#8 - School Climate

Effective Schools Needs Assessment

2011 Survey

Safe and Orderly Environment

1. Do our school policies and procedures make you feel safe?    

1                      2                      3                      4                       5

           Very                                                                                         Not at all 

A. What is one procedure that would improve the order of our school?

Safe and Orderly Environment

2. Do you feel discipline is administered in a fair and consistent manner?

                                                              

Yes   or   No                If not, why?

                                                            Circle One

Clear and Focused Mission

3. Do you feel the staff is committed to fulfilling the school's mission? Explain.

Yes   or   No                If not, why?

                                                            Circle One

Clear and Focused Mission

4. There is enough professional development to promote cross-curricular activities?

1                      2                      3                      4                       5

         Strongly                                                                                                                      Strongly

               Agree                                                                                                                       Disagree

A Climate of High Expectations

5. Students and parents are aware of expectations.

Academic Expectations:

1                      2                      3                      4                       5

         Strongly                                                                                                                      Strongly

               Agree                                                                                                                       Disagree

Behavioral Expectations:

 1                     2                      3                      4                       5

         Strongly                                                                                                                      Strongly

               Agree                                                                                                                       Disagree

A Climate of High Expectations

6. Is there clear criterion for promoting/retaining students?

A. Promotion: Yes   or   No

                              Circle One

If not, why?

B. Retention: Yes   or   No

                                                          Circle One

If not, why?

Opportunity to Learn/Time on Task

7. What is the most common reason that instruction is interrupted?

Rank each reason 1-5, with 1=Very Disruptive   5=Not Disruptive

Discipline:

Announcements:

Phone calls:

Visitors to the classroom:

Noisy outside environment:

Tardiness/early dismissals:

Other:

 Opportunity to Learn/Time on Task

8. Adequate time is spent on instruction in your classroom?

  1                    2                      3                      4                       5

         Strongly                                                                                                                      Strongly

               Agree                                                                                                                       Disagree

Frequent Monitoring of Student Progress

9. There is enough variety in student assessments?

  1                    2                      3                      4                       5

         Strongly                                                                                                                      Strongly

               Agree                                                                                                                       Disagree

 Frequent Monitoring of Student Progress

10. Are we effectively communicating students’ progress to parents?

Yes   or   No                If not, why?

                                                           Circle One

Positive Home and School Relations

11. Which form of communication do you use most often with parents?

 Label each form with daily, weekly, or monthly.

Email:                                                  In person:

Phone:                                                 Newsletters:

Notes/planner:

I administered the “School Needs Assessment” to several individuals at Detroit Premier Academy and I analyzed their responses.  The greatest concern at our school, according to the survey, was the way that discipline is administered in our school.  Another concern was safety of staff and students with too many people being allowed in the building that have not been to the office first and also with the rising number of car break-ins.

          Our discipline policy needs to be revamped and tailored to meet the needs of each house, k-2, 3-5 and 6-8.  Right now, the discipline policy is a blanket policy which has the same consequences for kindergartners as it has for 8^th graders. This is part of the reason why sometimes discipline is not consistent and fair from student to student.  Even though we have a school discipline policy, sometimes it is not followed or it is interpreted differently from student to student. 

          Another concern, according to the survey, was how safe people felt with our school policies and procedures.  This is not a major concern, but it is alarming that they do not feel completely safe.  A lot of the staff surveyed were able to give constructive feedback about why they didn’t feel safe and how they feel it could be made better.  Most people felt that we, as a school, need to be more consistent in enforcing our policy about sending parents or adults back to the office if they do not have a pass.  This is definitely a safety issue but can be eliminated with consistency among the staff.  The other safety issue that some staff brought to our attention was the growing number of car break-ins.  While this is not an issue that can be solved by putting a policy in place, it is an issue that was brought to the attention of the DPA administrators.  From the information I was able to gather about this issue is that the plan of action to address this problem is to increase the time that out “security guard” is patrolling the parking lot and closing the gates during the day.

