Summarizes analysis of equity and educational opportunities between various ethnicities in public schools with attention to Resource Equity, College and Career Readiness, and Discipline.

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Offers lesson plans to assist young people in, first, understanding the negative impact of homophobia and transphobia on GLBTQ youth and, second, in taking a stand for social justice.

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Informs educators about the impact of deployment on military families and to provide them with strategies of overcoming the challenges their students face.

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Features the Strengthening Families Program, reflecting research that indicates that the most effective interventions build parent, child, and family skills.

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Examines issues such as patterns of offending among adolescents and how they differ for girls and boys; risk and protective factors associated with delinquency, including gender differences; and the causes and correlates of girls’ delinquency.

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Examines rising trends in girls’ delinquency in the 1990s. 

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Discusses skills African American parents and caregivers can use to prevent illicit drug use among teens. Discusses negative effects caused by marijuana, alcohol, and other substances; signs of drug use; and ways to get help from others to keep teens healthy.

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Lists the negative effects of smoking marijuana, drinking alcohol, and taking other drugs, especially for teens. Offers a resource guide and suggestions to parents about setting rules geared toward substance abuse prevention and parenting techniques to discourage drug use.

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Describes a model for overcoming barriers to school reentry developed by how the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services (CASES) in New York City.

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Describes how four factors—presence of a caring adult, school connectedness, school success, and religiosity—affect girls’ propensity towards delinquency.

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Examines the relationship between suicide and bullying among children and adolescents, with special attention to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth. Also explores strategies for preventing these problems.

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Equips prevention professionals, healthcare providers, and educators with information on current health issues among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations. Includes an overview of terms related to gender identity and sexual expression.

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Compares teen treatment admissions with co-occurring disorders to those adolescent admissions with a substance abuse problem only; examines gender, race or ethnicity, referral source, primary substance of abuse, service setting, and education.

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Presents detailed information on the welfare of children and families including such topics as family and social environment, economic circumstances, health care, physical environment and safety, behavior, education, and health. 

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Provides annual updates on the well-being of children and families in the United States across a range of domains.

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Provides national data about how public school districts identify students at risk of dropping out, programs used specifically to address the needs of students at risk of dropping out of school, the use of mentors for at-risk students, and efforts to encourage dropouts to return to school.

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Examines buffering influences of positive parental relations and positive school climate on mental health outcomes for high school students who are questioning their sexual orientation.

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Documents the existence of disparities for minorities in mental health services and the underlying knowledge base; reviews issues relevant to the mental health of racial and ethnic minorities; and provides a historical and cultural context within which minority health may be be better understood.

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Documents descriptions and links to a variety of guides, briefs, tools, and websites by the school climate content areas of programmatic intervention, measures, school climate (engagement, environment, and safety), and special populations.

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Conducts research in social science and law on the critical issues of civil rights and equal opportunity for racial and ethnic groups in the United States.  Provides resources to ensure equality in schools.

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Works toward school climates and eventually a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.  Offers educational resources to these ends like research briefs and podcasts.

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Provides resources and tools for ensuring equity in schools for Latin American students.  Offers additional benefits to members.

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Promotes the mental health and well being of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Offers resources like fact sheets on mental health care considerations for this population and links to cultural competency information for mental health professionals.

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Ensures the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and works to eliminate race-based discrimination.  Provides resources and information on related advocacy and other issues.

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Provides training, policy, and development services to help American Indian children grow up safe, healthy, and spiritually strong.  Offers free downloads of research and publications and many other resources for an additional fee or for members only.

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Houses free products and tools on topic it calls "Safe, Orderly and Healthy Schools" and serves as a membership organization for teachers, providing members a wealth of resources on teaching, including periodicals and videos.

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Information resource of the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services serving FYSB grantees and others working with at-risk youth and families. Offers articles, publications, podcasts and other tools on topics like Cultural Competence, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Questioning Youth, Permanent Connections, Positive Youth Development, Relationship Violence and Sexual Exploitation, Runaway and Homeless Youth, and Well-Being.

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Provides information on programs, grants, and policies addressing drug and violence prevention, character and civic education, and physical education.

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Serves as a national resource to support and strengthen the capacity of states, territories, tribes and communities to transform their mental health systems to meet the diverse and complex needs of children and adolescents with or at risk for serious emotional disturbances and their families.

