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School Climate and Connectedness 8-25-2010  There is a growing body of research, including Alaskan data, that shows an association between positive school climate and connectedness and academic achievement and reduced risk behaviors. When students feel safe, connected and engaged in their schools, they are more successful and effective learners, and exhibit fewer risk behaviors. School districts that are intentionally focusing on both academic and school climate issues are seeing success. Many of them are using AASB’s School Climate and Connectedness Survey (SCCS) to collect data that allows them to target specific aspects of climate and connectedness.
The School Climate and Connectedness Survey is a tool to gauge and improve overall school climate and raise student achievement. Over 26,900 students and 5,000 staff in 225 schools and 24 school districts participated in the SCCS in 2009.
School climate refers to factors that contribute to the tone and attitudes of staff and students in school. Positive school climate is associated with well-managed classrooms and common areas, high and clearly stated expectations concerning individual responsibility, feeling safe at school, and teachers and staff that consistently acknowledge all students and fairly address their behavior. School connectedness refers to students’ school experiences and their perceptions and feelings about school. This includes feeling that they are a part of the school, that adults at school care about them personally, that their learning matters and is a high priority, that they are close to people at school and have supportive relationships with adults, and that teachers and staff consistently treat them with respect. School climate is related to school connectedness, because without a positive and welcoming school climate, students are unlikely to experience connectedness. Research has found that the most powerful predictors of school connectedness are related to school climate (e.g., Abbott et al, 1998). Climate can be thought of as external assets (things outside of students that predict, indicate, or promote connectedness) whereas connectedness can be thought of as internal assets (students’ feelings, perceptions, and beliefs).
News and Research
A paper given by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) at the American Educational Research Association annual meeting in April 2009 uses Alaska data from SCCS to add to the national literature on the association of climate and connectedness and academic achievement. “[These results] show that whether a school starts with high or low school climate and connectedness, and high or low achievement scores, changing that school’s climate and connectedness for the better is associated with increases in student performance in reading, writing, and mathematics.”
More districts than ever are signed up this year to participate in the spring 2010 School Climate and Connectedness Survey. For 2009, SCCS results showed evidence of a growing improvement in school climate and student connectedness. The findings point to better student involvement in school, fewer instances of delinquent behavior at school, and higher ratings by students and staff for school climate. Over the last two decades, there has been a growing appreciation that school climate, the quality and character of school life, fosters — or undermines — children’s development, learning and achievement. Research confirms what teachers and parents have claimed for decades: a safe and supportive school environment, in which students have positive social relationships and are respected, engaged in their work and feel competent, matters.
What is the secret behind students staying in school? Interesting courses? GPA? A new CDC study shows the unwavering support of teachers and community members is a primary contributor to students' success in school. During a June 23 Congressional briefing, experts from the Search Institute, CDC and local schools shared their insight on how to create these essential connections and their lasting impact on students.
To help schools enhance this important protective factor, CDC scientists have created a guide that synthesizes available research on school connectedness and outlines strategies for fostering it. School Connectedness: Strategies for Increasing Protective Factors Among Youth identifies six evidence-based strategies that teachers, administrators, school staff, and parents can implement to increase the extent to which students feel connected to school. This video is part of the School Connectness – Creating a Caring Environment module, one of 14 that comprise the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health web course - Building Resilient Kids.
"What we have found from our research is that kids who felt connected to school... smoked less, drank alcohol less, had a later age of sexual debut and attempted suicide less." (Dr. Robert Blum, Johns Hopkins University, 2002)
Participation in the School Climate and Connectedness Survey Developed by AASB with the assistance of the American Institutes for Research, the surveys of 5th/6th through 12th grade students and school staff were administered in 242 schools in 33 school districts in 2008. Student results included responses from over 30,000 students and reported on factors such as high expectations, respectful climate, caring adults, peer climate, school safety, social-emotional learning skills, and incidence of a variety of risk behaviors. Over 4,700 staff responses reported perceptions of school leadership, student involvement, staff attitudes, climate, safety, parent and community involvement, and risk behaviors. 2008 SCCS Statewide Report (pdf) 2007 SCCS Statewide Report (pdf)
The Anchorage School District The Anchorage School District has adopted the School Climate and Connectedness Survey (SCCS) as a critical piece of their school improvement strategy districtwide. The SCCS is aligned with the SEL standards and benchmarks, so Anchorage will be able to track progress over time, and the SCCS is a tool to help the district and individual schools identify specific priorities for taking action. ASD Summary of 2006 SCCS districtwide results ASD Summary of 2007 SCCS districtwide results ASD Summary of 2008 SCCS districtwide results Social and Emotional Learning Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is a similarly important avenue for improving the school environment and nurturing positive relationships between and among students and staff. SEL is a process through which we learn to recognize and manage emotions, care about others, make good decisions, behave ethically and responsibly, develop positive relationships, and avoid negative behaviors. It is the process through which students enhance their ability to integrate thinking, feeling, and behaving in order to achieve important life tasks. Find out more about Social-Emotional Learing on our Associated Files If you have trouble viewing a file, make sure you have the correct file viewer. If you have trouble downloading a file try right clicking on the link and selecting "Save Target As.."  View this page as an Adobe PDF file - DownloadFile Viewers If you have trouble viewing any of our files, please make sure you've downloaded all the necessary media players and file viewers. Adobe Acrobat Reader - View PDF documents with the free Acrobat Reader. |
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Contact Information Phone: (907) 586-1083 Fax: (907) 586-2995 Email: |
Alaska Initiative for Community Engagement 1111 West 9th Street, Juneau, AK 99801 |
