With a bow tie collection as endless as his passion, Dwight Carter was the perfect Renaissance® leader to share his experiences with the term Staffulty (staff + faculty). His collaborative and innovative approach to school leadership led to his current position as Director of Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools and his induction into the Jostens® Renaissance Hall of Fame in 2010. Dwight is still a vibrant leader in education and as the Great Lakes Region Renaissance Champion.

If You Don’t Feed the Teachers, They’ll Eat the Kids

In a Q&A with the Renaissance team, Dwight Carter was eager to detail the positive impact the concept of Staffulty (staff + faculty) has had on his teams throughout his career. Read on to learn tried-and-true ideas to get your staff on board with the term and why it’s important to recognize every adult in the building.

Can you share your journey with Renaissance and how your roles/responsibilities have changed over time? 

My journey began in the late ‘90s when I was a teacher at Ohio’s Gahanna Lincoln High School and (Renaissance legend) Dr. Keith Bell was the assistant principal. He took me under his wing: we’d talk about education issues and life in general, and he eventually became my mentor. Though Gahanna Lincoln held school rallies and hosted breakfasts to recognize the students who received Renaissance cards, I didn’t know the depth of it at the time. I was fairly young and more focused on the classroom. I didn’t have a full understanding of it until I became assistant principal and Principal Mark White asked me to revive Renaissance at Gahanna Lincoln. I was immediately all in and leaned heavily on Dr. Keith Bell to learn all about the framework. A year later, I was told about the Jostens Renaissance Global Conference (JRGC). I went to my first conference in 2003 and it was phenomenal — my mind was blown. Because of my connection with Dr. Keith Bell, I met outstanding people like Dr. Steve Woolf and other “OGs” of Jostens Renaissance who took me in. I listened, asked questions and brought a lot of what I learned home. Back at Gahanna Lincoln, we got staff members on board, established a strong leadership team of students and took off with it. It was fun to watch them grow and see the impact it had on the entire building.

Dwight Carter joining other Renaissance educators for a panel at the Jostens Renaissance Global Conference in 2022.

Once I transitioned to principal, Renaissance spread from the high school to our three middle schools. At that point, we really wanted to emphasize Renaissance for our Staffulty. It was for everybody in the building, including our bus drivers and custodians. Everyone got to experience some of the things we offered as part of recognizing and rewarding behaviors you want to see.

When I joined Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools, where I am now, Jostens launched the Monthly Playbook. They put together a team of Renaissance leaders [to develop the content] and I was invited to join. I remember looking around the room of young educators and raising my hand to ask, “Am I the old head of the group now?” The group started laughing and said, “Absolutely.” Realizing that I’ve become for others what Dr. Keith Bell was for me, was a full circle moment. It was very emotional.

How has your understanding of Staffulty evolved throughout that journey?

Early in my career in my 20s we had students, staff and support staff. It’s not that people were treated differently, but they were put in categories. Once I heard the word Staffulty, I grew to understand that it’s a way of including every adult in the building and in the system who has an opportunity to impact students. Take bus drivers: they’re the first and last face of the district that kids see each day. They set the tone and create moments where kids can either have a positive or negative memory of their school experience. It’s very important that we train, take care of and celebrate our bus drivers, custodians, paraprofessionals, secretaries, cafeteria and support staff. Honoring each person’s dignity, regardless of their position, is what Staffulty is all about. It’s a small gesture, but the impact is huge.

As a leader, how has the concept of Staffulty shaped your management style?

When I was a teacher and a coach I had a really good relationship with our custodians. I would talk to them a lot in the evenings after practice and they would ask questions about the team. When I became an assistant principal and later principal, I noticed I was very student focused. If you’re too student-centered, you can be viewed as forgetting about the adults in the building. I recognized I didn’t have the same energy when it came to our staff, so I had to make a shift and became more student and Staffulty centered. If you don’t feed the teachers, they’ll eat the kids.

I stole this definition from educational leader and inspirational speaker Steve Bollar — culture is defined as the beliefs, norms, traditions and values that the adults model on a consistent basis. So, to improve school culture, you have to nurture every single adult in the building because they influence student behavior. We create positive experiences for our students. We celebrate the things that we respect and value in our day-to-day operations and recognize the adults who lead these initiatives.

Dwight Carter shared a powerful message surrounding mental health awareness during a RenTalk at the Jostens Renaissance Global Conference in 2019.