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Supports states in assisting local education agencies to increase school completion rates and decrease dropout rates among students with disabilities.

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Helps military youth cope with a deployment or move.

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Works to coordinate the Federal response to homelessness and to create a national partnership at every level of government and with the private sector to reduce and end homelessness in the nation.

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Shares state-of-the art knowledge and promising practices to prevent and end homelessness and improve the lives of people affected by homelessness who have mental health conditions, substance use issues, and histories of trauma.

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Provides information and resources on youth engagement; youth development, mental health, safety, transportation, housing and employment.

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Contains resources related to military students, their families and educators, and DoDEA activities, including sections on Communication with Parents, Military Life and Culture, pertinent Legislation, and other topics of interest to military-dependent student education.

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Serves as a comprehensive teen dating violence prevention initiative based on the current evidence about what works in prevention. Focuses on 11 to 14 year olds in high-risk, urban communities and includes preventive strategies for individuals, peers, families, schools, and neighborhoods.

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Coordinates federal juvenile delinquency prevention programs, federal programs and activities that detain or care for unaccompanied juveniles, and federal programs related to missing and exploited children.

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Has formal partnerships with Army Child and Youth Services, Air Force Airmen and Family Services, Army Child and Youth Services and Navy Child and Youth Programs to support positive youth development education for youth whose parents are serving in the military.

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Provides information on the performance of States in categories related to the safety, permanency, and well-being of children who come into contact with child welfare programs across the nation.

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Mexican-American studies will return to classrooms in Tucson's secondary schools in the fall after a federal judge approved the district's new plan to achieve greater racial balance in its schools. But the pitched battle over teaching ethnic studies in Tucson may still not be settled even though U.S. District Judge David Bury has given the green light to the school district's Unitary Status plan, which is meant to bring an end to the decades-long desegregation effort in the Arizona city. A key part of that approved plan is to offer "culturally relevant" courses that focus on the history, experience, and culture of blacks and Latinos. Read Story

Education Week has released a report that highlights 16 education leaders implementing creative ideas in their own districts. "Leaders to Learn From" highlights strategies undertaken by leaders regarding school climate, curbing dropouts, improving services for students with special needs and improving parent participation. Among the leaders profiled is St. Paul, Minn., superintendent Valeria Silva, who has made major reforms to the district's approach to English-language learners. Read Story

Tennessee state Sen. Stacey Campfield has proposed legislation that would require a counselor or other school official who learns that a student has engaged in homosexual activity to report this information to the student's parents. In a separate section of the legislation, the bill requires that school officials counseling a student "who is engaging in, or who may be at risk of engaging in, behavior injurious to the physical or mental health and well-being of the student or another person" also notify parents or guardians about this. Read Story

The New York State Higher Education Services Corporation announced Thursday that a new $6.8 million federal College Access Challenge Grant was awarded to New York state to increase college enrollment and completion among its low-income students for the fourth time. 

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Schools must make "reasonable modifications" for students with disabilities seeking to compete in after-school sports, the U.S. Department of Education announced last week in a letter intended to clarify federal laws on inclusion. For example, schools can use a flashing light as a race starter for a runner who is deaf or hard of hearing, department officials wrote. "It's really affording them access to terrific social situations that will hopefully break down some of the barriers and discrimination we've seen in the past," said Lindsay Jones of the Council for Exceptional Children. Read Story

Low-income strivers face uphill climbs. Three friends Each showed the ability to do college work, even excel at it. But the need to earn money brought one set of strains, campus alienation brought others, and ties to boyfriends not in school added complications. With little guidance from family or school officials, college became a leap that they braved without a safety net.

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Two communities that otherwise never would have had reason to interact bonded in a way no one expected. Stereotypes that form while living in isolation from other racial and ethnic groups were shattered, expanding students’ perspective.

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As more white students move into urban -- traditionally non-white -- neighborhoods and attend nearby public schools, the longtime goal of successful school integration looms as a possibility, according to Jennifer Burns Stillman, an author and research analyst at the Office of Innovation in the New York City Department of Education. However, she writes, the challenge is to effectively manage the different needs of families from different backgrounds and weave together "extremely different groups of people."  Read Story

Successful turnarounds of struggling high schools hinge on fostering environments where teachers and students are supported, and parents and community members are engaged, suggests Charles Payne, a University of Chicago professor and affiliate of the university's Urban Education Institute. "You can create all the pockets of good instruction you want, [but] if the organizational environment doesn't support [the change], it is likely to destroy it," he said. Culture change requires a combination of teacher collaboration, community connections, rigorous instruction, supportive leadership and safe environment, he said.

