Vector Solutions Launches School Climate Surveys for K-12 Staff and Students

Understanding the Importance of School Climate

School climate refers to the way staff and students feel about their school, and it can play an important role in everything from teacher retention to student and staff mental health and academics.

Research shows that a positive school climate helps students and staff feel more connected to their schools, supports positive student-teacher relationships, and improves attendance. It can also help reduce bullying, risky behavior, and disciplinary issues. For staff, a positive school climate contributes to high morale and helps to create a culture of continuous improvement.

Consider this scenario. In one school, teachers and staff feel valued, respected, and supported, and students feel included and engaged. In another school, teachers are overworked, feel unsupported and stressed out, and students are bored and disconnected.

At the first school, the climate creates conditions where teaching and learning thrive. It is likely a sought-after school for families and for teachers looking for jobs.

At the other school, however, the negative school climate is likely contributing to low morale among staff and students and impacting academics. Teachers are likely getting burned out and are considering quitting.

Measuring School Climate

So, what can school and district leaders do to ensure their school more closely resembles the first scenario above, rather than the second?

The first step is to measure the current school climate and gather data to help Identify strengths and areas for improvement. School climate surveys are a simple and effective way to do this.

Vector Solutions is a leader in providing online courses and resources to support the safety and well-being of both staff and students. To help K-12 schools measure school climate, it has introduced three new school climate surveys—one for middle school students, one for high school students, and one for staff members.

The Middle School and High School Climate Surveys gather feedback on students’ perceptions and experiences, including the overall atmosphere of their school. The surveys explore areas such as safety, environment, relationships, learning and engagement in school, use of harmful substances, and mental well-being.

For example, one question about attendance asks, “What are the reasons you have missed school over the past year?” Possible responses include “physical illness,” “didn’t feel like I fit in,” “no transportation to school,” “to avoid bullying,” and more.

Other questions ask students whether they have an adult at school they trust, whether they enjoy going to school, and whether their teachers notice if they have difficulty learning something.

The Staff Climate Survey explores similar areas for teachers and staff, including their perceptions of workplace climate.

One question asks if the respondent has high levels of stress, and if the answer is “Yes,” it asks what causes the stress. Response options include “the hours,” “managing student behavior,” “grading,” “navigating issues with parents,” “expectations from leadership,” and more.

School climate surveys help school and district administrators understand how students, staff, and parents feel about various aspects of their schools and workplaces. The responses provide valuable information that helps identify strengths and areas for improvement to help create a positive and supportive environment that fosters student and staff success.

Using Data to Improve School Climate

Just like testing data can provide information to inform instruction, school climate survey data can help inform efforts to improve key areas of safety and well-being. By leveraging survey data, school and district administrators can enact strategies that will solve some key challenges for staff and students, and will help make the school and district a healthier, happier environment for teaching and learning.

About Vector Solutions

Vector Solutions provides engaging, online courses for K-12 staff and students that cover important safety and wellness topics and help districts comply with federal, state, and local mandates. Vector’s new School Climate Surveys for staff and students provide valuable data to inform efforts around topics ranging from attendance to student behavior to student and staff mental well-being and more.

The Middle/High School surveys are available as part of Vector’s Student Safety & Wellness program.

The Staff Climate Survey is included with Vector’s Safety & Compliance Plus subscription, which includes hundreds of online courses and the most advanced platform features.

The School Climate Surveys:

• Provide insight into student and staff perceptions of their school
• Provide data on important safety and well-being topics
• Can be completed anonymously
• Are delivered online through the Vector Training system, making them accessible and convenient to deploy to staff and students