2026 Conference Archive

Culture Playlist: What's on Repeat at Your School?

First Presenter's Highest Degree Earned

EdS

Year First Presenter's Degree Was Awarded

2013

First Presenter's Field of Study

Education Leadership

Institution Where First Presenter Received Highest Degree

Albany State University

First Presenter's Institution

Dougherty County School System-Monroe High School

First Presenter's Brief Bio and Description of Credentials for This Presentation

Louis Cobb, Jr. is the author of Leading and Learning: Confessions of an Assistant Principal and a nationally recognized thought leader in school leadership, restorative practices, school safety, and academic culture. As Restorative Practices Coordinator for the Dougherty County School System (Albany, GA), he leads initiatives that strengthen climate, reduce disciplinary incidents, and build stronger relationships among students, educators, and families. With over 24 years in education, Cobb has served as an Assistant Principal, Director of Athletics, Literacy Coach, ELA teacher, and athletic coach. His work empowers assistant principals and aspiring school leaders to align safety, instruction, and culture for academic excellence. Through his signature frameworks, The Wheel of Teaching and Learning and the Teaching & Learning Readiness Rubric, he equips educators with practical strategies for sustainable success. Connect with him on TikTok and Instagram @louiscobbjr and YouTube @TheAPCoach.

Location

Scarbrough 4

Document Type

Individual Presentation

Primary Strand

School and District Leadership

Relevance to Primary Strand

This session equips assistant principals and school leaders with practical, actionable strategies to strengthen leadership capacity and improve school climate, culture, and safety. Participants will learn how to:

  • Build leadership skills grounded in emotional intelligence, effective communication, and conflict resolution to create environments where students and staff feel valued, supported, and safe.

  • Empower all staff members to lead from their positions while fostering shared ownership for student achievement, behavioral support, and schoolwide safety practices.

  • Use data intentionally to identify emerging needs, guide leadership decisions, and measure the impact of interventions that enhance both safety and school culture.

  • Adopt wellness-centered leadership practices that prioritize staff morale, strengthen collaboration, and build collective resilience across the school community.

By aligning leadership development with school safety and culture, participants will leave prepared to lead systems that are safe, connected, and academically focused.

Alignment with School Improvement Plan Topics

Climate and Culture

Brief Program Description

Every school has a “playlist”… the daily habits, relationships, and routines that shape its culture. In this session, participants will learn how to remix their school’s “Culture Playlist” by aligning academic achievement with social and emotional development, creating spaces where all students feel seen, supported, and inspired to succeed.

Summary

This session introduces a practical framework for strengthening school culture by aligning academic achievement with social and emotional development. The session emphasizes how a positive school culture drives student engagement, supports teacher effectiveness, and fosters authentic connections among students, staff, and families. Participants will explore actionable strategies to create environments where all students feel valued, supported, and motivated to succeed.

The session begins by examining the role of academic leadership in shaping school culture. Participants will learn how to align vision, purpose, and daily practices to strengthen teaching and learning readiness. Strategies include designing collaborative leadership structures, connecting culture-building efforts to student achievement data, and creating systems where administrators, teachers, and students work in alignment toward shared goals. Attendees will also explore tools for monitoring academic progress alongside climate and culture indicators to inform schoolwide decision-making.

The second focus centers on social and emotional development as a driver of belonging and student success. Participants will examine methods for fostering inclusive practices where every student feels seen, valued, and supported. Practical tools for integrating social and emotional learning (SEL) into instruction and relationship-building will be shared, along with strategies for creating intentional systems that strengthen teacher-student connections and reduce classroom conflict.

By combining Head and Heart, this framework equips school leaders with models, methods, and routines that enhance academic achievement and promote emotional wellness. Participants will leave with a set of customizable tools to assess their current culture, implement effective practices, and build collaborative systems where students can think deeply, feel connected, and lead confidently.

This session provides leaders with a roadmap for creating sustainable, student-centered cultures where academic success and emotional well-being work together to prepare learners for lifelong achievement.