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A federally funded San Diego Unified School District program that has helped children of military families adjust to new surroundings and achieve a higher level of math proficiency will expire at the end of the school year. Operation Student Success, paid for through a one-time $2.5 million Defense Department grant, has enabled eight schools in the Serra cluster to provide a multitude of services to students and teachers, including support groups, tutoring and training.

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The U.S. Department of Education has announced 20 awards in the latest round of its Investing in Innovation competition, and proposals that pledge to improve outcomes for English-language learners are well-represented in the winners' circle. Two winning projects focus on family engagement, with one of these also focused on school culture.

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A study of students in Minneapolis found that student achievement is significantly, and negatively, affected by homelessness and high mobility. Homeless students often struggle with attendance, health and nutrition and may have trouble focusing in school because their attention is directed to their personal lives and anxiety over their living situations, said Elizabeth Hinz, district liaison for homeless and highly mobile students.

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Educators and administrators in Altoona, Pa., are working to reduce the dropout rate of students in special education following a state audit last year. As part of an improvement plan filed with the state, the district is working to better planning for students transitioning from high school to college and the workplace, and recently held an event to introduce families to available services.

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The United States must move past its focus on minimum achievement standards for all and put more energy behind identifying and developing the talent of students who are capable of more—especially students from low-income backgrounds and students learning English, the National Association for Gifted Children said in a new directive this week. The report goes into some interesting detail about the psychological and emotional support talented students from minority and low-income families may need.

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Whole child programs project manager Klea Scharberg speaks with members of the Special Olympics National Youth Activation Committee about the importance of positive school culture in the latest episode of the Whole Child Podcast. You'll hear what this term means to each of them and delve into topics of student voice and leadership.

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Highline School District in Washington state has developed a new high-school elective option called Student Interpreter program. The initiative was designed to help English-language learners enhance a marketable job skill using their ability to speak a foreign language. Officials say the program teaches the subtle points of acting as a translator, such as eye contact, enunciation and how to make sure you relay the speaker's message in the right tone to convey the proper meaning. 

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First lady Michelle Obama and the vice president's wife, Jill Biden, were set to announce a new initiative Wednesday to help teachers better address the needs of students from military families. The initiative, "Operation: Educate the Educator," will seek to help teachers address the social, emotional and learning challenges that military children face. Already, 100 colleges that offer teaching degrees have signed on to the program. 

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Even as immigration has slowed or stopped in many places, and instructional programs for English-learners have matured, serving immigrant families and their children remains a work in progress in many public schools, especially those in communities that are skeptical, or sometimes hostile, to the newcomers. One of the biggest challenges, educators and advocates said, is communicating effectively with parents who don't speak English—an issue that, in part, has brought recent complaints of discrimination against Latino students and their families to two large districts in North Carolina and one in Louisiana.

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First lady Michelle Obama and the vice president's wife, Jill Biden, introduced an initiative this month to help teachers better address the needs of students from military families. The initiative, "Operation: Educate the Educator," will seek to help teachers address the emotional, social and learning challenges that military children face. Already, 100 colleges that offer teaching degrees have signed on to the program.

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Creating a culture where students aspire toward academic achievement and positive behavior that incorporates a restorative rather than punitive code of conduct is a critical aspect of graduating male African-American students who are ready for postsecondary life, experts said during a recent panel discussion at the National Summit on Educational Excellence and Opportunity for African-American Males in Washington, D.C.

(Source: Education Daily, Vol. 45, No. 154)

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A new survey by the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network shows that anti-LGBT language at schools has been decreasing over the years and for the first time in the survey's 12-year history, responses show a significant decrease in victimization based on sexual orientation. The survey results, released today, include responses from about 8,600 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

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An African-American teenager recently told William R. Hite, Jr., the incoming schools superintendent in Philadelphia, that there are more adults working in his high school who could arrest him than could help him fill out applications for college financial aid. That story, shared Monday with an audience of educators, advocates, and state and federal policymakers, punctuated an issue of increasing concern: the persistent vulnerability of black boys.

