PATTERSON PARK PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL
Expanding an equitable, inclusive culture to the next school.
Patterson Park Public Charter School is nationally renowned for their culture, but preparing to launch a second school made them wonder if success can be replicated. We helped PPPCS codify the DNA of their culture, and even improve it for a changing world.
challenge
PPPCS is known for their thriving culture, but they struggled to define what makes it so great. As they prepared to launch a second school in a pandemic, they feared it wouldn’t embody PPPCS’ values or worse, start with a bad culture that harms their reputation.
INSIGHTS
Organizational culture often develops organically, but taking a scientific approach forces clarity, focus, and intention. When you can clearly articulate your vision, mission, and values, you can confidently model who you aspire to be.
Impact
We worked with PPPCS to define their leadership culture and write it in a brand playbook. This process gave the whole team a clear picture of who they want to be, so both locations are unified yet free to flourish in their own way.
“Giant Shoulders helped us get clarity during a time of rapid growth, working alongside us as we listened to our school community, staff, and board. They helped us understand our story and put words to our spirit and our culture.”
Jane Lindenfelser, Executive Director at Patterson Park Public Charter School
01 / Co-creation Workshops
Codifying a culture for future success
Opening a second location was an invitation for PPPCS to stop thinking of themselves as just a school, but rather as a network. To do this well, they needed a professional outside perspective that would help them understand how to carry the best of PPPCS over to a new school.
Our Future Visioning process helped their team take a high level view of the school’s history and culture. Instead of a top down approach, we involved the PPPCS community for greater diversity of ideas and stronger alignment. We helped them analyze what was already working while imagining what they could be. The result is a fully defined, aspirational culture that unifies the two schools -- and any future locations -- while still inviting room to grow.
02 / DEI and Culture
Adapting to cultural shifts
The COVID pandemic and conversations about racial injustice pushed PPPCS to take a good, hard look at who they are and who they want to be. Now more than ever, DEI goals and necessary growth areas aren’t just add ons, but necessary elements of their culture.
While branding is often about helping organizations understand who they are, we reframed their brand map and attributes around who they want to be. This aspirational framework is now incorporated into an evolving culture, one rooted in their history, their identity, and the values they want to embody.
“Giant Shoulders helped us re-word our mission statement to capture the equity lens and anti-racist spirit we are driven to achieve. We now have a Cultural Framework that guides conversations, culture, and marketing.”
Jane Lindenfelser, Executive Director at Patterson Park Public Charter School
03 / Brand Culture Playbook
Developing a brand guide for the whole organization
Defining the culture is only helpful if it’s actually put into practice. Our brand culture playbook is a specific, high-definition vision of the future, clearly written to model the organization’s goals.
PPPCS put the playbook into practice as they launched a new charter school in southeast Baltimore. With this playbook in hand, the new school’s leader was able to confidently hire the right people and lay the groundwork for a strong educational culture.
SERVICES RENDERED
Brand Strategy
Leadership & Culture Development
PROJECT TEAM
Tino Chow / Brand Strategy
Nick Rock / Brand Strategy
Amanda Rock / Cultural Strategy
Mike Valdes / Project Producer