Rhinebeck Central School District Evaluating and Improving School - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Rhinebeck Central School District

Evaluating and Improving School Climate

Presented to the Rhinebeck Community by the Center for Social & Emotional Education May 12, 2008

School Climate: What is it?

 School Climate refers to the quality of

school life as experienced by members

• f the school community.

 It includes:

 School norms and values, like tolerance and

mutual respect

 Relationships and social interactions –

the way people treat one another

 & Organizational structures and processes

– rules, regulations, and enforcement

Why is it important?

 More than 30 years of research shows that a

healthy school climate supports:

 Positive youth development  Effective risk prevention  Academic achievement  Life „success‟  Teacher retention

New Study from CASEL

 School-based programs focused on SEL

improve student outcomes:

 Social and emotional skills  Attitudes about self and others  Social and classroom behavior  Conduct problems, e.g. aggression  Emotional distress, e.g. stress & depression

AND enhances academic achievement!

(CASEL Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning www.casel.org)

CSCI:

Comprehensive School Climate Inventory

 Safety

 Physical  Social-Emotional

 Relationships

 Respect for Diversity  Community & Collaboration  Morale

 Teaching & Learning

 Quality of Instruction (Support for Learning)  Social, Emotional & Ethical Learning  Professional Development (school personnel only)  Leadership (school personnel only)

 Environment

10 Dimensions in Detail

Benefits of the CSCI

 Shared definition and basis for communication  Shared understanding of status and needs  Objective benchmarks for improvement  “Whole-school” profile of the learning

environment

(Data-based processes) “replace hunches and hypotheses with facts; identify root causes of problems, not just the symptoms; assess needs and target resources to address them; set goals and keep track of whether they are being accomplished; and focus staff development efforts and track their impact" (Bernhardt, 2000).

CSCI – Opportunity for Community Engagement

 School & Community Support:

 Community building and information gathering  Value of broad participation

• importance of “voice” & buy-in
• quality of the information
• quality of subsequent support

 Communicate Purpose and Value  Communicate Intentions for Action

Survey Context

 All responses are anonymous –

protected down to the reporting level. The school never sees individual responses.

 The CSCI is a needs assessment –

used to highlight areas of strength and possible areas of need to help focus

• initiatives. This is not a blame game!

 Responses are more authentic and findings

are more productive when these two principles are respected and stressed.

Survey Results – Chancellor

 Very positive!

 Color-coded:  Positive >3.5  Neutral 2.5-3.5  Negative <2.5  Almost all positive

for all groups

 Environment rating

skewed by questions on time not facilities

 Impressive

Response rates – students/ staff 90%, parents @ 75%!

Survey Results - Bulkeley

 High-neutral or

positive ratings across all populations!

 Typical to see some

fall off for students in middle school

 Social Emotional

Ethical Learning lowest for students & parents

 Good response:  Students @ 93%  Staff @ 73%  Parents @ 66%

Survey Results – Rhinebeck HS

 Still strong! More

neutral for students & parents

 Even more typical to

see a steep falloff in high school

 No negative ratings  Physical Safety

consistently strong

 Most informative to

look at relative ratings

 Staff & students @

90% / Lower parent response rate @ 40%

Relative Strengths & Needs – Students



Strengths & needs similar across district



Highest Rated



Physical Safety



Lowest Rated



Respect for Diversity



Social- Emotional Safety



Most Variable



Social, Emotional, & Ethical Learning



Morale

Climate Ratings Across Schools (Students)

2.5 2.7 2.9 3.1 3.3 3.5 3.7 3.9 4.1 4.3 Physical Social- Emotional Quality of Instruction SEL Respect for Diversity School Community Morale Environment

Rhinebeck HS Chancellor Livingston ES Bulkeley MS

Relative Strengths & Needs – Staff



Strengths & needs are very similar across schools



Highest Rated



Physical Safety



Morale



Lowest Rated



Social, Emotional Safety



Environment

Climate Ratings Across Schools (Staff)

3.25 3.45 3.65 3.85 4.05 4.25 4.45 4.65 Physical Social- Emotional Quality of Instruction SEL Respect for Diversity School Community Morale Environment Professional Development Leadership

Rhinebeck HS Bulkeley MS Chancellor Livingston ES

Relative Strengths & Needs – Parents



Strengths & needs are very similar across schools



Highest Rated



Morale



Respect for Diversity



Physical Safety



Lowest Rated



Social, Emotional, & Ethical Learning



Social- Emotional Safety

Climate Ratings Across Schools (Parents)

