~
Presented by
Molly A. Gosline, Ed.M., M.A.
School Climate Consultant
School Climate Consulting Services, LLC
“Where after all do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any map of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person: The
neighborhood he lives in; the school or
college she attends; the factory, farm or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity
without discrimination. Unless these rights
have meaning there, they have little meaning
anywhere. Without concerted citizen action
to uphold them close to home, we shall look
in vain for progress in the larger world. “
• Defining School Climate
• School Climate’s Recent Evolution
• Positive Psychology & Social Emotional Learning Theories
• School Climate’s Relationship to the PIP Strategy
• Practical Strategies to Create Safe & Positive Climates
School climate refers to the quality and
character of school life. School climate is based on patterns of students’, parents’ and school
personnel’s experience of school life and reflects norms, goals, values, interpersonal relationships, teaching & learning practices, and organizational structures.
*National School Climate Center
A sustainable, positive school climate fosters:
Youth Development
https://www.wvdhhr.org/ahi/assets.pdf
Learning & Academic Success
Relational Successes
Productivity
Democracy
*National School Climate Center
A positive school climate & learning environment includes:
Norms, values & expectations that support people feeling socially, emotionally &
physically safe;
People are engaged & respected;
Students, families and educators work together
to develop, live & contribute to a shared school
vision;
Educators model and nurture attitudes that
emphasize the benefits and satisfaction gained from learning;
Each person contributes to the operations of the school and the care of the physical
environment.
(This definition of school climate and a positive, sustained school climate were consensually developed by the National School Climate Council.)
Four major areas that school climate assessment needs to include:
Safety
Relationships
Teaching & Learning
External Environment
http://www.schoolclimate.org/programs/documents/dimensions_chart_pageb ars.pdf
*National School Climate Center
The research is clear: social and emotional learning (SEL) is a critical component of the educational
experience.
The ABC’s of SEL:
A is for Affect. Youth who learn about affect, or emotional response, learn how to recognize feelings, communicate about those feelings, and regulate their emotions.
B is for Behavior. SEL teaches and reinforces positive behavior, such as self-control which helps in managing in-school
behavior.
C is for Cognition. Thinking skills are necessary for
recognizing problems, taking others’ perspectives, coming up with multiple solutions, and thoughtfully resolving conflicts.
Repeated use by one or more students of a written, verbal or electronic expression or a physical act or gesture, or combination, directed at a victim that:
1. Causes physical or emotional harm to the victim or damage to the victim’s property;
2. Places the student victim in reasonable fear of harm to himself or damage to his or her property;
3. Creates hostile environment at school for victim;
4. Infringes on the rights of the victim at school; or 5. Materially and substantially disrupts the
educational process or the orderly operation of a
school.
• Unprovoked actions or threats
• Motivated by intent to cause fear, distress, or harm
• Usually repeated and aggressive acts
• Against someone with less power
https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2010/Chapter92
How Does MA Compare?
http://www.bullypolice.org/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWJut7KQhI4
• Willful and intentional harm through the use of an electronic device and its software applications :
Device – cell phone, smart phone, comuputer, ipad, tablet, etc.
Software Applications - Facebook, texting, sexting, IM’ing, chatting,
blogging, posting, emailing, Instagram
• Creation of a web page or blog in which
creator assumes identity of another person, or
• The knowing impersonation of another person as author of posted content or
messages, if creation or impersonation meets definition of bullying, or
• Distribution or posting that may be accessed by one or more persons, if creates any of the
conditions under definition of bullying.
Current data from the Cyberbullying
Research Center (www.cyberbullying.us) shows it is happening in many venues:
1. IM’ing (most common)
2. Cell Phone/Smart Phone texting (2nd most common) 3. Cell Phone Multimedia (videos and photos)
4. Chat Rooms
5. Social Networking Sites 6. YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJll Ei4gfbo
Cyberbullying is:
1. Unwelcome verbal, written, electronic (cyber) or physical conduct;
2. In school or school-related activity;
3. Relating to a student’s race, color, national origin or ancestry, sex (sexual orientation), religion and/or
disability;
4. Conduct is severe, persistent and/or pervasive;
5. Conduct creates a hostile environment by interfering with or limiting the ability of a
student(s) to participate in or benefit from the
district’s programs or activities
Race
Color
Religion
Ethnicity or national
origin
Disability
Gender
Sexual
Orientation
Gender identity
Might be called “bias-based bullying.”
Bullying behavior motivated by prejudice
based on real or perceived characteristics:
Follow the PIP Strategy:
Prevention Intervention
Postvention
*adapted from the PIP Strategy from the Education Alliance, Brown University
• Policies/procedures and laws
Considered by all experts and much research to provide the foundation for preventing bullying/harassment
• Professional development
Today is a beginning,
Needs to be on-going to sustain effective prevention
• Pro-social skills curricula
Also called Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)
“Let’s Get Real” is specifically for bullying/harassment prevention
Many others focus on basic SEL skills - emotional self-regulation, empathy, etc. (another, later training!)
