The School Climate Challenge: Narrowing the Gap Between

Practice leaders —building and districtleaders — mustbecome aware ofscientifically sound waysthey can measure andimprove school climate.Summary of Recommendationsfor PolicymakersPolicymakers must become more aware of schoolclimate research and the importance of positiveschool climate. There are compelling reasons why K-12schools need to evaluate school climate in scientificallysound ways and use these findings to create a climate forlearning. Policies are needed to: Define school climate in ways that are aligned withrecent research. Recommend that schools routinely andcomprehensively evaluate school climate,recognizing student, parent and school personnel“voice” as well as all of the major dimensions (e.g.safety, relationships, teaching and learning and theenvironment) that shape school climate. Create standards for school climate assessmentprocedures and guidelines for selecting a schoolclimate measure. Use school climate assessment as a measure ofaccountability. Ensure credential options maintain high-qualityschool climate related standards for educators andschool-based mental health professionals in generaland administrators in particular. Encourage teacher preparation programs that giveteachers and administrators the tools to evaluateclassroom and school climate and take steps to usethese findings to promote a climate for learning inour schools. Increase research on the evaluation and improvementof school climate.Summary of Recommendationsfor Practice LeadersPractice leaders — building and district leaders — mustbecome aware of scientifically sound ways they canmeasure and improve school climate. Although the majorityof educational leaders appreciate the importance of schoolclimate, they often use “home grown” school climate surveysthat have not been developed in scientifically sound ways.And, this data is not used systemically to build communityand improve school climate. Practice leaders need to: Learn about the range of comprehensive schoolclimate assessment tools that have been developedin scientifically sound ways, encourage and supporttheir use. Learn about the range of ways these evaluationfindings can be used to build community ingeneral, promote student, parent and communityparticipation in particular, and create evidence-basedinstructional and systemic action plans. Create a network of schools and communitiescommitted to evaluating and improving schoolclimate to develop “centers of excellence” others canlearn from. Consider joining learning forums where theycan be teachers and learners together regardingcommon barriers and solutions to school climateimprovement efforts. Contribute to ongoing action research that willsupport continuing efforts in the field to learn aboutbest practices. Contribute to the development of case studiesthat illustrate the complexity of school climateimprovement efforts.14