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Federal officials are sponsoring a new grant competition designed to promote collaboration between charter schools and traditional public schools that want to work together to improve academic achievement and overall educational services. Department officials say many of the strategies for collaboration, such as coordinating lesson planning for schools with similiar populations, examining how school climate could be improved, or arranging regular meetings to share ideas, won't necessarily cost a lot of money.

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A summer camp for students with disabilities in Texas includes a focus on academics as well as activities that help students' develop their social skills and abilities.

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The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will investigate whether the Wake County public schools in North Carolina are discriminating against English-language learners and their parents by not providing adequate translations of important documents.

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A new study looking at over 800 students ages 9 to 16 from nine different schools finds that bullying experiences vary dramatically between special education and general education students. Using school data on student involvement in bullying situations, researchers found that kids enrolled in special education were more likely to both perpetrate and be victims of bullying. They were also more likely to be sent to the school office for disciplinary problems than those in general education.

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Some New York City parents of students with special needs who have limited English proficiency (L.E.P.) say schools are not doing enough to ensure adequate communication about their children's education. The parents, who rallied on Wednesday, have filed a complaint with the federal Office for Civil Rights. 

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In Wake County, North Carolina, parents who are not fluent in English do not receive the translation services they need to understand some public school documents involving their children, says a complaint filed against the district today with the U.S. Department of Education's office of civil rights by a pair of advocacy groups.

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Gay and lesbian teenagers across the United States are less likely to be happy, more likely to report harassment and more inclined to experiment with drugs and alcohol than the nation's straight teens, according to a new nationwide survey of more than 10,000 gay and lesbian young people.

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The students delighted in giving Duncan homework: They want his office to collect data on episodes of bullying, harassment, and discrimination of LGBT students, perhaps as a part of the Civil Rights Data Collection, something Duncan said he would explore. Duncan said he also liked students' suggestion that they talk to teachers about their experiences as a form of sensitivity training.

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The Education Department said issued its 15 principles about restraints and seclusion, to be used as the foundation of policies and procedures created by states and districts, but it isn't binding or required. The principles were a collaboration between the department and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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A public high school in Michigan recently held an all-girl prom to accommodate its many students whose religious beliefs prohibit dating, dancing with boys or appearing without headscarves when males are present. The event was organized by a group of students, who conducted a survey and found that nearly 65% of the female student body at Hamtramck High School would be unable to attend the school's coed prom because of their cultural or religious beliefs. 

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Urban youth who have been bullied or bully others may be at increased risk of suicide according to new research.

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Experts say students leaving correctional facilities face a number of barriers. The responsibilities of the various agencies and schools involved in the transition are often not clearly defined by state or local regulation, and students are left to navigate through vague procedures and cope with a lack of educational continuity without clear guidance or support.

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Around the nation, schools are forming race-specific groups to break through to some of the hardest-to-reach students. By focusing on black or Asian or Hispanic kids, educators say, they can chip away at the alienation that keeps students of color from succeeding in school.

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The White House Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Conference on Safe Schools & Communities, hosted by the White House Office of Public Engagement and the U.S. Department of Justice in partnership with the University of Texas at Arlington, will be held in Arlington, Texas on March 20, 2012. Speakers will include Attorney General Eric Holder and White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett.

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The early results from a new survey find that 63 percent of children with autism spectrum disorders have been bullied at some point in their lives, three times as much as their brothers and sisters who don't have the disorders.

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A coalition of advocates for people with disabilities offered more criticism of a recent report by the American Association of School Administrators that touted the merits and necessity of using restraints and seclusion.

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Arne Duncan sat down today with José A. Rico, the executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, to discuss education issues important to the Latino community, such as early childhood education and parental engagement to improve academic outcomes for Latino students.

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Many schools in rural areas lack adequate mental-health services for students, according to a recent report by researchers at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. The report found that there is a need in rural Texas schools for more mental-health resources that target Hispanic students, better communication about the few resources available and more mental-health training for school counselors.

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During his State of the Union address, President Obama called on universities to hold down costs in order to make higher education more accessible to the middle class; urged states to raise the dropout age to 18; and reiterated his call for Congress to approve some version of the DREAM Act, which provides a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who came to the country as children, if they go on to college or the military.

