West Virginia Office of Healthy Schools

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West Virginia Office of Healthy Schools
Positive School Climate and Culture
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Excerpt from 2007 State of the State Address

• I also plan to work closely with our states
  teachers on addressing the growing problem of
  classroom and student bullying. Schools should be
  places where you enjoy the process of growth and
  learning not places of fear and intimidation.
  For the protection of students, teachers and
  school service personnel alike, I will do
  everything possible to make our schools
  bully-free.
• Governor Joe Manchin III

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Union to push student discipline

• Charleston Gazette Wednesday January 03, 2007
• State teachers union plans to propose
  legislation this year that would help teachers
  get a better grip on student discipline,
  providing more state funds for alternative school
  programs.

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You must be Timmys dad. Im
Timmys teacher!
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Well, Timmy, it looks like youve just earned
yourself 10 Minutes in the cage with Mr.
Whiskers.
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(No Transcript)
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Typical Instructional Day
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WV Framework for High Performing School
Systems
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Emphasizes the importance of the Social Climate

• characterized by warmth, positive interest, and
  involvement by adults
• firm limits to unacceptable behavior
• where non-hostile, nonphysical consequences are
  consistently applied in cases of violations of
  rules and other unacceptable behaviors
• adults act as authorities and positive role
  models.
• Olweus, D., Limber, S. Mihalic, S.F. (1999).
  Blueprints for Violence Prevention, Book Nine
  Bullying Prevention Program. Boulder, CO Center
  for the Study and Prevention of Violence.
  http//www.colorado.edu/cspv/blueprints/model/chap
  t/BullyExec.htm

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A child in America

• Every 8 seconds a child drops out of school.
• Every 47 seconds a child is abused.
• Every 67 seconds a teenager has a baby.
• Every 7 minutes a child is arrested for a drugs
  offense.
• Every 30 minutes a child is arrested for drunken
  driving.
• Every 36 minutes a child is
  killed or injured by guns.
• Every day 100,000 American
  children are homeless.
• 2005 Source Book

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Healthy People 2010

• Schools have more influence on the lives of
  youth than any other social institution except
  the family, and provide a setting in which
  friendship networks develop, socialization
  occurs, and norms that govern behavior are
  developed and reinforced.

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Coordinated School Health Programs
Health Education

• Addresses all dimensions of health
• Develops knowledge, attitudes, and skills
• Tailored to each grade level
• Motivates students

Health Services
Community

• Preventative Services
• Education
• Emergency Care
• Referral
• Management of acute and chronic conditions

Develop partnerships among schools, families and
community groups. Individuals will share and
maximize resources and expertise in addressing
the development of healthy children, youth, and
their families.
Physical Education
Teacher Wellness

• Promotes lifelong physical activity
• Develops basic movement skills
• Develops physical fitness
• Enhances social and emotional ability

• Staff Activities
• Assessment
• Education
• Fitness

School Counseling/ Social Services
Nutrition Services

• Integration of
• Nutrition Education
• Nutritious and appealing meals
• Environment that promotes healthy dietary
  behaviors
• Food Safety

• Cognitive
• Emotional
• Behavioral
• Social Needs

• Individuals
• Groups
• Families

School Environment

• Provides a safe physical plant, as well as a
  healthy and supportive environment that fosters
  learning.
• Physical Climate
• Emotional Climate
• Social Climate

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Health Education
Refusal Skills

• Addresses all dimensions of health
• Develops knowledge, attitudes, and skills
• Tailored to each grade level
• Motivates students

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Physical Education

• Promotes lifelong physical activity
• Develops basic movement skills
• Develops physical fitness
• Enhances social and emotional ability

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School Health Services

• Preventative Services
• Education
• Emergency Care
• Referral
• Management of acute chronic conditions

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School Nutrition Services

• Integration of
• Nutrition Education
• Nutritious and appealing meals
• Environment that promotes healthy dietary
  behaviors
• Food Safety

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School Counseling/Social Services

• Individuals
• Groups
• Families

• Cognitive
• Emotional
• Behavioral
• Social Needs

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Healthy School Environment

• Provides a safe physical plant, as well as a
  healthy and supportive environment that fosters
  learning
• Physical Climate
• Emotional Climate
• Social Climate

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Teacher/Staff Wellness

• Staff Activities
• Assessment
• Education
• Fitness

staff serves as role models
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Community

• Develop partnerships among schools, families
  and community groups. Individuals will share and
  maximize resources and expertise in addressing
  the development of healthy children, youth, and
  their families.

