​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

This page includes the following resources to support School Climate:

• Articles, Websites and Research           
• ​​​​Tools (Surveys, Self-assessments) 
• ​​​Presentations​

​​Articles, Websites, and Research
​​​Revised California MTSS Framework-July 2021 (1).pdf	The CA MTSS Framework helps schools and LEAs address each and every student’s academic, behavioral, social and emotional, and mental health needs through a fully integrated system of support. The CA MTSS Continuum of Support is grounded in Universal Design for Learning (UDL), differentiated instruction, Culturally and Linguistically Relevant Teaching, and integrated education implemented at all levels of support.​
​ Building Safe, Engaging and Equitable Schools  NEW	​American Institutes for Research website  includes reports, toolkits, and a quick guide to making school improvements.
​School Climate Research Summary	​Produced by the National School Climate Center.
National School Climate Standards	​The five National School Climate Standards provide a research-based framework and benchmark criteria for educational leaders (School Boards, State Departments of Education, Superintendents, Principals and After School leaders) to support and assess district and school efforts to enhance and be accountable for school climate.
​Opportunities for Meaningful Participation in Schools	​Students' well being and academic success differs according to the level of opportunities for student participation. Increased opportunities for participation positively correlates with academic performance, student connectedness to schools, and student perception of school safety.
​School Climate and Academic Performance across California High Schools	​The School Climate Index (SCI) has a direct relationship to the Academic Performance Index (API). As SCI increases, student API increases as well.
​School Climate and Mental Health	​A summary of literature that suggests that school climate can impact student learning and social, emotional, and psychological development.
​School Climate Improvement Process	​A helpful diagram on the key stages of the school climate improvement process.
​School Climate Research Gist List	​A brief collection of school climate research facts in relation to safety, teaching and learning, relationships, institutional environment, and school improvement.
​School Climate Matters	​A two-page brief article describing the research.
​Supporting Teachers Is Part of Positive School Climate	​Effective learning conditions for students must begin with effective working conditions for staff.
​Teacher Support: High Expectations and Caring Relationships	​Caring relationships and high expectations improves a student's academic success, decreases instances of truancy, and improves the perception of school safety.

                                                                                                                            
 

​​Tools (surveys and self-assessments)
SWIFT FIA 2.1 fillable_0.pdf	The Fidelity Integrity Assessment (FIA) ​is a self-assessment tool school teams utilize to monitor the progress of implementation of the CA MTSS Framework. The descriptors and examples provided in this tool are helpful when learning about the specific domains and features of the framework. The assessment results provide useful data to determine strengths and areas for opportunity which inform schoolwide decisions regarding priorities and areas for improvement.​
​​Schoolwide Implementation Tool .pdf	​The CA MTSS Schoolwide Implementation Tool (SIT) is a self-assessment comprised of macro (big picture) and micro (targeted) statements to be used after a school site completes the FIA for assessing their overall level of implementation of the CA MTSS Domains and Features. The CA MTSS Schoolwide Implementation Tool helps a school go deeper to understand how their school’s identity informs the organizational structures that support the approaches to learning that empowers student readiness. School Site Leadership Teams use this tool at the beginning and end of each Plan-Do-Study-Act rapid cycle of improvement to assess growth.​
​Data Dialogue Resources	​These are process templates to conduct data dialogues with school climate stakeholders using survey results.
​Fixed Discipline Mini Toolkit  NEW	​The Fix School Discipline Mini-Toolkit is a collection of resources for students, parents, community, advocates, educators and anyone interested in learning how to eliminate harsh discipline practices that push students out of school, and instead enact solutions that work for all students.  The Mini-Toolkit includes individual quick reference tools on important topics related to ending punitive discipline practices and improving school climate, such as The School to Prison Pipeline or Restorative Justice and Restorative Practices.
​Guidelines for Conducting Student "Fishbowl" Focus Groups	​Process developed by Dr. Bonnie Bernard to involve students in making school a place where they feel connected and contributing.
​Impacting School Culture: Examining Rituals, Traditions, & Ceremonies	​This learning activity presents a four-step process to examine a school's rituals and traditions for the messages they send to the whole school community.
​Inventory of Adult Attitudes & Behaviors: How Do You View Students?	​Does school staff view students as problems or problem solvers?  Here’s a tool to find out and can be a touchstone for a conversation.
​Quick Guide on Making School Climate Improvements NEW	​Quick Guide provides district and school leaders, teachers, school staff, and other members of the school community with the basics on how to initiate, implement, and sustain school climate improvements.
​Safe and Supportive Schools	​The USDOE Safe and Supportive Schools has a technical assistance website to support the improvement of conditions for learning for students and conditions for teaching for educators.
​School Climate Survey Compendia  NEW	​The National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (NCSSLE) maintains a compendium of valid and reliable surveys, assessments, and scales of school climate that can assist educators in their efforts to identify and assess their conditions for learning.
​USDOE School Climate Surveys	​High-quality, adaptable USDOE School Climate Surveys and associated web-based platform allows schools to collect and act on reliable, nationally-validated school climate data in real-time.​