Did you see a shift in staff morale once you started focusing on both students and Staffulty?

Yeah, absolutely. There were two pivotal moments that I can remember. The first one was at Gahanna Lincoln High School and the second was at New Albany High School.

I stole this idea from Dr. Keith Bell: We had a party on the first day of school. We had a live DJ, our Renaissance kids decorated the foyer with streamers and we all wore noisemakers, glasses, necklaces and matching T-shirts. I remember thinking not every adult was going to do it because they didn’t have to, contractually, come in early before kids arrive. When I got there in the morning, I saw all the Staffulty lined up with their noisemakers and as soon as the buses rolled in, they went crazy. I knew the shift happened because one of our veteran teachers, who was really quiet and reserved but highly respected, stopped me in the hallway and to say he didn’t think it was going to work, but when he saw the kids’ faces, he knew it did. He even asked to do it again next year.

The second instance was when I was at New Albany. They typically only had one pep rally in four years, so we introduced additional Renaissance rallies. For our first rally, we had our choir and cheerleaders perform, held students versus Staffulty competitions and led crowd chants. The entire building loved it. From that point on we started having rallies once per quarter. Staffulty interest and involvement grew each quarter. We had dodgeball games, kickball tournaments and dance contests. I knew we were on the right track when our cafeteria staff asked to get involved, too. They wanted to participate in the next rally and even asked me about painting the cafeteria over the summer.

What advice would you give to schools about the word Staffulty?

Define it and use it often. If you start using Staffulty without defining it, it won’t stick and there can be some resistance since staff won’t know what it means or where it’s coming from. I would definitely advise talking about where it came from, what it actually means and why you’re shifting from staff and faculty to Staffulty. Introduce it at convocation, the first district meeting of the year or your next professional development, then use it in conversation and in email so it becomes part of the culture. I would also identify something the school’s already doing to recognize Staffulty like monthly birthday celebrations, so you don’t get any eye rolls. It’s not something new, you’re just rebranding it.

What’s a tried-and-true activity that’s been successful for you and your Staffulty?

Food. You can’t go wrong with food. Have a luncheon and invite every adult in the building to be a part of it. If you have a second shift, save some food and leave a plate in the fridge with a note. A little joy goes a long, long way. One of the things I did in New Albany was BYOB — bring your own banana. I stole the idea from Steve Bollar’s book, “Ideas Ideas Ideas.” We put bananas in all of the mailboxes and set up a sundae bar for our Staffulty. We served ice cream and all the trimmings in the staff workroom so that throughout the day they could come and make themselves a banana split. It was our way of saying we appreciate you, recognize you and thank you for being here. Everybody was a part of it, and it was well received.

How has your involvement with Renaissance impacted your personal growth and development?

I’m able to introduce my team of educators to people that I’ve connected with through Renaissance so that they can form their own relationships. It’s a fun thing to see since that’s what Dr. Keith Bell did for me. I have a desire now to do what was done for me because it was so beneficial. So, when I go to JRGC, I look for who’s new and I introduce myself. If they’re not with others I invite them to connect at sessions and over dinner. I make them a part of the team because that is how I was treated. Now I’m in a position where I can do the same for other people and I really enjoy making those connections.

Is there anything else you’d like to share that I haven’t asked?

Yes. I believe one of the best things that Renaissance has done is create regions. There have been several iterations over the last 25 years, but the current iteration is the most successful because there’s a lot of intentionality behind it. Each region has a go-to person, a Champion, and there are metrics tied to what it means to be a region and get recognized at JRGC. There’s a lot of friendly competition, especially with Facebook groups and people sharing ideas every day. It’s pretty cool. I think regions are a great way to bring this multi-day global conference of positivity, fun, excitement, joy and happiness back to reality on a smaller level. You work towards your goals with your region and continue the momentum you gained at JRGC.

It has been very powerful, and being the Great Lakes region champion is an honor. I’m really humbled by it. It’s been a great experience to get to know people and serve in a much larger capacity. We won Region of the Year this year and I was blown away. I had no idea it was happening. The celebration we had as a region afterwards was full of so much joy and excitement, it was a testament to all the hard work that they did throughout the year for students and Staffulty.

The Great Lakes region celebrates its 2024 Region of the Year award with a group photo at the Jostens Renaissance Global Conference this summer in Orlando, Fla.

Click here to learn more about Jostens Renaissance Education, view our resources and recognition opportunities for Staffulty and connect with your region.

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