impact young people as no one else can. But most coaches fail to do the teaching, mentoring, even life-saving intervention that their platform provides. Too many are transactional coaches; they focus solely on winning and meeting their personal needs. Some coaches, however, use their platform. They teach the Xs and Os, but also teach the Ys of life. They help young people grow into responsible adults; they leave a lasting legacy. These are the transformational coaches. These coaches change lives, and they also change society by helping to develop healthy men and women. InSideOut Coaching explains how to become a transformational coach. Coaches first have to “go inside” and articulate their reasons for coaching. Only those who have taken the InSideOut journey can become transformational. Joe Ehrmann provides examples of coaches in his life who took this journey and taught him how to find something bigger than himself in sports.He describes his own InSideOut experience, starting with the death of his beloved brother, which helped him understand how sports could transcend the playing field. He gives coaches the information and the tools they need to become transformational. Joe Ehrmann has taken his message about the extraordinary power of sports all over the country. It has been warmly endorsed by NFL head coaches, athletic directors at major universities, high school head coaches, even business groups and community organizations. Now any parent-coach or school or community coach can read Ehrmann’s message and learn how to make sports a life-changing experience.

The time for grading reform is now. While the transition to standards-based practices may be challenging, it is essential for effective instruction and assessment. In this practical guide, the author outlines specific steps your team can take to transform grading and reporting schoolwide. Each chapter includes examples of grading dilemmas, vignettes from teachers and administrators, and ideas for bringing parents on board with change.

Bullying. Exclusion. Drugs. Alcohol. Body image. Self-esteem. Abuse. Divorce. Cutting. Depression. Suicide. Teens, their parents and the adults who work with them are confronted with these issues every day, but few have the tools or insight for how to deal with the mounting pressure and social dynamics that drive so many to hurt themselves and others. Having reached over 4 Million teens throughout the U.S. and Canada with TEEN TRUTH, their catalytic program and student driven film series, Christopher and Pohl have delved into the complex landscape that is the teen experience. With compelling personal stories from their experiences on the road, research-driven data that illustrates key concepts of social psychology, and hands-on exercises that explore why we do what we do, Christopher and Pohl provide teens and the adults who care for them with a well-structured, comprehensive tool for self-discovery. One part instructive, one part reflective and one part active, the TEEN TRUTH book is a recipe for change and a blueprint for building safer schools and healthier communities. This focused guide will:• help teens understand why they make the decisions they do• teach teens how to be more aware of their actions in group settings • illustrate the power of individual beliefs and their impact on relationships• give adults the tools to listen to and connect authentically with today's youthWe all have a choice in how we show up in the world. Christopher and Pohl aren't afraid to ask the critical question: if you're not being the difference, what are you doing?

The most trusted guide to school culture, updated with current challenges and new solutions Shaping School Culture is the classic guide to exceptional school leadership, featuring concrete guidance on influencing the subtle symbolic features of schools that provide meaning, belief, and faith. Written by renowned experts in the area of school culture, this book tackles the increasing challenges facing public schools and provides clear, candid suggestions for more effective symbolic leadership. This new third edition has been revised to reflect the reality of schools today, including the increased emphasis on high-stakes testing, federal reforms such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), state sponsored improvement programs, and other major issues that impact organizational culture and the role of school leaders. Each chapter features new examples and cases that illustrate persistent problems, spelling out key cultural implications and offering concrete examples of overcoming the challenges while maintaining a meaningful learning environment. The chapter on toxic schools continues to provide the field's most trusted advice on navigating this rocky terrain, and the discussion's focus on how to manage negativity remains especially integral to besieged school administrators across the U.S. Recent years have jolted the nation's school system with a number of new developments that spell problems for the cultural tapestry of schools. This book provides expert perspective and sage, doable advice for administrators tending to external pressures while sustainingor evolvinga more positive school culture. Navigate new challenges including Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and waning confidence and faith Turn around a toxic school culture with confidence and success Foster a culture of passion, purpose, and meaning Adopt a more active form of symbolic leadership to support students, faculty, staff, parents, and community Test scores as the primary metric, relentless reforms, waning public support, and timid initiatives wrapped in bureaucratic packaging: while among the most prominent issues administrators face are only the tip of the iceberg. Shaping School Culture charts a route through competing pressures to help educational leaders hew a positive learning environment for schools.

Busy administrators will appreciate this quick read packed with immediate, accessible strategies. This book provides the framework for understanding dynamic relationships within a school culture and ensuring a positive environment that supports the changes necessary to improve learning for all students. The author explores many aspects of human behavior, social conditions, and history to reveal best practices for building healthy school cultures.

When it comes to building a strong school culture, campus relationships can make or break the efforts of even the best administrators, teachers, and student leaders. When our needs are met, we can accomplish anything. But when drama seeps in and conflict rears its ugly head, those relationships that help build culture can just as easily rip it down. Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, JC Pohl, has spent nearly 20 years helping schools build campus cultures where relationships can thrive. In this book he lays out a powerful "needs based system" that provides the exact blueprint your school can use to build stronger relationships. The truth is we all have needs, and whether those are needs like appreciation, respect, and support, or things like encouragement, approval, and affection, JC has found that it is these core needs that serve as the building blocks of a healthy relationship. If you want to decrease staff conflict and increase campus relationships, dig into this book today. It will provide you with the perfect stepping stones to build an amazingly connected and vibrant school culture. "... presents a readable, simple, practical guide to help make our schools the kind of place where both students and staff want to be."- - Terry Hamm, Director - Texas Association of Student Councils "... gives adults the resources necessary to draw better connections and self-reflect on how we truly are 'better together'." - John Ashby, Ed.D., Principal - Sowers Middle School "...contains the perfect blueprint for creating a school culture that will benefit students as well as staff." - Valerie Pope, Assistant Principal - Weatherford High School FEATURING - 10 relational needs that foster strong relationships - Easy to understand examples that are applicable to campus life - Detailed information on the aspects of campus life that destroy relationships