With districts working to put into action their first locally created school accountability plans, the CDE recently rolled out a new online resource center.

Known as the Quality Schooling Framework, the site is intended to guide administrators through the process of identifying priorities, gathering data, building support and implementing and assessing new programs.  

The framework pays a lot of attention to school culture and climate, and notes that "the school environment, like family and community environments, has either a powerful positive or negative effect on whether students learn and thrive." Click here for the "Culture and Climate" section of the Framework site. 

Measures of the heart: non-cognitive skills tests 

By Anya Kamentz, Hechinger Report 

Assembly Bill 420 eliminates willful defiance or disruption of school activities as a reason to expel students. It also prevents administrators from using that reason to issue suspensions to K-3 students.  

The willful defiance category has come under fire because it has been disproportionately used statewide to discipline African-American students and, in some districts, Latino students. In 2012-13, African-Americans made up about 6 percent of total enrollment, but 19 percent of suspensions for defiance. Read more. 

Though there are many definitions of school climate, one of the landmark publications on the topic describes it this way:

"A school's climate is its atmosphere for learning. It includes the feelings people have about the school and whether it is a place where learning can occur. A positive climate makes a school a place where both staff and students want to spend a substantial portion of their time; it is a good place to be." (Howard, E., Howell, B., & Brainard, E, 1987 Handbook for conducting school climate improvement projects.).

Read an informative summary of the factors that go into creating a positive school climate at this link from the National Association of School Psychologists.