A safe school environment minimizes disruptions and prevents violence, bullying, fear and discrimination. It clearly communicates behavioral expectations and consistently enforces consequences. The prevailing culture or climate of a school significantly impacts all aspects of the learning environment. Both toxic and positive cultures are described, with positive cultures celebrating achievement, modeling good behavior, and engaging students in meaningful ways. Specific strategies are provided for building positive school culture, including establishing traditions, professional development for teachers, and maintaining the physical environment of the school.

2. A safe school is one where teaching and
learning are not distracted; disruptions are
minimized; violence, drugs, bullying and
fear are not present; students are not
discriminated against; expectations for
behavior are clearly communicated; and
consequences for infractions are
consistently and fairly applied.

3. four types of learning environments
* student- or learner-centered
* knowledge-centered
* assessment-centered
* community-centered

4. school culture

5. Culture
Ethos
Atmosphere
Climate

6. the prevailing atmosphere
in your school will affect
everything that goes on
inside its walls

7. TOXIC
vs
POSITIVE

8. * staffs are extremely
fragmented
* the purpose of serving
students has been lost to the
goal of serving the adults
* where negative values and
hopelessness reign
Realizing a Positive School Culture, 1998

9. “staff fails to
figure out what's
needed to
cultivate the
characteristics
necessary for
student growth
and learning."
Transforming School Culture: How to Overcome Staf

10. 11 Proven Ways
to Build a Positive
School Culture

11. 1. Create
meaningful
parent
involvement

12. 2. Celebrate
personal
achievement and
good behavior

13. 3. Establish school norms
that build values

14. 4. Set consistent
discipline

15. 5. Model the behaviors you
want to see in your school

16. 6. Engage
students in
ways that
benefit them

17. 7. Create
rituals and
traditions that
are fun for
students and
teachers

18. * First Day Treat
* Teachers Day
* Family Day
* Christmas Program
* Love in Action Day
* 100 Days of Kindness
* Pep Rally

19. 8. Encourage innovation in the
classroom

20. 9. Professional
development for teachers

21. * Monthly Seminars/PDS
* Class Observation with Post-Observation Chat
* Mentoring
* Reading and Video Resources
* Recollection
* Guided Prayer
* Holy Mass
* Retreat

22. 10. Maintain the
physical environment
of your school

24. 20 TIPS FOR
CREATING A
SAFE
LEARNING
ENVIRONMENT

25. 1. Community Build
All Year Long.

26. 2. POST
STUDENT
WORK.

27. 3. HAVE NON-
NEGOTIABLES.

28. 4. ADMIT
WHEN YOU
DON'T KNOW.

29. 5. READ WITH
YOUR
STUDENTS

30. 6. REMAIN
CALM AT ALL
TIMES.

31. 7. TAKE EVERY
OPPORTUNITY
TO MODEL
KINDNESS.

32. 8. CIRCULATE.
CONNECT.

33. 9. ADDRESS
GRUDGES
EARLY ON.

34. 10. WRITE
WITH YOUR
STUDENTS.

35. 11. MODEL
VULNERABILITY.

36. 12. FOLLOW
THROUGH WITH
CONSEQUENCES.

37. 13. SMILE
OFTEN.

38. 14. USE EVERY
OPPORTUNITY TO
MODEL PATIENCE.

39. 15. GIVE KIDS
A CHANCE TO
PROBLEM
SOLVE ON
THEIR OWN.

40. 16. LAUGH WITH YOUR
STUDENTS.

41. 17. OFFER
OPTIONS.

42. 18. KEEP THE
VIBES GOOD.

43. 19. SIT WITH
YOUR
STUDENTS.

44. 20. ART AND
MUSIC FEED
THE SOUL.

45. The Essential 6
Rs of Bullying
Prevention
How to Create Safe, Caring, Moral Learning Climates
and Reduce Bullying on Our School Campuses
by Michele Borba, Ed. D.

47. 1. Set clear rules.
2. Teach how to recognize bullying.
3. Teach how to report bullying.
4. Teach how to respond to bullying.
5. Teach how to refuse bullying.
6. Replace current beliefs or
behavior.
The Essential 6
Rs

48. “Any failure to treat bullying, abuse
and violence seriously, because it
occurs between students, within
schools, is a violation of a child’s
human rights.”

51. A Growing Character Problem:
 School bullying
 Cyberbullying

55. 3 Secrets of Success
1.Staff involvement
2.Student involvement
3.Parent involvement

57. Social banter
Hurtful teasing
Mean, subtle body language
Aggressive physical behaviors, e.g. pushing, shoving,
kicking
Malicious gossip, e.g. online bullying, chat rooms
Sexual, gender, racist, religious harassment
Social exclusion – in person, electronic
Mobbing
Hazing
Extortion/bribery
Phone, cyber abuse
Damage to property
Physical violence
Use of weapons
Criminal act
Murder

62. –Johnny Appleseed
“Type a quote here.”

