School Climate and Culture

Centering Community Engagement in Collaborative School Design (EnCompass Academy)

May 31, 2022 by Nick Pishvanov

Family members play a crucial role in supporting positive school experiences for students. In this audiocast, you will hear how EnCompass Academy recruited parents to be active contributors of a school design process that sought to represent perspectives throughout the East Oakland community. This collaborative process led to the development of whole-child strategies that create a caring, supportive school climate while honoring cultural and community strengths.

Featured Speakers:

Ms. Amelia Rico, Student–Family Connections Coordinator
Brianna, 4th Grade Student
Minh–Tram Nguyen, Principal

View the transcript for this audiocast.

Download the EnCompass Brief.

Supporting Students’ Social and Emotional Connectedness During Remote Learning

February 12, 2021 by Laura Buckner

This practical guide from Project Cal-Well focuses on flexible and feasible approaches to supporting social and emotional connectedness during remote learning. It provides information and resources about easy to implement strategies for educators, students, and families to stay connected and foster a sense of community within a virtual classroom. The guide includes strategies for educators to:

Promote students’ feelings of being welcomed as part of a community
Foster peer-to-peer connections and relationships through classroom activities and independent assignments
Regularly check in with students about their mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing
Demonstrate flexibility, understanding, and willingness to communicate with students and their families

School Connectedness and Academic Achievement in California High Schools

October 26, 2020 by Laura Buckner

The CalSCHLS School Connectedness Scale is an important differentiator between low-performing and high-performing high schools and has value as an indicator of school quality. School connectedness appeared to have increased in California recently, but it still declined markedly after students left elementary school with a substantial majority of high school students not feeling highly connected to their schools. The lowest rates of both connectedness and test scores occur in low-income schools.

Are School-Level Supports for Teachers and Teacher Collegiality Related to Other School Climate Characteristics and Student Academic Performance?

October 26, 2020 by Laura Buckner

An analysis of California School Climate Survey data from school staff shows that supportive working conditions for teachers and teacher relationships with each other are related to school climate and student academic performance. The results suggest that providing teachers opportunities to engage in healthy, productive collegial relationships supports a positive school climate, improves conditions for learning for students, and improves student academic achievement.

School Climate and Academic Performance Across California High Schools

October 26, 2020 by Laura Buckner

School climate, as measured by the School Climate Index (SCI), is strongly related to state Academic Performance Index (API) scores. As SCI scores increase—as high schools became safer, more supportive, and more engaging—API scores increase as well.

Opportunities for Meaningful Participation in School

October 26, 2020 by Laura Buckner

Student interest, engagement, and motivation are fostered by providing students with opportunities to participate in meaningful, personally relevant activities in school. This factsheet addresses how these opportunities are related to student well-being and school climate improvement.

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Centering Community Engagement in Collaborative School Design (EnCompass Academy)

School Climate and Culture

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