Dr. Brian Perkins talked to us this morning about the importance of creating a positive school climate, defined as "the learning environment created through the interaction of human relationships, physical setting and psychological atmosphere." He spoke of the need to ensure that children can see that they're valued. Schools should be places that when people walk through the doors, they say "this place is important." This will have a psychological impact on how children value school...and learn.
Perkins told of the changing responsibilities of schools, yet the measure we use to assess our students, standardized tests, hasn't changed. He made it clear that he's not opposed to standardized tests, but that there's more to assessing the social and emotional development of our students. He stressed the importance for whole child development-not just cognitive, but also social and emotional. It's not enough as board members to say, "show me the test scores." It's not JUST about test scores...test scores are important, yes, but we can't only focus on test scores. We must create a positive school climate. And that begins at the top with the board of education.
Here's what Dr. Perkins says is the board's role in creating a healthy climate:
- Understand the difference between administration and governance.
- Respond to policy mandates through data consideration.
- Understand what data is needed and in what format to make informed policy decisions.