Want to know the
secret to prioritizing
school climate?
Teaching students social
and emotional skills,
such as communication,
collaboration, empathy
and the ability to resolve
conflicts, has a positive
impact on creating a
safe and healthy school
environment.
24
Leadership
A curious thing happened
when the Every Student Succeeds Act re-
placed No Child Left Behind in December of
2015. Unique language, not seen in prior fed-
eral education legislation, suddenly appeared
prominently, including “non-academic in-
dicators of school success.” ESSA, the new
law of the land in K-12 education, directed
schools to incorporate at least one non-aca-
demic indicator in their school accountability
plans, “school climate” among them.
While the regulatory process is in f lux
under new leadership at the U.S. Depart-
ment of Education, California’s new ac-
countability system continues to place an
emphasis on school climate and other mul-
tiple measures. Gone are the days of stan-
dardized testing alone in defining student
and school success.
All educational leaders strive to cultivate a
positive school climate on their campus, but
with the current challenges facing students,
families and communities, exacerbated by a
sea change in the political landscape, what’s
the secret to achieving this universal goal?
Camille Farrington, a leading researcher
in the field of social and emotional learning
(SEL) and non-cognitive skills, terms often
used interchangeably with non-academic
skills, defines such skills as factors outside
of “content knowledge and academic skills”
that students need to be successful (Zin-
shteyn, 2015). Like Farrington, research
from the Collaborative for Academic and
Social Emotional Learning, argues pri-
oritization of non-cognitive, life skills is
long overdue: “In too many classrooms and
schools across America, children are miss-
ing a critical piece of their education. Year
after year, and test after test, students and
their teachers focus on the cognitive ele-
ments of education, while other life skills
are often absent from their in-school experi-
ence” (CASEL, 2013).
Current research finds overwhelming
teacher support for developing non-cogni-
tive skills in students, including the belief
that implementing SEL practices “positively
By Amy Cranston