Building Culture That Goes Beyond the Wall

 

The Ruckus Report Quick take: If your school has beautiful values painted on the walls but nobody's living them, you're running a theater, not a school. Jimmy Casas exposes the brutal difference between what we say and what we do.

Meet Your Fellow Ruckus Maker Jimmy Casas has been an educator for over 30 years, serving twenty-two years as a school leader. Under his leadership, his school was named one of the Best High Schools in the country three times by Newsweek and US News & World Report. Jimmy was named the 2012 Iowa Secondary Principal of the Year and was selected as runner-up NASSP 2013 National Secondary Principal of the Year. In 2014, Jimmy was invited to the White House to speak on the Future Ready Schools pledge. Jimmy is also the author of ten books, including the Washington Post's best-selling book CULTURIZE: Every Student. Every Day. Whatever It Takes, which has sold over 350,000 copies to date. Jimmy is the owner and CEO of J Casas & Associates, where he and his team serve as professional leadership coaches for school and district leaders across the country.

Breaking Down the Old Rules 🔨 In this episode, Jimmy Casas challenges traditional education paradigms:

Key Insight #1: Systems Beat Inspiration Every Time

• What's broken: Unorganized leaders who scramble and make their teams scramble, destroying credibility and culture

• The shift: Create systematic approaches like the "summer list" and culturized journal to capture what needs attention without losing momentum

• Impact: Leaders stay organized, teams trust the process, and nothing falls through the cracks

Key Insight #2: Culture Is Behavior, Not Posters

• What's broken: Schools with beautiful mission statements on walls but no observable evidence of those values in action

• The shift: Ask "When I walk into your classroom, what will I see that tells me you're building relationships with kids?"

• Impact: Intentional observation leads to measurable culture change and real student achievement

Key Insight #3: Excellence Is Your Responsibility

• What's broken: Settling for average because it's easier and letting others pull you down to status quo

• The shift: Walk in every day believing you can make an impact and help others find their way back when they lose direction

• Impact: Leaders create environments where children look forward to class and adults look forward to work

Quotable Ruckus "Don't let anybody take away your excellence because the world is full of average." – Jimmy Casas

Your Do School Different Challenge Ready to implement these ideas? Start here:

1. Tomorrow: Start a "summer list" with your team - every time something comes up that needs deeper attention, add it to the list instead of letting it consume your mental energy

2. This Month: Pick one core value and define what you'll actually observe when you walk into classrooms - what will kids be doing? What will teachers be doing?

3. This Semester: Create your own reflection system (jour