2.75 2.95 3.15 3.35 3.55 3.75 3.95 4.15 Physical Social- Emotional Quality of Instruction SEL Respect for Diversity School Community Morale Environment

Rhinebeck HS Bulkeley MS Chancellor Livingston ES

District Scores By Grade



Student ratings tend to fall off by grade for Elementary & Middle School



Strong transition to grade 6



For High School – lower ratings in transition year 9

Climate Scores By Grade (Students)

2.50 2.70 2.90 3.10 3.30 3.50 3.70 3.90 4.10 4.30 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Physical Social- Emotional Quality of Instruction SEL Respect for Diversity School Community Morale Environment

District Scores By Gender

 Some vulnerability

by gender

 Males lower,

especially at middle & high school

High School Students By Gender

2.5 2.7 2.9 3.1 3.3 3.5 3.7 3.9 Physical Social- Emotional Quality of Instruction SEL Respect for Diversity School Community Morale Environment

Middle School Students by Gender

3 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9

Physical Social- Emotional Quality of Instruction SEL Respect for Diversity School Community Morale Environment

Boys Girls

Chancellor Students by Gender

3.25 3.35 3.45 3.55 3.65 3.75 3.85 3.95 4.05 4.15 4.25

Physical Social- Emotional Quality of Instruction SEL Respect for Diversity School Community Morale Environment

Opportunities to Address Within Schools Patterns

Chancellor:

 Strengths to be

leveraged

 Needs to be

addressed

 Differences in

perceptions between:



Students/staff



Students/parents



Staff /Parents

Highest-rated Dimension Students Staff Parents

Physical Safety

3 1 2

Lowest-rated/ Variable Dimensions Students Staff Parents

Social, Emotional, Ethical Learning

5 2 8

Social-Emotional Safety

6 6 6

Respect for Diversity

8 3 3

Opportunities to Address Within Schools Patterns

Middle School:

 Strengths to be

leveraged

 Needs to be

addressed

 Differences in

perceptions between:



Students/staff



Students/parents



Staff /Parents

Highest-rated Dimension Students Staff Parents

Physical Safety

1 1 2

Lowest- rated/ Variable Dimensions Students Staff Parents

Social-Emotional Safety

3 8 4

Respect for Diversity

3 7 4

Social, Emotional, Ethical Learning

7 4 8

Opportunities to Address Within Schools Patterns

High School:

 Strengths to be

leveraged

 Needs to be

addressed

 Differences in

perceptions between:



Students/staff



Students/parents



Staff /Parents

Highest-rated Dimension Students Staff Parents

Physical Safety

1 1 2

Low-rated / Variable Dimensions Students Staff Parents

Social-Emotional Safety

3 7 6

Respect for Diversity

5 6 4

Social, Emotional, Ethical Learning

8 3 8

District-wide Strengths

 Physical Safety, Community &

Collaboration, and Morale

 Leverage strengths to improve areas of need  Initiatives to address potential embedded

weaknesses in strengths (maintain while improving)

 Lessons learned from past efforts to address

strengths

 Supportive resources for addressing problems

District-wide Areas of Need

 Social-Emotional Safety

 Lower ratings than Physical Safety for all three

populations across district

 Ranked in the bottom third consistently for distinct

populations at each school

 Relates to lower ratings in Respect for Diversity,

especially at high school and upper middle school

 Social, Emotional & Ethical Learning

 Lower ratings for parents and students than school

personnel – typical pattern

 Challenges of explicit vs. implicit teaching from lower

to higher grades

So . . .

What‟s next?

District Action Steps

 Dig deeper into results  Create profile of core strengths and needs  Identify vulnerable groups  Look for broad patterns in results, e.g.

social-emotional safety and social, emotional, and ethical learning

 Prioritize areas for action  Develop plans for improvement  Track improvements against initial

benchmarks

Closing Thoughts

 What gets measured gets done…………… what

gets recognized gets done even better.” Unknown

 “ „Management‟ means, in the last analysis, the

substitution of thought for brawn and muscle, of knowledge for folklore and superstition, and of cooperation for force…” Peter Drucker

 “For every complex question, there‟s a simple

answer, and it‟s wrong.” Oscar Wilde

For Further Information Regarding Climate Survey Results

Contact:

Marvin Kreps Director of Curriculum and Instruction mkreps@rhinebeckcsd.org Rhinebeck Central Schools 845-871-5570 ext. 5545

To View Complete Reports Click on the Links Below

Chancellor Livingston Elementary School: <Insert link> Bulkeley Middle School: <Insert link> Rhinebeck High School: <Insert link>