The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted long-standing educational and social inequities and exposed the deep relationship between education, health, and community. Community schools are uniquely poised to address these inequities by organizing in- and out-of-school resources tailored to the needs and goals of students and families to create positive learning environments, prioritize student well-being and engagement, and turn schools into community hubs. As a result, community schools were able to respond to the needs of their community effectively and efficiently during the pandemic, which drew heightened attention toward the strategy. Researchers and policymakers are also increasingly recognizing community schools as an evidence-based strategy for improving a range of student outcomes, including attendance, behavior, engagement, and academic achievement.
Community schools are, in part, designed to provide services and resources to students and families as a means of mitigating or reducing external barriers to learning. However, without an intentional focus on a healthy, positive school climate, the strategy will not transform schools into places where all students flourish. A growing body of evidence indicates that the conditions within schools are vital and equally as important as external barriers to student learning and development.
To have the greatest impact on student outcomes, then, community schools must focus on mitigating both external barriers to learning (e.g., hunger, homelessness, and health challenges) and internal ones, especially those related to school climate. School climate is a term that captures the sense of belonging and the degree to which there is a healthy environment in a school. Students are best served by a school climate in which each and every child is known, seen, and supported by a healthy and interconnected web of students, teachers, families, and community members who are working toward a common vision and shared set of goals. To accomplish this, high-quality, transformational community schools must be structured to promote nurturing relationships among and between educators, community partners, families, and students who work together to foster the school conditions in which students are affirmed, feel a sense of belonging, and can be successful.
This report highlights areas that can help to develop a healthy climate in community schools. First, it defines healthy school climate and outlines five key dimensions: (1) safety, (2) interpersonal relationships, (3) teaching and learning, (4) physical and social environment, and (5) school improvement process. Second, it describes why a healthy climate is key for promoting whole child education strategies like community schools. Third, it draws on research about community schools and the science of learning and development to highlight structures and practices that help promote a healthy climate. It also includes concrete illustrations of climate-oriented, high-leverage practices being implemented in existing community schools.
Community Schools
Community schools organize in- and out-of-school resources and supports such as mental health services, meals, health care, tutoring, internships, and other learning and career opportunities that are tailored to the needs and goals of students and families. This strategy brings educators, local community members, families, and students together to create positive learning environments, prioritize student well-being and engagement, and turn schools into community hubs. While programs and services vary according to local context, key site-level practices include: (1) expanded, enriched learning opportunities; (2) rigorous, community-connected classroom instruction; (3) a culture of belonging, safety, and care; (4) integrated systems of support; (5) powerful student and family engagement; and (6) collaborative leadership, shared power and voice. A growing number of states are investing in community schools as a strategy to address long-standing social inequities that were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, changing the landscape of community schools.
As community schools expand across the country, sustained attention should be paid to policies and practices that support effective implementation. That means schools should interrogate and reform practices that hinder students from reaching their full potential, such as harsh zero-tolerance discipline policies and teaching and learning that are disconnected from students’ backgrounds and identities. Rather, schools should embrace structures and supports that are relationship centered, culturally sustaining, and community engaged. Because community schools aim to serve the whole child, the evidence from school climate and the science of learning and development research is deeply important to their implementation. Both elucidate the ways in which community schools can draw on a number of evidence-based structures and practices that build a healthy climate and align with the community schools strategy.
School Climate: What It Is and Why It Matters
Healthy school climates develop when there is shared responsibility for, and commitment to, ensuring everyone is safe, engaged, supported, and empowered. Healthy climates promote greater attachment to school and cultivate strong conditions for social, emotional, and academic learning. Research shows that healthy climates can increase school connectedness, academic achievement, social and emotional learning, and graduation rates, and reduce bullying. This is the case because, as new advances in the science of learning and development demonstrate, students’ relationships, environments, and experiences are the primary determinants of learning and development. As more schools and districts adopt community schools as an improvement strategy, maintaining attention on a healthy climate is paramount.
Dimensions of School Climate and Related Structures and Practices
This report outlines five key dimensions that are part of healthy school climates and describes how they are aligned with community schools and can be implemented in that context.
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Safety. A stable school environment in which all students feel physically, socially, emotionally, and intellectually safe, cared for, and valued. Examples of structures and practices that promote school safety are codeveloped mission statements, classroom and schoolwide agreements, routines, consistent norms and expectations, community circles, and restorative practices.
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Interpersonal Relationships. The school is designed to foster personalized, trusting relationships among and between students, educators, parents, and community members. Examples of structures and practices that promote strong relationships are affirmation walls, advisories, peer mentoring programs, empathy building, home visits and two-way communication with families, and culturally sustaining family engagement.
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Teaching and Learning. The school develops educators to be coleaders who use their professional expertise to collaborate, plan, and implement high-quality cross-curricular instruction that includes authentic, collaborative, deeper learning opportunities and fosters students’ curiosity, creativity, and willingness to take risks. Examples of structures and practices that support high-quality teaching and learning are teacher-led inquiry and professional learning, cross-grade and cross-subject collaboration and planning time, culturally sustaining pedagogy and curriculum, inquiry-based learning and performance-based assessments, and community-connected learning opportunities.
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Physical and Social Environment. The physical space, surroundings, and resources of the school and the atmosphere of the building create a strong sense of community and signal that all members of the school community are valued and belong. Examples of structures and practices that support a welcoming physical and social environment are student and community initiatives (e.g., murals and community gardens), parent-led events and programs, student-led initiatives and projects, and shared decision-making.
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School Improvement Process. School improvement is a communitywide effort in which students, parents, school personnel, and community partners work together, take on a shared responsibility for the operations of the school, and participate in collaborative decision-making in service of a codeveloped vision and goals for the school. Examples of structures and practices that support developing a quality school improvement process are collaborative, inclusive decision-making structures; assets and needs assessments; ongoing collection and analysis of actionable data; and processes for all stakeholders to participate in continuous improvement.
Developing a Healthy School Climate in Community Schools by Emily Germain and Sarah Klevan is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
This research was supported by The California Endowment and the Stuart Foundation. Core operating support for LPI is provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Heising-Simons Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Raikes Foundation, Sandler Foundation, Skyline Foundation, and MacKenzie Scott. We are grateful to them for their generous support. The ideas voiced here are those of the authors and not those of our funders.