Board hears first reading of new school climate policy, outlines coordinator roles and training requirements

The Board of Education met Oct. 14 to review a first reading of a new school climate policy required by the state and discussed steps the district will take to implement it.

Board members heard that the policy requires a district-level school climate coordinator, named building-level climate specialists, regular climate committees and the creation and reporting of school climate action plans. The presentation described changes to how bullying and challenging behavior are documented and a plan to expand professional development in restorative practices, social-emotional learning (SEL) and de-escalation strategies.

Tiffany Jackson, the district presenter, said the policy ties directly to the district’s strategic operating plan and emphasized prevention. “The notion and intent is not just about the compliance pieces … but really, this is about the state department of education really making sure that we, as school districts, are looking at school culture and climate, how we're working preventatively, not reactionary,” Jackson said.

Superintendent Dr. Negron introduced Christian Tavares as the district’s new climate staff member who will support schools alongside Monica Abbott, the district’s culture and climate lead. Dr. Negron said the coordinator will “support the schools with proactive preventative intervention as well as training and supports around the culture and climate development.”

The presenters said most schools already have elements of the required work — climate committees, SEL and restorative practices — and that the policy will formalize and standardize processes. Key operational requirements described for each school included: naming a climate specialist (often the principal or assistant principal), running a climate committee that dedicates at least 45 minutes monthly to implementation, maintaining a school climate action plan that reports on sense-of-belonging and behavioral data, and administering a regular climate survey.

Jackson and Abbott described a revised approach to documenting incidents. Abbott said the state’s approach narrows the statutory bullying definition and places bullying under a broader “challenging behavior” process. “They’ve reduced it and put less language in it. But with that, they’ve also introduced something called the challenging behavior form and bullying actually falls under a category of a challenging behavior,” Abbott said.

Board members asked about professional development, measurement and consistency of implementation. The district described ongoing training already in use — mental health first aid, PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports), restorative practices, and a locally developed “supporting students with complex needs” workshop — and said some offerings have waiting lists. Jackson described the tiered fidelity inventory used to measure implementation across schoolwide practices, with classroom and staff surveys incorporated into the assessment.

Board members stressed the need to match staffing to the policy’s expectations. Board member Mister Wilcox urged that staffing gaps identified in the district’s regular staffing reports reflect needs for behavior interventionists and other roles that support implementation. Jackson said the district is working to calibrate the code of conduct, the action plans and the professional development with an eye toward measurable results.

The presentation did not propose policy language changes for immediate board approval; it was an informational first reading with follow-up materials and trainings to be scheduled. Superintendent Negron closed by thanking the climate team and said the district has invested significant time preparing to implement the state requirement.

Next steps the presenters listed include targeted professional development rollout, additional office hours and attorney-supported training on the challenging behavior process, deeper data integration across attendance/behavior/academic measures, and continued refinement of restorative and PBIS work.