This reference manual identifies five overarching sets of activities for improving school climate, with the goal of improving student outcomes (e.g., achievement, attendance, behaviors, and skills). These sets of activities help to initiate, implement, and sustain school climate improvements. For each activity set, the manual presents a clear…

Students learn best when they are in environments in which they feel safe, supported, challenged, and accepted. In addition, environments that have strong school climates foster the social, emotional, and academic well-being of all students. Research shows that when schools and districts effectively focus on improving school climate, students are…

Improving school climate takes time and commitment from a variety of people in a variety of roles. This document outlines key action steps that school leaders--including principals, assistant/vice principals, and building leaders--can take to support school climate improvements. Key action steps are provided for the following strategies: (1)…

Improving school climate takes time and commitment from a variety of people in a variety of roles. This document outlines key action steps that instructional staff--including teachers, paraprofessionals, and others in the classroom who provide instruction or assistance--can take to support school climate improvements. Key action steps are provided…

Improving school climate takes time and commitment from a variety of people in a variety of roles. This document outlines how family members--including guardians of students--can support school climate improvements. Key action steps are provided for the following strategies: (1) Participate in planning for school climate improvements; (2) Engage…

The Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching initiative, which was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was a multiyear effort to improve student outcomes--particularly high school graduation and college attendance among low-income minority students--by increasing student access to effective teaching. The RAND Corporation worked…

In the summer of 2015, The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation released an education data tool, EdWise, that made publically available much of the data about public education that had been released by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). EdWise is a rich source of aggregate, grade level information on student…

Public schools in the United States operate under state accountability systems that vary by state and are meant to measure individual school performance against criteria determined by state policymakers. The purpose of these systems is to hold each school accountable for increasing student performance. However, it has become clear that a single…

As educators are increasingly called on to use data to inform improvement initiatives (and are being held accountable for doing so), there is a corresponding need for program leaders to monitor progress. Program monitoring--the systematic and continual observation and recording of key program aspects--can provide leaders with realistic assessments…