64. STRATEGIES

65. Teach Manners and
The Golden Rule
What you accept, you teach.
What you permit, you promo
te.

66. Teaching Courtesy
 I teach my kids to greet and thank the cafeteria
workers.
 The cafeteria staff say they always know when my
kids are coming through.
 My students have a very high level of self-respect—
because of the respect they show to other people.
—Molly Angelini, 5th-grade teacher

67. Effective Classroom Management

68. Be a Buddy, Not a Bully
Shirt

69. Stand Up to Bullying
Week

70. Student Justice Committee

71. Celebration of Service
Week

72. Give Recognition to:
1. Most Creative Outreach
2. Outreach with the
Greatest Impact
3. Best Organized
4. Outreach of the Year

73. Peer Mentoring for
Conflict Resolution

74. Bibliotherapy for the Victim

75. Involve Students in
Welcoming New Kids

76. WELCOMING FRESHMEN
 Seniors plan and lead a half-day
welcome for the new freshmen.

77. Character-Based Consequences

78. The 4 R’s
of Moral
Discipline

79. 4 R’s of Moral Discipline
RESPOND calmly
and assess the
child’s intention

80. 4 R’s of Moral Discipline
REVIEW why the
behavior is
wrong

81. 4 R’s of Moral Discipline
REFLECT on the
behavior’s effect

82. 4 R’s of Moral Discipline
RIGHT The wrong
by encouraging
the child to make
a reparation

83. 4 R’s of Moral Discipline
RESPOND calmly and assess the
child’s intention
REVIEW why the behavior is wrong
REFLECT on the behavior’s effect
RIGHT The wrong by encouraging
the child to make a reparation

84. Class Meetings

85. Cooperative Learning

86. FRESHMAN TRANSITION PROGRAM
 Older students are assigned as mentors to all
freshmen.
 The school trains the mentors.
 Mentors and their freshmen meet weekly.

87. BUDDY CLASSES
An older class is paired with a younger
class.
The buddy classes get together weekly or
bi-weekly.
The older kids read to their little buddies,
help them with their schoolwork, do a
special project together, and so on.

88. 88

89. 89

90. 90

91. 91

92. 92

93. Anonymous Compliments

94. 94
Anonymous Compliments
1. Each student draws the name of a classmate.
2. By the week’s end, the student writes an
anonymous compliment about that person on a
strip of paper, shows it to the teacher, and puts
it in the Compliment Box.
3. On Friday, the teacher posts all the
compliments on the bulletin board.

95. Good Deeds Journal

96. Teaching Empathy Through
Literature

97. Compact for Excellence
(Students Craft the Pledge)

98. Students Pledge

99. Some Samples
of Student
Pledges
Against Bullying

103. James Stenson
Children develop character by
what they see, what they hear,
and what they are repeatedly led
to do.

107. Empathetic Children Can
Recognize Feelings
1st Habit: Teaching emotional literacy to help
students recognize and understand the
feelings and needs of others

109. Empathetic Children Have a
“Moral Identity”
2nd Habit: Developing an ethical code so
students will adopt caring values that guide
their integrity and empathy to help others

111. Empathetic Children Understand
the Needs of Others
3rd Habit: Instilling perspective taking so students
can step into others’ shoes to understand another’s
feelings, thoughts and views

113. Empathetic Children Have A
“Moral Imagination”
4th Habit: Instilling a moral imagination so students
can use literature, films and emotionally- charged
imaged as a source of inspiration to feel with others

115. Empathetic Children Can Keep
Their Cool
5th Habit: Mastering self-regulation to help
students learn to manage strong emotions and
reduce personal distress so they can help
others

117. Empathetic Children Practice
Kindness
6th Habit: Developing and exercising
compassion to increase students’ concern
about the welfare and feelings of others

119. Empathetic Kids Think “Us” Not
“Them”
7th Habit: Cultivating collaboration to active
empathy and help students work with others
to achieve shared goals for the benefit of all

121. Empathetic Kids Stick Their Necks
Out
8th Habit: Promoting moral courage to
embolden kids to speak out, step in and help
others

123. Empathetic Kids Want to Make a
Difference
9th Habit: Cultivating altruistic leadership
abilities to motivate students to make a
difference for others, no matter how small it
may be, and become Changemakers

125. 8 CONCRETE STRATEGIES THAT
HELP RAISE CARING CHILDREN
UnSelfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed In
Our All- About-Me World

126. 1. Look Face-to-Face

127. A simple way to increase face
to face connection is to enforce
one habit: “Always look at the
color of the talker’s eyes.”

128. 2. Use More Emotion
Words

130. 3. Praise Caring
Actions

131. A study found that praising children’s
character traits rather than their behavior
helped them internalize caring as part of their
identities. The character-praised kids were
also more likely to be more generous than
those children who were told that they had
donated because they were expected to do.

132. 4. Use Discipline to
Redo Uncaring
Behavior

133. 5. Capture Caring
Moments

134. Make sure to display prominently
photos of your kids engaged in
kind and thoughtful endeavors so
they recognize that “caring
matters.”

135. 6. Use Real Events,
Books, and News

136. Help stretch your child’s
perspective-taking skills (the
cognitive part of empathy)
using spontaneous everyday
moments.

137. In books: “Take the bears’ side. How would
you feel if Goldilocks used your beds and
chairs without asking?”

138. In the news: “The cyclone destroyed most of
those children’s homes. What do you think
those kids are feeling and thinking? What do
you think we can do to help?”

139. In your family: “How does Dad feel hearing
that his mom is so sick?” Don’t overlook
asking: “I wonder if there’s a way we can
help?”

140. 7. Be a Caring Role
Model

141. One of the greatest questions to ask yourself
each day is: “If I were the only example my
child had to learn kindness and empathy, what
did she learn today?”

142. 8.Reflect On
Kindness

143. So instead of always asking, “What did you
learn today?” or “What grade did you get?”
include:

144. “What’s something you did
that was kind?”
“What kind thing did you see
someone do?”

145. “… children are hard-wired
to care, but their capacity
for empathy must be
nurtured …”

146. MANN RENTOY

147. www.characterconferences.com

148. NAME & TITLE OF THE SEMINAR
CATALYSTPDS@GMAIL.COM

149. FOR HANDOUTS,
please join us in
FaceBook:
GROUP: schools
of character

150. https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolsofcharacter/