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Purpose: As educators across the globe are tasked with taking teaching online, this paper shares a culture-centered approach to transitioning to education at a distance. Specifically, in this essay, a focus is placed on how one school preserved their collaborative culture among administrators, teachers and staff. The purpose of this paper is to provide guidance to school leadership during this public health crisis. Design/methodology/approach: To ensure trustworthiness in this naturalistic inquiry, a triangulation was made of contributing authors' perspectives to present theory-informed insights. Findings: This school's transition to online education was guided by a shared goal to not only move content online but also a rich participatory culture among staff. Critical forms of participation and community practices are presented that were pivotal in supporting teachers through the transition. Insights equip school leaders and administrators potentially remaining online, at least in part, through the next school year. Practical implications: Schools undergoing the shift to teaching online should attend to cultural shifts and create conditions in which staff members can collaborate at higher levels. Originality/value: New administrator-level insights are contributed regarding the organizational shift to teaching elementary school online, a minimally researched topic.