​​​

​​Presentations​
​Ideal Destination ​​	​To support the implementation of a multi-tiered system of support, we must begin by focusing our efforts.  Schools and LEAs typically have a written destination or a goal statement; it is known as the vision statement. Mission statements elaborate on the steps to achieve the vision; they lay out academic goals, behavioral goals, social-emotional goals, community priorities, and the overall purpose of the school. The vision and mission statements allow stakeholders to have a common set of beliefs and a destination to move towards.​
​Data​	​Data is interconnected across the entire system of support. School site data (academic, behavior, social-emotional) drives improved student outcomes at the site level, which in turn informs the LEA of the initiatives that are leading to improved outcomes for all students within the community. Data from the LEA drives the array of resources, tools, and professional development that county, region, and state agencies provide. It is a whole system of engagement to promote equity and improved student outcomes for all students within the most inclusive environment.​
​Priorities​	​In order to achieve a Priority(ies), whether included in the district's LCAP or school site's SPSA plan, there are specific practices that are involved to achieve the priority. Practices are defined as purposefully selected interventions, actions, or collection of activities that lead to the accomplishment of the priority. ​
​Resources​	Schools and LEAs should begin by conducting a Resource Inventory to determine the current resources within a school. The Resource Inventory allows schools to be thoughtful and intentional about how to effectively utilize those resources to support students at each level of support. ​
​Character, Connectedness, Community and Cognition	​This presentation addresses the link between cognitive development and social-emotional-character development. It ​presents the elements of an intentional classroom community and the teacher-student relationship as the foundation of effective instruction.
​High Expectations and Meaningful Participation: What Do These Have to Do with Learning? (Archived Webinar)	​A school environment in which all students are nurtured and challenged helps foster greater attachment to school and student learning (Hattie, 2009; Klem & Connel, 2004).
​Impacting School Culture: Examining Rituals, Traditions, & Ceremonies	​A conference presentation about the impact of a culture of community on learning and student well-being, student connectedness, and the examination of a school’s rituals, ceremonies and traditions for the messages they send about core ethical values.
​Making the Case for the Importance of School Climate and Its Measurement in Turnaround Schools (Archived Webinar)	​This webinar was presented by the USDOE’s Office of Safe and Healthy Students’ Safe and Supportive Schools (S3) Technical Assistance Center and the School Turnaround Learning Communities presented the Webinar, “Making the Case for the Importance of School Climate and Its Measurement in Turnaround Schools," on September 20, 2012.
​ The School Experience: Risk or Protective Factor for Bullying?	​Four questions are addressed in this presentation: What is school climate and how does it impact student behavior? What school factors facilitate bullying behaviors? What school factors decrease bullying? What school-wide practices prevent and reduce bullying?
​School Climate Webinar Series	​Webinar 1: The “What” and “Why” of School Climate     Archived Slides Webinar 2: Measuring School Climate and Using the Data    Archived Slides Webinar 3: Best Practices for Improving School Climate   Archived Slides Learn about school climate national standards, criteria for selecting school climate measurement tools for LCAP, and best practices to improve climate. Presenter: Lucy Vezzuto, Ph.D., Orange County Department of Education​
​School Climate: Creating a Context for Positive Behavior Change​	​A keynote presentation for the yearly launch of the Orange County Dept. of Education PBIS Initiative.
​School Climate: The Missing Link in School Reform Efforts	​A presentation shared at the U.S. Dept. of Education Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools National Conference August 2011
​Promoting Authentic Student Voice	​Fully engage the power of your students to enhance and maintain a positive school climate.

​

​

​



​





​​