How’s Your
Climate?
School culture lays
the foundation for a
culture of continual
improvement
16
Leadership
The passage of the Every Student
Succeeds Act in December, 2015 ushered
in a new paradigm for student achieve-
ment. The new paradigm now includes
non-academic indictors aimed at providing
a broader measure of student performance,
including:
• Student engagement
• Educator engagement
• Access and completion of advanced
coursework
• Postsecondary readiness
• School climate and safety
Educational reform is often singularly fo-
cused on student achievement and testing as
a result of the No Child Left Behind Act of
2002. Unfortunately, student/educator en-
gagement, access to advanced coursework,
and post-secondary readiness are often
viewed as separate. Instead of using a com-
partmentalized approach to these issues,
schools should be considering more compre-
hensive methodology.
For example, they need to consider school
climate as a foundation for all factors im-
pacting a school’s learning environment.
According to the Alliance for Excellence in
Education, school climate is connected to
the level of students’ engagement in course-
work, ultimately impacting student success
(2013). Student success creates a foundation
for advanced coursework and post-second-
ary readiness. The Alliance for Excellence in
Education suggests administrators examine
how the multiple issues included in the non-
academic indicators fit together under the
umbrella of school climate. What exactly
is school climate and how does it impact
teaching and learning, safety, relationships,
and the school environment? What are the
challenges faced by leadership regarding
school climate and where does one start to
improve the process?
School Climate defined
The National School Climate Center
defines school climate as “the quality and
character of school life based on patterns
of students’, parents’ and school personnel’s
experience of school life and reflects norms,
goals, values, interpersonal relationships,
teaching and learning practices, and organi-
zational structures”
According to the Alliance for Excellence
By: Dr. Nellie Meyer