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hat is Single School Culture?
W

• It is not a program but a way of organizing and
  running a school. It begins with shared norms,
  beliefs, values, and goals and results in agreed
  upon processes and procedures that produce
  consistency in practice.
• A Single School Culture results in consistency of
  both adult and student practices related to
• Behavior
• Achievement
• Climate

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What Do We Mean By Climate?

• Climate refers to the emotional atmosphere we
  generate around us some people refer to climate
  as the context of school.
• Climate involves the perception of stakeholders
  concerning the fairness, openness, friendliness,
  the ethos of caring, and sense of welcome of the
  school.
• Climate includes the level of orderliness of the
  school and the degree of satisfaction experienced
  within its organizational structure.

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What does Single School Culture for Climate
(SSC-A) Look Like in the Whole School?

• Connectedness to school is encouraged in a
  myriad of ways.
• At-risk does not predetermine the amount of
  success we can have in working with the student
  and that which the student can experience.
• Students are given valuable roles at school.
• Students are made to feel that I fit in here!

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What Are the Adult Processes for SSC-C?

• Identify the problematic practices and their
  impact on staff/student morale, achievement, and
  participation and what would good practices look
  like.
• Gain staff input and agreement to change
  practices for a set amount of time.
• Establish methods for coaching people who are out
  of compliance with agreed-upon practice.
• Make a long-term plan for establishing campus
  norms that support the healthy development of
  children

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Adult Strategies - cont

• Negate Risk Factors
• The conditions underlying the problems of alcohol
  and other drug use, teen pregnancy, delinquency,
  violence, and school drop-outs
• Conditions are not seen as causal factors
• They are conditions which increase the likelihood
  of an individual engaging in destructive
  behaviors

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Risk Factor Chart
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Protective Factor Chart
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What Does Single School Culture and Climate Look
Like in the Classroom?

• Teachers promote the effective resiliency
  attributes of
• -Social Competence
• -Problem Solving
• -Autonomy and Independence
• -Sense of Purpose and Future

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What Are the Teacher Strategies for SSC-C

• Confidence and competence are nurtured.
• Students are encouraged to give a genuine hand to
  others.
• Students believe that listening to them is a
  priority.
• Students know we care about them - we might not
  like their behavior, but them we like.

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What Might Be Our Goals in the Area of Climate?

• Maintain a community in school that reduces risk
  factors for students and promotes protective
  factors.
• Maintain a community in school that recognizes
  and values the contributions of all staff,
  students, and parents.
• Maintain a context that will move students up the
  ladder of achievement.
• Promote an atmosphere that encourages positive
  relationships between all stakeholder groups
  (administration/teacher, teacher/teacher,
  teacher/student, student/student).

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How Will We Assess Progress in the Area of
Climate?

• Climate surveys
• Reduced conflicts
• Decreases in absentee rate
• Increases in informal socialization
• A sense of community is evident
• Is it starting to look and feel like we imagined
  it could be?

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Further Evidence

• Whole School
• Creates an inclusive environment
• Creates a sense of community that supports,
  recognizes, and respects differences
• Makes students want to come to school and
  participate
• In the Classroom
• We understand that we are in the social and
  emotional development business not just the
  academic development business

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Single School Culture for Climate

• In the Classroom (continued)
• We understand that students need to have
  pro-social skills to use as needed at schools and
  in life. These skills may be
• Problem-solving
• Non-violent conflict resolution
• Restraint of impulsiveness
• Peer refusal skills
• We recognize the valuable contribution students
  can make to their school and home community
  through
• Service Learning and Community Service
• Safe Schools Ambassadors / Mediation
• Student Government, Sports, the Arts, Character
  Education, Mentoring, etc.

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Student Assistance Teams (SAT)

• Policy 2510
• (Section 9.9)

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When do you intervene as an SAT?

• When even a small red flag goes up about a
  students behavior, its time for the SAT to take
  action.

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Nuts Bolts The Plan

• Systemic Approach
• Behavior Identification
• Definition of Violence
• Consistent Classroom Management System
• Teacher Actions
• Support Services
• SAT Meetings
• Referrals
• Developmental Guidance
• Parent Involvement
• Student Agendas/Planners
• Conduct Grade
• Meaningful Alternative School Program
• Surveys and Data Collection
• Positive Behavior Programs