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Discover five practical ways to create a positive school climate that supports students, educators, and families throughout the school year.

Start With Climate: Setting the Conditions for a Strong School Year

  • National School Climate Center

As a new school year approaches, school and district leaders are preparing for everything from staffing and schedules to new initiatives and instructional priorities. Amid the many competing priorities, some of the most important preparation begins with a different question:

 

What conditions are we creating for students, staff, and families to thrive this year?

School climate is shaped by the everyday experiences of a school community, including whether people feel safe, supported, connected, heard, and ready to learn and work together. While these conditions are built over time, the beginning of the school year provides an important opportunity to establish the relationships, routines, and expectations that will shape the months ahead.

 

5 Ways to Start With Climate

  1. Build connection into the plan: Make relationship-building part of opening activities, staff meetings, classroom routines, and family engagement. This might mean creating intentional opportunities for new students to connect, building check-ins into classroom routines, or reaching out to families with a positive introduction early in the year. 
  2. Communicate the “why”: When introducing expectations, initiatives, or changes, explain how they connect to the experience you want to create for your community. A simple shift from “Here is what we are doing” to “Here is why this matters” can help build shared understanding. 
  3. Listen early: You do not have to wait for a formal survey to gather meaningful feedback. Ask students what would help them feel more connected, include a quick climate check-in at a staff meeting, or create multiple ways for families to share their perspectives. 
  4. Pay attention to whose voices are missing: Look at who is participating in meetings, events, and feedback opportunities. If the same voices are consistently missing, consider different ways to reach them, including smaller conversations, translated materials, flexible meeting options, or anonymous feedback. 
  5. Act on what you learn: Look for patterns in what you hear and observe. At the end of the first month, ask: What is working? What are we hearing consistently? What is one adjustment we can make now? 

 

As you prepare for the year ahead, consider:

  • Belonging: How will students and staff know they are valued members of the community?
    In practice: Greet students by name, create opportunities for new students and staff to connect, and consider whether school traditions and activities reflect the full community. 
  • Relationships: How will you intentionally build trust and connection from the start?
    In practice: Build relationship-building into opening activities and routines, create opportunities for staff collaboration, and connect with families before there is a concern. 
  • Safety: How are you supporting physical, social, and emotional safety for everyone in the school community?
    In practice: Make sure students know where to go for support, establish norms that encourage help-seeking, and pay attention to spaces and times where students may feel less supported. 
  • Voice: How will students, staff, and families have meaningful opportunities to share their perspectives and help shape their community?
    In practice: Use early check-ins, listening sessions, and multiple ways to gather feedback, then close the loop by sharing what you heard and what will happen next.

 

The routines, relationships, and expectations established in the opening weeks can help set the foundation for the entire school year. Starting with climate means being intentional about those conditions from day one and continuing to listen, learn, and adjust as the year unfolds.

 

A strong school climate is not one more initiative to add to the list. It is the foundation that helps students learn, educators do their best work, and school communities move forward together.

 

The National School Climate Center Team

 

Upcoming: We’ll explore belonging from day one and practical ways to build connection and inclusion into the opening weeks of school.

Take Your School Climate Improvement to the Next Level

Explore NSCC tools and guidance to help your school build safe, supportive, and thriving learning environments.

Solutions Hub
E Tsang, Director of Operations, National School Climate Center

E Tsang

Director of Operations

As the Director of Operations for NSCC, E Tsang helps make the finances, HR, and organizational functions of NSCC run smoothly.
Adam St. Bernard Jacobs(he/him), Co-Executive Director, National School Climate Center

Adam St. Bernard Jacobs (he/him)

Co-Executive Director

Adam is a peace educator and nonprofit leader. Adam was previously the organization’s Director of Development. Prior to joining NSCC, Adam was the co-founder and Executive Director of Kids Creative, an arts education organization in NYC. He was also a member of the team that founded a community elementary school in The Bronx. He has worked on issues of equity, anti-racism, arts education, and conflict resolution. He has written articles and led workshops in conflict resolution and the arts, giving talks and workshops at Columbia University, The Peace and Justice Studies Conference, Gettysburg College, and The University of Istanbul, among others. Adam has an undergraduate degree in International Politics, a Masters degree in Peace Education, and a Certificate in Senior Nonprofit Leadership, all from Columbia University, as well as an undergraduate degree in Rabbinic Law from The Jewish Theological Seminary of America. He was also Mr. Clown, a lead performer in the internationally acclaimed rock group for kids, The Dirty Sock Funtime Band, and was a regular on Nick Jr. and Chuck E Cheese TV. He is raising 2 fantastic children with his life partner, Tabitha.
Kori Hamilton Biagas, Director of Education, National School Climate Center

Kori Hamilton Biagas

Director of Education

Kori is an educator, connector, truth seeker, master facilitator, and the founder of Just Educators. Kori has nearly 20 years of experience in strategic planning, policy analysis and development, instruction, coaching, and technical assistance. As an Equity Specialist for the Region IV and Region IX equity assistance centers, Kori managed large-scale, racial equity driven school district transformation efforts, led district and state leaders through policy analysis, coached state leaders through school climate transformation initiatives, and provided equity-focused professional learning opportunities at all levels of education. Kori specializes in addressing and resolving inequitable policies, practices, and processes in organizations related to racial equity and social justice.
Christian Villenas, Ph.D, Co-Executive Director, National School Climate Center

Christian Villenas, Ph.D

Co-Executive Director

A sociologist by training and an applied education researcher by practice, Christian’s work examines how educational institutions shape opportunity, belonging, exclusion, and student experience. At NSCC, he helps guide the organization’s research, measurement, evaluation, partnerships, and strategic growth, with a focus on making evidence usable for schools, districts, and education partners. Before joining NSCC, Dr. Villenas held research and policy roles at GLSEN, Advocates for Children of New York, the New York City Charter School Center, the NAEP Education Statistics Services Institute, and the American Institutes for Research. Across more than two decades, his work has focused on school climate, social disparities in education, disability studies, LGBTQ student experiences, college access, education policy, program evaluation, and statistical analysis. He holds a BS from New York University, an MS from The New School, and a PhD in Sociology from Johns Hopkins University.
Amanda Weitzel, Director of School Partnerships, National School Climate Center

Amanda Weitzel

Director of School Partnerships

For over a decade at NSCC, Amanda has partnered with schools and districts across the country to support the implementation of school climate surveys and the strategic use of data to drive meaningful improvement. With a background in data analysis, customer success, and partner support, Amanda specializes in helping educators move beyond data collection to uncover actionable insights that strengthen school communities. Her work sits at the intersection of research, data, and practice, guiding school and district leaders in translating survey results into informed decisions that support student success, staff well-being, and positive learning environments. Amanda is passionate about empowering educators with the tools, knowledge, and confidence needed to create safe, supportive, and engaging schools where all students can thrive.
Samantha Elleman, Associate Director of Research, National School Climate Center

Samantha Elleman

Associate Director of Research

Samantha’s primary research topics span school climate, social inclusion, and school climate improvement. Prior to joining the National School Climate Center, Samantha worked as Assistant Teacher and Research Assistant at the Barnard Toddler Center. Her research interests include early childhood education, childhood trauma and protective factors, social-emotional education, and mental wellness in schools. Samantha holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Barnard College and a Master of Arts in Developmental Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University.