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Volume 7: Number 7: Feb, 2012

Feature Article: Building Walk: A Walk to Define Your Building’s Climate

By Tweed W. Ross, Ed.D.

After nearly forty years in education, I’ve long felt I can assess the climate of a school by walking its hallways for just 10 to 15 minutes. For these purposes, we are going to look at climate as “the way people feel about the school.”  How people feel about their school seems to be an integral and inseparable part of the overall school culture. Some schools have an “aura” of joyfulness and purposefulness that is easy to detect as you walk in the door.  However, this feeling has little scientific basis and is more difficult to identify when you work in that school environment every day. Sometimes we are so focused on academic events in the classroom that we fail to look at the climate in the other parts of our building. Yet, many other areas of your school can be strong indicators. There are some steps you can take to look for climate clues in your building. 

 

Take your trusty notebook (or in today’s world, tablet), print or download the form that we have provided on our website, and make check marks while jotting down notes about what you find. Obviously, the more positive checkmarks you can make, the more positive your school’s climate. This little survey is a quick way for you to get a snapshot of the climate of your school and determine where reinforcement or change may be helpful.

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Other articles in this issue:

• What Makes Your Culture Tick?
• Culture: The Social Footprint of Our School
• Building Walk: A Walk to Define Your Building’s Climate
• Case Study: Free Speech and Athletic Codes
• Culture vs. Climate: What’s the Difference?
• THE MASTER TEACHER Pd PROGRAM: February 2012
• What to Expect from Performance Evaluations
• Book Review: Shaping School Culture: The Heart of Leadership
• FACTS
• INTERNET SITES TO SHARE: Achieving a Culture of Learning
• Integrating Staff Development with Career Stage
• Gadget Grabber: iPads in Schools: The Enterprise Perspective, Part 1
• The Principal’s GPS: Examining the Nuances of School Life
• Focus Events of the Month: February/March
• What About the Culture of Your School?
• Did You Know?