Why school climate is important

Setting the stage for Students on Board conversations

Prepared byCenter for Public Education

National School Boards AssociationAugust 2011

A safe and welcoming learning climate is a prerequisite to high student achievement. School districts need to understand climate issues, conduct assessments, pass policies, and take steps to make improvement where necessary.

-- Brian K. Perkins The CUBE Survey of Urban School Climate

3

Early warning signs of dropping out - it’s both academic and social

Academic performance

•failing grades in English or math•sharp decline in grades •falling behind in credits in 9th grade•retained in grade

School engagement

• poor attendance (80% or worse)• failing “behavior” grades in 6th grade

SOURCE: Center for Public Education, Keeping Kids in School, 2009, www.centerforpubliceducation.org

Indicators that contribute toa good school climate

• Schools are well-attended by students & teachers

• Students feel protected and not bullied

• Out-of-school suspensions are minimal

Attendance and learning

• Students who miss a lot of school are more likely to earn low grades and test scores

• Schools with high student absenteeism are more likely to have low student achievement

• High teacher absenteeism also relates to lower student achievement

SOURCES: Roby, Research on School Attendance & Student Achievement, Education Research Quarterly, 2003; Gottfried, Evaluating the Relationship Between Student Attendance and Achievement, AERA, 2010; Miller et al., Do Teacher Absences Impact Student Achievement? NBER, 2007

1 in 5 middle schoolers miss 3 or more days of school a month

overall white black Hispanic Asian Native Am

20 19

24 23

12

29

SOURCE: IES, Condition of Education, 2006. Percent of 8 th graders reporting missing 3 or more days the previous month, 2005

Percent of students responding by race

1 in 20 teens miss schoolbecause they do not feel safe there

overall white black Hispanic

5 3.56.3 8.1

Percent of students responding by race

SOURCE: IES, Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2010. Percent of students aged 12-17 reporting missing school in previous month because they did feel safe there. www.data-first.org

How safe do students think their schools are?

SOURCE: percent who agree/strongly agree with statement. Brian K. Perkins, Where We Learn, NSBA, Council of Urban Boards of Education, 2006

• Half of all students say there’s a lot of fighting in their school

• Half of all students witness children being bullied at least once a month

• Only one third of students believe teachers are able to stop bullying

Fewer students today report feeling afraid than a decade ago

white black Hispanic other

8

20 21

14

49 7

2

Percent of students who feel afraid in or on the way to school

1995 2007

SOURCE: NCES, US Dept of Education, Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2009, Table 17.1

Bullying is one of the most pervasive discipline problems

• One-third of students aged 12-18 report being bullied at school

• The most common form of bullying is verbal, either through insults, ridicule or being the subject of rumors

• 11% of students report being pushed, tripped or spit on, and 6% have been threatened with harm

SOURCE: NCES, US Dept of Education, Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2010, Figures 11.1 and 11.2

Bullying obstructs learning

• Bullied middle schoolers can see their GPA decline as much 1.5 points

• Students who are harassed by their peers are less likely to feel connected to school and more likely to earn poor grades

SOURCES: Juvonen, Bullying and Violence as Barriers to Achievement, 2009; Eisenberg et al., Peer Harassment, School Connectedness, and Academic Achievement, Journal of School Health, 2003

LGBT students feel being bullied the most

missed school because they did not feel safe

were sexually harassed

30

68.2

6.7

24.9

Percent of secondary students reporting that they …

LGBT secondary students General secondary students

SOURCE: Kosciw et al, The 2009 National School Climate Survey, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, 2010

If we are going to stem the tide in student bullying, it will not be because of mandates from above, but rather because local school board members have drawn out students’ voices, creating conditions for them to analyze root causes and generate solutions that work.

-- Mary Broderick NSBA president, 2011-12

The effect of suspensions on students

• Students who have been suspended are far more likely to repeat a grade or drop out altogether

• Half of students who were disciplined 11 or more times end up in the juvenile justice system

SOURCE: Fabelo et al, Breaking Schools’ Rules, The Council of State Governments/Public Policy Research Institute, July 2011

The effect of suspensions on schools

• Schools with high suspension and expulsion rates tend to have low school wide achievement.

• Demographically similar schools with strong school-community partnerships and governance have lower rates of suspensions and expulsions AND higher achievement.

SOURCE: Rausch & Skiba, The Academic Cost of Discipline, Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, Indiana University, 2006

Black students are more likely to be suspended than their peers

overall white black Hispanic Asian Native Am

75

15

7

3

8

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, 2006. Percent of students who were suspended during 2005-06 school year. www.data-first.org

percentages

Black students are disproportionately represented in out-of-school suspensions

SOURCE: Fabelo et al, Breaking Schools’ Rules, The Council of State Governments/Public Policy Research Institute, July 2011

Percent referred for disciplinary

action

Percent of these whose 1st referral was for a code of conduct violation

Percent of 1st referrals resulting in out-of-school

suspension

Black 75.1 94.2 26.2

White 64.8 92.7 18.0

Hispanic 46.9 93.3 9.9

Why the discrepancy?

• To date, researchers have found no evidence that black students commit more serious offenses than other groups

• Some researchers suggest black students are referred for more “subjective” reasons

SOURCE: Rausch & Skiba, The Academic Cost of Discipline, Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, Indiana University, 2006; Fabelo et al, Breaking Schools’ Rules, The Council of State Governments/Public Policy Research Institute, July 2011

How is your school climate? Ask the students

The large majority of students say they enjoy learning, trust their teachers, and like coming to school. But enough students don’t feel this way to cause concern:

• One third of all students say they don’t believe teachers are fair to everyone; black students were more likely to feel this way

• One third aren’t sure if their teachers care about their success

SOURCE: Brian K. Perkins, Where We Learn, NSBA, Council of Urban Boards of Education, 2006

Students cannot learn in chaos, fear, or embarrassment …. If you really want to know what people feel about their schools, ask them.

-- The Key Work of School Boards

Get the conversation going

• What is school like for you?

• Do you feel safe at school?

• Have you seen someone bullied? Is this common or rare? Did another student or teacher try to stop it?

• Do you feel respected by teachers and staff? Do they care if you’re successful?

If you were the school board, what would be one thing you would do to improve the school?

Moving forward

• Use your data. Include a school climate assessment as part of your annual district evaluation

• Establish an early warning data system to identify students who may be in danger of dropping out

• Encourage stakeholder involvement in ongoing discussions. Don’t forget students!

• Establish clear policies to create a positive school climate

Adapted from Perkins, Where We Learn, 2006, and Keeping Kids in School, Center for Public Education, 2009.

Learn more about school climate policies and practices that work

http://www.nsba.org/Students-on-Board http://www.nsba.org/Bullying