Performance in practice
Van wert city schools
From Drifting to Aligned: How Van Wert City Schools Changed Its Culture
At Van Wert City Schools, a sustained approach to leadership and culture is helping create greater stability, stronger alignment, and shared ownership across the district.
van wert, Ohio
Mark Bagley did not step into the superintendent role at Van Wert City Schools under ordinary circumstances.
A lifelong Van Wert resident, Bagley had grown up in the district, returned as a teacher and coach, moved into administration, and eventually became superintendent. He knew the community deeply. He also knew the district needed stability.
Van Wert had experienced multiple leadership transitions in a short period of time. Then COVID hit.
“We had had two superintendents over three years,” Bagley said. “I felt like we were just kind of drifting because we didn’t have stable leadership.”
For Bagley, the challenge was clear: help steady the district, rebuild connection, and move Van Wert forward.
mark bagley sits in the administrative building conference room
A District Looking for Stability
Coming out of COVID, Van Wert was navigating the same pressures facing school systems everywhere.
Students had spent extended time away from classrooms. Staff were carrying their own stress and uncertainty. The district was returning to in-person learning, but the environment felt different.
“We knew we had to do something to promote positive culture,” Bagley said.
What they did not want was another short-term initiative.
The leadership team was not looking for a one-day motivational event or something that would disappear as soon as the energy wore off.
They wanted something sustainable.
“A driving force that isn’t a fad,” Bagley said. “How could this culture become part of Van Wert City Schools?”
That question became the starting point.
More Than a Moment of Motivation
As Van Wert’s leadership team explored different approaches, Bagley was introduced to Focus 3 and the E+R=O framework.
He eventually connected with Focus 3 consultant Derek Avera.
Their first meeting was breakfast at a coffee shop.
“We hit it off right away,” Bagley said. “Our values were similar, our families were similar. I could tell that our own culture and our families were aligned.”
Avera was invited to work with the district’s administrative team at its next retreat. Together, they began developing a more intentional approach to leadership and culture, including Van Wert’s first Culture Playbook.
Bagley remembers the impact less as a single event and more as the beginning of a different way of working.
“He just kept on encouraging us and pushing us and making us think and making us grow,” Bagley said. “And that’s what we needed. We needed to be a team.”
That was also when the relationship started to move beyond a traditional consultant-client dynamic.
“That’s the year Derek became part of our team,” Bagley said. “That’s the year we bought into Focus 3.”
Turning Culture Into a Shared Responsibility
For Bagley, the work would only matter if it became bigger than one person.“Whenever you do any kind of program, it has to feel like it’s part of your makeup,” he said. “It’s part of what you believe. It’s part of who you are, what you do. It’s not something extra.”
Over time, Focus 3 principles such as E+R=O and Press Pause gave Van Wert a shared language for responding to challenges.
Press Pause, in particular, became practical.
Bagley described how students and staff were dealing with heightened anxiety after COVID. Rather than immediately trying to talk students in or out of what they were feeling, educators could give them time to regulate, listen, and respond more intentionally.
“Sometimes it’s just listening,” Bagley said. “Sometimes it’s just give them a chance to get themselves regulated.”
The same idea applied to teachers and district staff.
Culture, Bagley believed, had to start with the people leading it.
“The culture of our buildings as I walk the hall will never be higher than the adults,” he said. “The adults have to be the leaders. And our kids will follow.”
That is why ownership mattered so much.
“Our administrative team has bought in and they’re the ones driving the bus,” Bagley said. “It doesn’t have to come from one person.”
And it did not stop with administrators.
“It is our whole administrative team and quite frankly it’s every staff member in our district that buys into what we’re doing,” Bagley said. “And that’s what makes a community stronger, a school system stronger. That’s what makes us better.”
“Whenever you do any kind of program, it has to feel like it’s part of your makeup. It’s part of what you believe. It’s part of who you are, what you do.”
– mark bagley, superintendent, vwcs
cougar pride on display at van wert high school
Evidence That the Work Was Taking Hold
At first, Bagley said the evidence was largely anecdotal.
He could see it in the way students interacted with one another. He could see it in the way adults worked with students and with each other. He could hear it in the common language being used throughout the district.
“When I walk in the buildings and see the way kids are interacting with others, the way I see adults interacting with each other and with kids… that gets me fired up,” Bagley said.
His assessment remained grounded.
“We’re getting better. And that’s all we can do. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting better.”
By the 2025-26 school year, the district also had hard data.
At a May 2026 Board of Education meeting, Van Wert middle and high school leaders presented what they called “Evidence of Cultural Impact,” comparing behavioral indicators from 2024-25 with 2025-26.
40.4%
Decrease in Total Incidents
Overall behavioral incidents declined significantly year over year, reflecting measurable improvement across the district.
56.1%
Decrease in Office Referrals
Office referrals were cut by more than half, indicating fewer situations escalating to formal disciplinary action.
35.6%
Decrease in Teacher Referrals
Teacher referrals declined substantially, pointing to fewer behavioral issues requiring intervention.
25.7%
Decrease in Students With Referrals
Fewer students received behavioral referrals, showing that improvement reached a broader share of the student population.
Bagley views that as another positive sign.
“You want kids talking to professionals,” he said. “You don’t want them not talking to professionals. You want them engaged with professionals.”
He is also careful not to reduce the district’s progress to one program or one factor.
“You know what? This is part of the puzzle that’s helping us get better.”
“The culture of our buildings as I walk the hall will never be higher than the adults. The adults have to be the leaders. And our kids will follow.”
– mark bagley, superintendent, vwcs
“I Need Ya.”
Five years into the work, Van Wert was preparing for another season of significant change.
Several longtime employees were retiring. Roles were shifting. Hiring was beginning earlier than usual. Bagley knew the district would look different the following year.
“I sat and reflected and thought about what can we do to finish our year, to let our staff know it’s gonna be okay,” he said.
Van Wert had actually planned to take a year away from formal Focus 3 work.
Then Bagley called Derek.
“I said, Derek, I know we talked about not doing anything this year. We’re gonna take a break for a year based on lots of different factors. Nothing negative. But I need ya. We need you at Van Wert City Schools.”
Avera did not hesitate.
“I’m there.”
He returned to Van Wert with a message focused specifically on navigating change.
The presentation reinforced familiar Focus 3 principles while addressing the challenge directly in front of the district: Adjust and Adapt, respond with discipline instead of reacting on default, focus on what’s in your 20 Square Feet, and approach change with clarity and courage.
For Bagley, the moment reinforced what the relationship had become over five years.
“That was a powerful moment for us in our partnership with Focus 3 because I knew they were gonna be there for us.”
Mark bagley tours van wert high school
A Culture That Can Carry Forward
Van Wert’s story is not about reaching a finish line.
Staff members change. Students move through the district. New challenges arrive.
The goal is to build a culture strong enough to keep moving forward through all of it.
“Culture’s never ending,” Bagley said. “It’s a constant thing that you’re trying to get better at.”
Five years into the partnership, the work is no longer dependent on one superintendent, one consultant, or one training day.
The leadership team owns it.
The staff carries it.
And the district continues to work at it.
“We’re always growing. We’re always trying to get better,” Bagley said. “It’s not a fad. It’s not a gimmicky thing… it’s what happens in the day-to-day operation in our district that is gonna make Van Wert City Schools better.”
For Bagley, that is where the value of the partnership lives.
“If you want something that’s sustainable, that’s long term, that impacts students, can impact staff, can impact your community, Focus 3 is where you really get the value.”
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