The School Climate Solution: Creating a Culture of Excellence from the Classroom to the Staff Room

Research shows that a socially-emotionally supportive setting is the solution to increasing student achievement. "The School Climate Solution" helps kids and adults master critical social-emotional skills, encourages student leadership, provides effective and compassionate behaviour management strategies, and raises academic performance.

With dozens of fun and easy-to-do activities and community meeting agendas, this book provides everything you need to create a positive learning environment in any classroom, school, or school community. Based on William Glasser's Choice Theory and steeped in social-emotional learning, the book shows educators how to engage the whole school community in identifying and celebrating its positive values.

For use by principals, teachers, counsellors, coaches, or any other school leaders looking to improve classroom climate, the strategies in this book have been tested in schools, and they work.

Digital content includes customisable forms from the book.

Download File

Table of Contents

List of Reproducible Handouts

Introduction

• Why School Climate Matters in an Era of Standards and Assessments
• Components of Positive School Climate
• The School Climate Solution
• About The School Climate Solution
• An Overview of This Book

1. Getting Started
• The Whole-School Climate Initiative
• The Smaller-Scale Climate Solution
• Final Thoughts About Getting Started

Part 1 Setting the Foundation: Safety and Relationships

2. The Community Meeting
• The Community Meeting in Your Setting
• The Community Meeting Basic Structure
• Three Kinds of Community Meetings
• Frequently Asked Questions About Community Meetings
3. The School Touchstone: Discovering the Core Values of Your Community
• Examples of Touchstones
• Creating the School Touchstone
• Frequently Asked Questions About the School Touchstone
4. Bringing the Touchstone Values to Life
• The Touchstone Pledge
• The Touchstone Wall of Fame
• Community Meetings: Touchstone Values
• Social Contract
• Behavior Matrix
• Model the Values
5. Integrating the Touchstone into the Academic Curriculum
• Building Integrated Learning Units Based on Touchstone Values
• Making Touchstone Connections in English Language Arts and Social Studies
• ELA and Social Studies Unit Examples
• Suggested Literature for Touchstone Units
6. Inspiring Student Leadership
• What to Look for in Student Leaders
• Inviting Leaders and Creating Your Student Leadership Team
• Student Leadership Training Meeting
• Touchstone Table Facilitators
• Ongoing Student Leadership Opportunities
• Resources

Part 2 Essential Tools: Teaching Social-Emotional Skills

7. Introducing Social-Emotional Learning to Your Students
• Teaching SEL
• The Elements of an Effective SEL Program
• The Behavioral Car Metaphor
• Connecting SEL to Curriculum
• Final Thoughts About Introducing SEL
8. The Five Basic Human Needs: The Fuel for the Car
• Introducing the Five Basic Human Needs
• Helping Students Apply the Five Basic Human Needs to Their Lives
• Integrating the Concepts into the ELA and Social Studies Curriculum
9. Understanding Emotions in Ourselves and Others: The Lights on the Dashboard
• Human Emotions: The Lights on the Dashboard
• Teaching Students How to Identify Emotions in Themselves
• Teaching Students How to Identify Emotions in Others
• Communicating Emotions on Electronic Media
• Emotional Intelligence, Social Responsibility, and School Climate
• Integrating the Understanding of Emotions into the Curriculum
• Final Thoughts on Emotions
10. Self-Regulation: The Four Wheels of the Car
• The Four Wheels of the Behavioral Car
• Teaching the Concept of Total Behavior
• Self-Regulation: Maintaining the Behavioral Car
• Integrating Total Behavior Concepts into ELA and Social Studies
11. Addressing the Needs for Emotional Safety and Connectedness
• The Internal Profile and the Hierarchy of Basic Needs
• Providing Structure and Safety
• Building Connections
• Final Thoughts About Emotional Safety and Connectedness
12. Addressing the Needs for Power, Freedom, and Fun
• Empowering All
• Empowering Adults
• Empowering Students
• Liberating
• Encouraging Play
• Final Thoughts on Empowering, Liberating, and Encouraging Play
13. A Social-Emotional Approach to Behavior Management
• The Process for Positive Change (PPC)
• Restorative Discipline (RD): The Optimal Option
• The Solving Circle
• Final Thoughts

References and Resources

Index

About the Author

"Jon Erwin has been a consistent voice for innovation and rationality in education. He understands, from very practical experience as an educator and as a consultant and trainer, what schools should be. This book is another great contribution from his unique perspective, focusing on school climate and its constituent parts. All schools need to take these ideas very seriously."
- Marvin W. Berkowitz, Ph.D., Sanford N. McDonnell Professor of Character Education

"Erwin provides a blueprint for establishing a positive school climate and includes step-by-step instructions in how to involve various stakeholders to implement a supportive and effective school atmosphere. A valuable resource."
- School Administrator magazine

"One of the strengths of School Climate Solution is its dual focus. Erwin offers strategies and plans for both whole school and single classroom environments, making this a good handbook for almost any educator at any level of influence. The practical nature of the text makes it ideal for group study or action-based work with a school improvement committee or other professional learning community."
- MiddleWeb