“There is a much greater sense of awareness [among students] - both of themselves and their attitudes and of what is happening with students around them." – Cyndy Bliss, Principal of Myrtle Grove Middle School, an EYES Initiative Partner School

Greetings! At the National School Climate Center at Ramapo for Children, we are in full swing with our efforts to provide the trainings and resources needed to create positive, engaging, equitable, and safe school environments. And while we're still early in the new year, we are amazed by educators’ resilience, especially while dealing with collective trauma and the challenges of online or hybrid learning.  We are honored to work with innovative schools like Myrtle Grove Middle School in Wilmington, North Carolina. Myrtle Grove has worked to effectively address bias, bullying, and other hurtful behaviors through youth engagement, coaching, and the Comprehensive School Climate Inventory (CSCI). Myrtle Grove is part of NSCC at Ramapo’s EYES initiative in New Hanover County, North Carolina, funded by The Harvey L. Miller Family Foundation. The leaders at Myrtle Grove continue to make great strides in improving school climate and responding to the needs of their community.

School Spotlight: Myrtle Grove Middle School Informed by the data from our anti-bullying survey and the CSCI, and with the support of Randy, the EYES coach, Myrtle Grove launched the "Myrtle Grove Middle School Upstanders" campaign. As part of the campaign, Randy produced posters that showed prevailing sentiments about bullying that were placed in areas of high traffic at the school. The posters complemented the professional development trainings, where Randy and the staff strategized around survey data, creating an upstander environment, and responding to bullying incidents.  The staff at Myrtle Grove strive to create a welcoming and empowering community for everyone. In the wake of the Capitol insurrection, their student support team put together resources to help staff and parents talk to students about their concerns. They also held extended morning meetings to allow students and staff time to check in on each other.  Here is a select list of resources compiled by NSCC at RFC and the staff at Myrtle Grove Middle School to celebrate Black History Month and guide important discussions with students:   Teachers are told not to get ‘political’ in the classroom. What does that actually mean?, Washington Post Reflecting on Amanda Gorman's 'The Hill We Climb', a lesson plan from the EYES Program Partner Facing History And Ourselves Black History Month Resource Guide for Educators and Families, resources from the Center for Racial Justice in Education Shifting out of Neutral, Teaching Tolerance When Bad Things Are Happening, Teaching Tolerance

Myrtle Grove is just one example of what our partner schools are doing to create safe and supportive school climates and we are amazed at their efforts and the efforts of all schools prioritizing school climate improvement during these challenging times. We are here to support your own school climate improvement efforts as well. Inquire below.

Due to high demand, we are opening a new section of the  School Climate Leadership Certification (SCLC) launching March 2021 PROGRAM DETAILS The SCLC course is a 18-24 month virtual, self-paced experience, supported through individual coaching sessions and interactions with other cohort members from across the country as they learn and apply knowledge around: Understanding the stages of the school climate improvement process Designing and implementing equitable school climate improvement initiatives  Sustaining and replicating positive school climates across diverse contexts The SCLC will cover the following topics: Consensus building, collaborative leadership, and stakeholder engagement Collecting, analyzing and leveraging school climate data  Developing collaborative action plans grounded in principles of continuous improvement Implementing research-based improvement strategies Exploring how SEL, trauma-informed practices, cultural competency, and youth engagement are integral to school climate  Understanding how to prioritize school climate during virtual and hybrid learning Click here

Our Recently Upgraded Comprehensive School Climate Inventory (CSCI) Redesigned to apply to virtual/remote/hybrid learning Measures nationally recognized 14 essential dimensions of school climate NEW! Social inclusion dimension measures how fully students with disabilities are actively accepted and welcomed as members of the school community beyond academics. Learn where to best direct your efforts across broad populations and sub-groups with easily accessible and immediately useful information on how your students, school personnel and families are experiencing the school community this year English and Spanish surveys available   Real time response rates and immediate reports upon survey closure Inquiry Form

Contact us at inquiries@ramapoforchildren.org with any questions

“Having just the online work or just the coaching would have been phenomenal. The fact that I had both was just so incredible.” - Past SCLC Participant

“I would go into my coaching calls with just a couple of things that I was struggling with, but I would leave the call with pages of notes- ideas for resources, ideas for ‘soft skills’ ways to approach things- and just so much more confident about the direction my work needed to take, and that my learning needed to take.” - Past SCLC Participant

We also offer a host of additional professional development offerings and supports around school climate. Please visit our website to learn about our workshops and The Comprehensive School Climate Inventory, a nationally recognized school climate survey.

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Ramapo for Children