ABSTRACT
School climate describes how the community experiences the school and how everyone treats each other and their surroundings. Without strong school climates, schools face myriad issues, from truancy to bullying to vandalism. Every school leader needs to consider three primary aspects to school climate: safety; relationships; and physical environment. Schools must ensure all students and faculty in a school are physically safe. Thorough communication to all stakeholders about what to do in a crisis situation is essential, and all members of the school community must prepare what to do if an emergency arises. A school’s physical environment plays an important part in creating a healthy climate. The physical environment of the school should be clean, safe, and vandalism free. Clustering grade-level classes next to one another is an easy way to build community. However, purposeful groupings can also detract from school climate.