          In order to meet the concerns with the number one dilemma at our school, inconsistent discipline, we can organize a staff development to address this issue.  To begin this activity, I would start with a review of the NHA vision and goals for student behavior.  Every staff member would be given a copy of the discipline policy and we could start going thru each level step by step.   During this time, I would clarify terms such as “disrespect”, “disruption”, “excessive”, and other words that may have a different meaning to different people.  This will help to level the playing field so that disrespect means the same thing to everyone or at least close to the same meaning.  Going thru the discipline plan would also give new staff members a chance to get an explanation of the policy that may otherwise have no idea what’s going on.  This is something that should be done at least twice a year, beginning and middle to ensure that all staff have no excuses for what is expected of them in regards to the discipline policy.

 

School-Wide Behavior Management System

Level 1 – Green – a teacher should make at least one attempt to modify minor to moderate impulsive misbehavior (noncompliance with common classroom procedures) before escalating a student to level 2.
Example Behaviors	Behavior Management Strategies
·         Talking, laughing, shouting or other types of communication at inappropriate times or levels ·         Action that disrupts the learning of others in a manner that does not physically endanger others (for example, making noises, playing in desk, etc.) ·         Not following a teacher’s instructions ·         Off-task behaviors ·         Not appropriately following classroom procedures (Ex: sharpening pencils, using restrooms, getting tissues, turning in H.W, etc)	Verbal cues: ·         Whole class accountability via the social contract ·         Precise praise of students behaving properly ·         Use the student’s name in a sentence ·         Give students a choice ·         Check the student’s behavior and refer to social contract ·         Use the 5 questions Nonverbal cues: ·         Use the check signal ·         Make eye contact ·         Circulate (proximity and movement)
Level 2 – Yellow– repeated minor to moderate impulsive misbehavior that disrupts the learning environment (noncompliance with common classroom procedures) after at least one informal attempt to modify the behavior.
Example Behaviors	Behavior Management Strategies
·         Talking, laughing, shouting or other types of communication at inappropriate times or levels ·         Action that disrupts the learning of others in a manner that does not physically endanger others (for example, making noises, playing in desk, etc.) ·         Not following a teacher’s instructions ·         Off-task behaviors ·         Not appropriately following classroom procedures (Ex: sharpening pencils, using restrooms, getting tissues, turning in H.W, etc)	·         Formal or informal student-teacher conference (ex: during major transitions, walking to another location such as recess, lunch or dismissal) ·         Time out (desk in corner, carpet at back of room)
Level 3 – Blue – repeated minor to moderate impulsive misbehavior after receiving Level 2 disciplinary action or minor to moderate intentional behavior (a planned or deliberate action based on a clear decision on the part of the student).
Example Behaviors	Behavior Management Strategies
·         Defiance (such as resisting clear instructions from an adult after appropriate wait time has been given) ·         Disrespect (talking back or arguing with an adult) ·         Inappropriate physical contact that doesn’t endanger the safety of others ·         Inappropriate actions, such as throwing objects, that don’t necessarily endanger others ·         Leaving a classroom without permission ·         Minor damage to school property ·         Possession of a prohibited electronic device ·         Dress code violation ·         Inappropriate handholding, romantic hugging or similar minor displays of romantic affection ·         Minor theft under $20 (stealing candy, pencils, etc.) ·         Teasing (ex: distracting or irritating behavior that causes frustration)	a parent contact thru email or a note home. ·         Formal or informal student-teacher conference (ex: during major transitions, walking to another location such as recess, lunch or dismissal) ·         Time out (desk in corner, carpet at back of room) ·         Think it Over sheet
Level 4 – Red– Repeated minor or moderate misbehaviors (either impulsive or intentional) after receiving a level 3 disciplinary action.
a parent contact thru face to face or a phone call home. lunch or after school detention loss of classroom privileges for remainder of day and next day (such as desk is separated from peers, not participating in group/partner work, not holding classroom leadership roles such as passing out papers or being the line leader, no recess)