schoolculturereport.com
Built from Teacher Voice

The School Culture Report 2026

A trends report about the changing state of school culture, as told by the educators and leaders in our schools today. Based on 33,144 educators’ Alpaca Pulse responses , 155 school and district leader surveys, and 38 leadership interviews.
33,144educator pulses 155leaders 38interviews
The Voices in this Report

A Trends Report Created by Teacher Voice

This report connects two things: how educators feel at work, and how leaders view school culture today. We built this through  33,000 pulse checkins with educators across the United States, 155 surveys with school leaders, and 38 in-depth interviews. 
Educator pulses
33,144
Teachers, staff, and support personnel checking in, in their own words.
District and school leaders
155
Plus 38 longer interviews with superintendents and principals.
Schools
280
Elementary, middle, and high schools.
States
35
Urban, suburban, and rural districts across the country.
Section 01 Key Findings

What we learned from educators & leaders

Reducing educator exhaustion while building meaningful relationships and connection at work is a tough balance. It is also the work ahead for leaders who are building strong cultures, and for educators who are looking for ways to improve their experience at work. Here's what we learned from them.
01 · Challenges

We see a predictable mid-year wall.

82% → 73%

Educator positivity drops from 82.0% in August to 72.7% by late November. Sentiment is most positive at the beginning of the year, but drops sharply before the holidays, and then again in February.

 

 

Source · Alpaca Pulse, Aug 2025–Mar 2026
02 · Bright Spots

Teachers feel positive about their growth.

85%

85% of educator feedback in the area of growth was positive. Top words educators used this school year included "growing," "learning," and "progressing."

 

 

 

 

Source · Alpaca Pulse, Aug 2025–Mar 2026
03 · Needs

What helps the most? Support for health.

93%

When asked what helps the most, 93% of teacher requests revolved around health. The top requests:

Time for wellness
Time to talk and recharge
Weekly feel-good moments
Quick support check-ins

Source · Alpaca Pulse, Aug 2025–Mar 2026
Section 02 What's Inside

Real insights + ideas to try now 

The School Culture Report moves from how teachers are experiencing the work, to how leaders see culture today, to how great leaders are building strong culture through their leadership practices.
Section 1

In teachers' words.

We'll show you the real words educators use most to describe work, what they need, and where the bright spots are. 

Section 2

The leader's view.

155 leaders across 35 states share about what's changing, what's harder, and what's getting better, in their schools.

Section 3

The leadership practices.

Across ten leadership practices, we'll show you what great leaders are doing every day to win with their teams.

10

Leadership practices that shape school culture.

Find insights, usable ideas, and inspiring stories from real leaders who are shaping their school and district culture in creative and innovative ways. 

Meetings and Gatherings
1:1 Management
Presence and Visibility
Communications
Recognition and Reward
Shared Decision Making
Professional Learning
Employee Wellbeing
Performance Management
Conflict Resolution
"Culture is not optional."
Maria Libby · Superintendent, Five Towns CSD, Camden, Maine
Section 03 Voices From the Report

The educators doing the work, in their own words.

A preview of the teacher and leader voices in this report.
Published by Alpaca

Let's make school the happiest place to work.

Alpaca is a school leadership platform powered by teacher voice. We help principals and district leaders turn teacher feedback into clarity, celebration, and culture-building action, with real-time pulse checks, supportive resources, and turn-key teacher recognition.

The School Culture Report 2026 is our first report on the work happening in education across the country, built entirely from the voices of the educators and school leaders across the country. 

Culture is the work. We built a platform for it.

Alpaca is a school culture platform used by school and district leaders to listen to their school teams with pulse check-ins, support their staff with simple school culture resources, and celebrate their teams with teacher recognition programs. Today, Alpaca supports 350+ schools and districts in 40 states in the US.

Learn more about Alpaca
Get The School Culture Report 2026. Free PDF and dig into all the data, key findings, and how to use it in your district.
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