The document discusses the Positive Climates for Learning initiative in the York Region District School Board (YRDSB). It outlines the mandate to create Safe Schools Teams and describes the Positive Climate for Learning Teams, which include members from the school and community. The initiative aims to promote prevention and awareness strategies through anonymous climate surveys, sharing results with teams, and ensuring access to curriculum and resources. A positive climate is defined as inclusive, equitable, respectful, safe and caring. The Positive Climates for Learning team will support school-based teams through resources, training, and collaboration with other programs to build capacity for social-emotional learning.

1. Positive Climates for Learning

2. Team members:
Barb Harold, Co-Coordinator
Pam Turnbull, Co-Coordinator
Susan Dickson, Transition Consultant
Jan Kielven, Positive Climates for Learning Specialist
Barbara Klerer-Goldenberg, Positive Climates Consultant
Scott Milne, Research
Steve Rensink, Positive Climates for Learning Specialist

3. Positive Climates for Learning Teams
 Ministry Mandate to create Safe Schools Teams
(PPM 144)
 These teams are responsible for School Safety
 In YRDSB: Teams will be called Positive Climate for
Learning Team
 Membership Includes:
Community Partner
Student
Principal
Parent
Teacher
Staff Member Chair
Non-teaching staff member

4. Ministry Mandate:
Prevention and Awareness
Boards must develop and implement strategies that
prevent barriers to safe and inclusive schools i.e ---
Boards must:
 aim prevention strategies at all members of the school community
(i.e., homophobia, gender-based violence, safe internet use, etc.)
 engage school councils and student councils
 require schools to conduct anonymous school climate surveys of
students every two years
 require sharing of survey results with school Safe Schools Teams
 Maintain up-to-date contact list of agencies/organizations
 ensure that all publicly-funded schools provide access to Public
Health Units to deliver their mandated public health curriculum
 make contact list available to staff / students of every school
4

5. What is a positive climate for learning?
• An inclusive, equitable, respectful, safe and
caring environment for all members of the school
community.
• An attitude or philosophy embedded in actions
that will ensure an engaging, motivating and
enabling learning climate to meet the needs of
each student

6. Why Positive Climates for Learning?

7. The Research Says….
• The aspects of cognition that we recruit most heavily
in schools, namely learning, attention, memory,
decision-making and social functioning, are both
profoundly affected by and subsumed within the
processes of emotion.
Mary Helen Immordino-
Yang, EdD (2001)

8. Positive Climates for Learning
A positive climate:
• is founded in the belief that each student
can achieve high expectations given the
right amount of time and support.
• (
(Literacy Collaborative Parameter One)

9. Why Positive Climates for Learning?
Links to the Board Plan:
1.2: help to inform the development and refinement of an
early years strategy to address the social, emotional
and cognitive readiness of the learner.
1.3: assist in building capacity in students’ social, emotional,
and academic engagement in the learning process so
as to show an increasing trend over baseline data.
3.1: provide support for schools as they implement the
Social, Emotional and Academic Learning (SEAL)
continuum

10. How does YRDSB support the building of
positive climates for learning?

11. How will the work be done?
• The PCL team will work with the mandated
school based safe school action teams
referred to as “Positive Climates for Learning”
teams
• These teams will serve as a conduit to staff
and students in each school who are doing
the prevention and awareness work that
creates positive climates for learning.
• The Regional PCL team will collaborate with
other system initiatives to provide a variety of
resources and training to support the work of
the school teams

12. How will the work be done?
• The PCL team will work with the mandated
school based safe school action teams
referred to as “Positive Climates for Learning”
teams
• These teams will serve as a conduit to staff
and students in each school who are doing
the prevention and awareness work that
creates positive climates for learning.
• The Regional PCL team will collaborate with
other system initiatives to provide a variety of
resources and training to support the work of
the school teams

13. Who will help?
The work being done throughout the system will be shared
with the
Positive Climates for Learning
Connections Committee
who represent:
• Psychology
• Social Workers
• Care and Treatment Programs
• Equity/Seeds Committee members
• Principals both Elementary and Secondary
• Guidance
• ELL
• Special Education
• Student Success
• Curriculum and Instructional Services
• Superintendents

14. PCL Training
Training will be differentiated to meet the needs
of individual school based teams and will
include e learning, blended learning and school
team training in areas such as:
•Positive Climates for Learning: An Integrated Approach
•SEAL: An in depth look at a social, emotional and academic
skill development tool
•The Respectful School: Bully Prevention and Teacher
Intervention Strategies
•Tribes Training
•Using a Restorative Mindset: A Classroom Focus
•Restorative Conferencing
•Risk and Resiliency
•Tools to Support the Development of Inclusive and Equitable
Schools and Classrooms
•Respectful, Equitable, Inclusive, Safe and Caring Schools
through Character Development

15. Team Reflection:
How does the concept of a positive climate for learning
link to your team’s work?
What can you do to explicitly embed the development of
positive climates for learning in your team’s work?
What are your next steps?