Building positive school climate

1. Building A
Positive
School
Climate
Amy F. Cabfeo

2. Agenda
1. What is school climate?
2. Aspects of academic the
environment.
3. How do you assess your
school climate?
4. Developing a positive school
climate.
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3. Presentation Title 3

4. What is School
Climate
• School environments vary
greatly. Whereas some schools
feel friendly, inviting, and
supportive, others feel
exclusionary, unwelcoming, and
even unsafe.
• The feelings and attitudes that
are elicited by a school’s
environment are referred to as
school climate.
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5. What is School
Climate?
• Research suggests that school
climate directly affects the academic,
emotional, and mental states of its
students.
• The situation places an extremely
large amount of power and
responsibility over the lives of
thousands of children in the hands of
a few administrators.
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6. Aspects of
the
academic
environme
nt
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extra curricular
opportunities (outside
the classroom)
• increase sociability,
improve ties b/t
students • social
bonding leads to self-
control
• parent involvement
• more involved the
parent, more involved
the student
• educators
• position to influence
the future
• faculty
communication is key
• physical aspect of
the facility
• class size, smaller =
higher achievement
• smaller schools,
under 100 students
per grade
• aesthetics
• attractive in color,
pleasant furniture,
student work

7. How do you assess
your
school' climate?
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*climate is formed by individual
attitudes, behaviors, and group norms
* climate of a school is not necessarily
experienced in the same way by all of
its members- variability in individual
perceptions of a school’s climate
* individual characteristics may impact
these perceptions
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8. How do you assess
your
school' climate?
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• Instruments for examining
perceptions of school climate: the
Elementary and Middle School
Climate Survey, the Quality of School
Life Scale, and the Elementary
School Environment Scale
• Findings provide a glimpse into how
students feel about the school’s
climate and allow school personnel to
take the initial steps to improving their
quality.
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9. School Survey
• Survey data provides objective
information on school climate from
diverse populations (i.e., students
staffs, parents)
• Survey data can provide critical
information for School Safety/School
Climate team to use to fulfill
requirement to improve school climate
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10. How do you change your School
Climate?
• • Know Your School Climate
• • Leaders Model Positive Attitude
and Set Expectations
• • Build Positive School Climate at
the Teacher Level
• • Build Positive School Climate at
the Student Level
• • Involve Parents and Community in
Building a Positive School Climate
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NC-ND.
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CC BY.
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CC BY-SA-NC.
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CC BY-SA-NC.

11. Developing a Positive
School Climate at the Staff
Level
• Adult happiness and
productivity = Student
happiness and productivity So
the question is:
• How do principals/leaders
keep adults happy and
productive?
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12. Developing a Positive School Climate at the Staff
Level
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1. SUPPORT NEW
TEACHERS.
2. CLUE INTO CLIMATE 3.
EMPOWER TEACHERS
4. RECOGNITION AND
REWARD
5. DON'T IGNORE
ADMINSTRATOR
MORALE
6. DEAL WITH
STUDENT DISCIPLINE
7. TREAT TEACHERS
AS PROFESSIONALS
8. ASK TEACHERS
WHAT IS GOING ON
9. KEEP FACILITIES
TIDY
10. DEVELOP AN
EMOTIONAL IQ

13. Be Present
Make Their Day
Choose Your
Attitude Play
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14. • Research has shown that schools
implementing supportive
and positive school climate
strategies are more successful in
creating environments conducive
to learning.
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15. Developing a Positive
School Climate at the
Student Level
• • The important thing is
not so much that every
child should be taught, as
that every child should be
given the wish to learn. --
John Lubbock
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16. Increasing
• a student's self-
esteem will result in
increased achievement
• Increasing a
student's achievement wi
ll result in increased self-
esteem
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17. To create a positive climate
for learning, students
must experience
*Mutual respect in the
classroom
*A strong academic
curriculum
*A strong behavioral
curriculum
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18. Academic and Behavioral Mentoring
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• OPPORTUNITIES
FOR
COLLABORATION
• STUDENT
LEADERSHIP IN
THE CLASSROOM
• A PLEASANT
PHYSICAL
ENVIRONMENT
• A STRONG
SENSE OF
CONNECTEDNESS

19. Education is not
filling a pail but the
lighting of a
fire.
William Butlers Yeats
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20. Ensure that ALL students feel valued and
supported by:
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• Establishing clearly
defined schoolwide
behavior expectations
rather than rules. ("We are
the HAWKS")
• Actively upholding the
right of every student to a
safe learning environment.
(anti-bullying policies)
• Establishing a proactive
rather than a reactive
approach to discipline.
• Holding class meetings
where everyone can speak
openly about concerns and
celebrations.

21. Ensure that ALL
students feel valued and
supported by:
• • Having high expectations both
academically and socially (no excuses
allowed!)
• • Acknowledging positive actions. (Talon
Tickets)
• • Recognizing and building on the strengths
and accomplishments of your school
community. (have celebrations!)
• • Implementing a restorative justice
approach to handling discipline problems
that do occur. This approach seeks to heal
the whole child by making things right for
the victim, the offending child, and the
school community. (restoring and building
relationships)
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22. Ensure that ALL students
feel valued and supported
by:
• Creating opportunities for students to
share their talents (talent shows, show
cases, peer tutoring)
• Knowing every child by name (hallway
greetings, building buddies, save-one-
student)
• Implementing character education
(guidance lessons, student recognition)
• Providing an atmosphere of respectful
and positive interactions.
• Providing opportunities for service
projects
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23. Developing a Positive School
Climate at the
Parent/Community
• Level A positive school
climate welcomes and
encourages parental and
community involvement.
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24. Guidelines for
Involving Parents
• Develop a plan to promote parent
and community involvement
• Foster a climate of hospitality and
openness
• Focus on the needs of the
parents/community
• Build a personal knowledge base
about stakeholders
• Target specific persons to tasks
• Take advantage of casual encounters
with parents/community members
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25. Guidelines for Involving Parents
• Train teachers to use parents and community members
effectively
• Respect cultural sensitivities
• Avoid using every parental encounter to discuss their child's
progress
• Show your commitment to parent involvement by
demonstrating you care
• Celebrate the accomplishments of parents and community
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26. Results of Parental Involvement
• • Parents and community members will feel welcome in the schools
• • Community attitudes about school are positive
• • Build collaborative relationships between stakeholders
• • Everyone shares responsibility for the mission
• • Opportunity for reflection and evaluation
• • This effort will lead to a positive school climate that is sustainable
•
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27. • The Impact of Parental Involvement
• Building a school community begins with the
assumption that parents are part of the enterprise.
Therefore, parents who are most actively involved with their
children, with each other, and with the school become the
problem-solvers and the tacticians in increasing the level of
involvement of the other parents. Sam Redding
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28. • Perceptions are interconnected with
school's attempt to involve parents.
"Parents' attitudes about the quality of
their child's school are highly correlated
with the school's practices to involve
parents. Parents who became involved
at home and at school say that the
school has a postive climate. But even
more so, parents who believe that the
school is actively working to involve
them say the school is a good one"
Darber and Epstein
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29. Summary
"School climate can be a
positive influence on the
health of the learning
environment or a significant
barrier to learning"
(Freiberg, 1998) A postive
school climate can start with
one person... YOU!!!
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30. Thank you
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