Evidence

1. Power of School Culture & Climate

  • A positive school climate, defined by trust, belonging, and relational support, is strongly linked to higher academic performance, improved engagement, and reduced behavior issues. Research underscores that students who feel connected achieve more academically and participate more meaningfully in school life.

  • Enhanced school climate also correlates with fewer disciplinary referrals and overall improved school functioning.

2. Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) as a Catalyst

  • Extensive meta‑analyses show that evidence-based SEL programs consistently yield positive outcomes, including academic gains, better social behaviors, reduced conduct issues, and improved emotional well-being across demographics and grade levels.

  • SEL fosters empathy, emotional regulation, and collaboration, all skills foundational to thriving school culture.

3. Restorative Practices & Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports

  • Implementing restorative practices contributes to constructive school climates by reducing bullying and disciplinary incidents.

  • Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) frameworks offer data‑driven, whole-school behavior strategies that reduce school crime, support positive conduct, and reinforce pro-social behaviors.

4. Integration of Climate, Culture, and Academic Leadership

  • Research supports that school climate improvements lead to stronger academic outcomes when tied to leadership, shared norms, and collective responsibility.

  • Culture-centered improvements (relationships, norms, and school engagement) foster prosocial behavior and academic achievement.

School-Based Outcomes: Evidence of Effectiveness

  • After implementing the culture-centered framework and protocols, our high school recorded zero incidents of weapons in the building.

  • We achieved the district’s lowest rates of referrals to the Student Disciplinary Tribunal and the fewest total disciplinary referrals overall.

  • Academically, our school posted remarkable, district-leading gains:

    • Algebra: +31-point improvement

    • U.S. History: +10-point improvement

    • Closing the Gap scorecard: 100

    • Progress scorecard: 100

These results attest to the effectiveness of aligning Head (academic leadership & systems) alongside Heart (SEL, belonging, restorative practice) and demonstrate that intentional focus on school culture translates into measurable success in behavior, engagement, and content achievement.

References

Learning Objective 1

Participants will be able to develop and apply a practical framework for strengthening school culture by integrating academic achievement with social and emotional learning to improve student engagement and overall success.

Learning Objective 2

Participants will be able to implement effective strategies to foster inclusive practices, enhance teacher-student relationships, and create collaborative systems that promote belonging and shared responsibility among all stakeholders.

Learning Objective 3

Participants will be able to evaluate and monitor school culture and climate using tools and data-driven approaches to assess current practices, track progress, and make informed leadership decisions that support sustained academic and social-emotional growth.

Start Date

6-1-2026 3:45 PM

End Date

6-1-2026 4:45 PM

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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Jun 1st, 3:45 PM Jun 1st, 4:45 PM

Culture Playlist: What's on Repeat at Your School?

Scarbrough 4

This session introduces a practical framework for strengthening school culture by aligning academic achievement with social and emotional development. The session emphasizes how a positive school culture drives student engagement, supports teacher effectiveness, and fosters authentic connections among students, staff, and families. Participants will explore actionable strategies to create environments where all students feel valued, supported, and motivated to succeed.

The session begins by examining the role of academic leadership in shaping school culture. Participants will learn how to align vision, purpose, and daily practices to strengthen teaching and learning readiness. Strategies include designing collaborative leadership structures, connecting culture-building efforts to student achievement data, and creating systems where administrators, teachers, and students work in alignment toward shared goals. Attendees will also explore tools for monitoring academic progress alongside climate and culture indicators to inform schoolwide decision-making.

The second focus centers on social and emotional development as a driver of belonging and student success. Participants will examine methods for fostering inclusive practices where every student feels seen, valued, and supported. Practical tools for integrating social and emotional learning (SEL) into instruction and relationship-building will be shared, along with strategies for creating intentional systems that strengthen teacher-student connections and reduce classroom conflict.

By combining Head and Heart, this framework equips school leaders with models, methods, and routines that enhance academic achievement and promote emotional wellness. Participants will leave with a set of customizable tools to assess their current culture, implement effective practices, and build collaborative systems where students can think deeply, feel connected, and lead confidently.

This session provides leaders with a roadmap for creating sustainable, student-centered cultures where academic success and emotional well-being work together to prepare learners for lifelong achievement.