• Parent and community involvement
Working with parents essential, although not easy
Community can support schools through public campaign to assert positive, respectful attitudes
Some sub-groups of persistently mistreated youth:
Youth with social skill deficits
Youth with trauma history
GLBTQ youth
Supporting and Advising mistreated youth:
Listening
Encouraging
Checking back over time
Avoiding, “This wouldn’t have happened if you would have acted differently”
Avoiding, “Stop tattling”; rather differentiate
Slowly escalate consequences, build empathy, build
new behaviors, maintain accountability
BUILDING CONNECTIONS
Protective factors: Connectedness to school promotes academic achievement, lower rates of risky behaviors, and resiliency
Connectedness predicts lower rates of repeated trauma
Nixon, Charisse, 2011
BUILD & STRENGTHEN RELATIONSHIPS
Implement or strengthen programs to build connections:
advisor/ee programs to build connections with peers & adults
interest based activities
group involvement in meaningful service
identify disconnected youth and use mentoring
build connection and awareness between sub-groups
increase peer leadership and mentoring opportunities
Nixon, Charisse, 2011
Positive modeling
Greeting and welcoming
Unconditional positive regard
What helps you build connections with your
colleagues?
WHAT you do to improve school climate matters.
HOW you do it matters even more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Sg12JF
6u4Y
• Questions NOT to ask: “What’s happening here?” or “What’s going on here?”
Adults give authority away with this question!
• Instead, begin dialogue with the reason you entered the situation: “I don’t like what I see hear”, or “This is not the behavior that is
acceptable in our school”, or “This situation seems wrong to me”
• If not sure, follow up with students
separately - NEVER interview target in front
of aggressor(s)
• Follow your procedures!
• When target or bystanders report, be sure to follow up (again, procedures will determine who should do so)
Students frequently do not expect adults to respond: prove them wrong!
• Always use written, not verbal, reports
• Inform parents that you are looking into a possible incident of bullying or harassment (who informs parents will be detailed in the procedures)
• Keep brief notes on steps you take in each situation
Listening
Positive modeling
Unconditional positive regard
Greeting and welcoming
Building connections between adults and youth and between youth
Supervision, creating consistent school wide expectations with youth involvement, effective use of consequences, and building new positive behaviors
Helping youth create healing narratives
• Targets
Victim-victimizer cycle
Long-term emotional consequences
Counseling when needed/possible
Supportive behavior from staff (“checking in”)
• Bystanders / Up-standers
Positive reinforcement for reporting or intervening
• Aggressors
Need clear consequences for their behavior
If continue behavior, more serious problems later
• School district staff and its officials
Clear policies implemented with clear procedures
Offer some protection from lawsuits & complaints
Stand Up Bystanders! It’s hard to be a victim and bystanders are actually in the majority.
~
If you haven’t been victimized, step up for
your friend who has. Talk to a safe adult.
(Dateline: The Perils of Parenting)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEjV sMtf1d0
(Mentoring Research)
http://chronicle.umbmentoring.org/
(Bully Movie Trailer)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1g 9RV9OKhg
(The Bully Effect clip)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWl0 kSG4FP0
(Teaching Tolerance) www.facinghistory.org
(Life is Good: Positive Purpose)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00PP XilS9wA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dxr W94tFI0
Just the fact that they were willing to listen and give their advice helped even though my issues were small
Tell me that it was wrong what [the other person did]. That helped my self esteem.
Talked to me and made me calm and relaxed. I felt comfortable and able to open up to them.
Research by Stan Davis from The Youth Voice Project
What adults did that helped me the most:
Encouraged me not to hang out with them any more. it helped they never called me names ever again
Sent her home. It helped she was nicer when she came back to school
Told me everything is gonna be better. I felt safe and secure about my school life, you see life at home isn’t so great.
Research by Stan Davis from The Youth Voice Project
What adults did that helped me the most:
Talked to me, and listened to what I had to say and gave me advice about it. It boosted my confidence and made me feel better about myself.
They caught the boy who tripped me and they solved the situation by giving him a detention.
Research by Stan Davis from The Youth Voice Project
What adults did that helped me the most:
checked in with me afterwards. it gave me a sense of 'this person’s got my back‘
They told the students who made fun of people to stop or they would get detention, and nobody wants detention so it worked. They stopped because they didn't want detention.
Research by Stan Davis from The Youth Voice Project
What adults did that helped me the most:
They told the kid that he had to walk with her the entire lunch period. He never bullied me.
They watched me to prevent further bullying. The other people didn't go near me.
Just listened. I was able to come to my own conclusion by talking about it.
Research by Stan Davis from The Youth Voice Project
What adults did that helped me the most:
My teacher helped me the most when she told the other
student to stop doing what he was doing. When she told him to stop he did stop.
they made me feel better about who I am. I looked at myself in a different light.
It was the strong teachers that understood and didn't tolerate that that helped out the most.
Research by Stan Davis from The Youth Voice Project
What adults did that helped me the most:
Taking the people aside and talking to them about what
happened. The person came to me apologized and then things got a lot better. The person and I have now begun to talk from time to time.
listened to me, told the class to start behaving better and being nicer to other students and checked in with me. i told them how i was doing and they keep checking in every once in a while.
Research by Stan Davis from The Youth Voice Project
What adults did that helped me the most:
Talked to the whole class about it. That way, everyone knew what was going on without pointing fingers. It stopped cause the person who did it knew that the talk applied to them.
Told me that life throws things at you that you may not like and when that happens, get help. I matured to the point
where I now go get help when something is bothering me.
Research by Stan Davis from The Youth Voice Project
What adults did that helped me the most:
I hope you learned some new ways to think about school climate in ways that can help you consider how your
work can be effective with youth in a productive, prevention-based way!