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The number of homeless students in Maryland has more than doubled in the past five years, rising from 6,721 to 14,117 last school year, according to the Maryland State Department of Education. Nationally, the number of homeless children rose 38 percent from 2007 to 2010, including those too young to attend school. A new report by the National Center on Family Homelessness found that the recession left one in 45 children in the United States homeless.

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Poor children who get high-quality day care as early as infancy reap long-lasting benefits, including a better chance at a college degree and steady employment, according to a UNC-Chapel Hill study that followed participants from birth to age 30. The research is widely cited in a body of evidence that early childhood education can change the trajectory of young lives.

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Too many rural minority students are categorized as learning disabled, a new study asserts, attributing that in part to an overly broad method used to identify those children.

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A new initiative is aimed at using advocacy by parents and educators to address factors that contribute to a disproportionate number of African-American students being identified as having disabilities. Data show that black students comprise 17% of public-school students but account for 31% of those with intellectual disabilities, 28% of those with emotional disorders and 21% of those with learning disabilities, all diagnoses that could be influenced by bias.

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A new initiative hopes to tackle one of special education's most persistent problems: the disproportionate identification of black children as having disabilities. Now, the National Association for the Education of African American Children with Learning Disabilities will use grant money from the Oak Foundation to train parents how to better advocate for their children and address this persistent disproportionality.

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One out of every five children now enrolled in a U.S. public school speaks a language other than English at home. Many of them were born in other countries. Some have had little or no formal education before coming to the United States, even among those who are the age of American middle or high school students. Efforts to help foreign-born students and children learning new languages are complicated by immigration policy, culture and other factors.

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Enrollment in rural schools is growing faster than in any other geographic area, and its students also are becoming poorer and more racially diverse, according to a report released by the Rural School and Community Trust.

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A new federal initiative aims to provide paying jobs to up to 100,000 low-income young people this summer, a combined effort of the federal government and private companies.

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The longer students are classified as English-language learners, the greater the likelihood that they will drop out of school. And English-language learners who are reclassified as English proficient in earlier grades tend to be similar to non-English learners when it comes to achievement and dropout rates.

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Children with disabilities and special medical needs are more likely than those without disabilities to be overweight or obese, according to a report by the Health Resources and Services Administration.

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Only 16 states have laws that specifically prohibit the bullying of students with disabilities. Research shows students with disabilities often face a higher risk of becoming victims of bullying than do students without disabilities.

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The U.S. Department of Justice has released a public service announcement (PSA) on the issues that tribal youth identified as important to address with their tribal leaders.

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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth and those questioning their sexuality are at greater risk of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts, bullying by their peers and truancy, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Illinois.

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A report released Monday by a statewide advocacy group warns that low-income students, students of color and English learners will be disproportionately harmed if school districts in California move to further shorten the academic calendar due to budget cuts.

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A new report finds that African-American and Hispanic students are suspended or expelled more often than white students—even for minor offenses.

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Minority students in a high-poverty neighborhood are more likely to pass through a metal detector on the way to class than their better-off and white peers are, even if the schools are equally safe, according to new research.

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The Student Non-Discrimination Act (SENDA), introduced in the House by Rep. Polis (D-COL), would add to existing federal statutes explicit protections against bullying on the grounds of perceived or actual sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

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North Jersey News

Korean-American children and their parents gathered at a conference to deal with mental health issues facing teenagers who bounce between two culturally different worlds on a daily basis.

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The Harvard Crimson

Dean of Harvard College Evelynn M. Hammonds announced at a community meeting Wednesday night the development of new resources for BGLTQ students at Harvard, including the establishment of a full-time staff person and campus space dedicated to the BGLTQ community.

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Gay and bisexual teens are five times as likely as heterosexual peers to attempt suicide, according to new research — but a supportive social environment can cut that rate by one-fifth.

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Special needs children are two to three times more likely to be bullied than the general student population. In addition, 85% of bystanders do nothing in response to bullying they witness. Fifty percent of special needs respondents reported being fearful of their peers.

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Five districts in the Los Angeles area are weaving a web of interagency supports to catch a group of high school students who face an especially great risk for slipping through the cracks in school: youths in foster care. 

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School Climate Survey Compendium (as of December 20, 2011)

To assist educators and education agencies in locating a valid and reliable needs assessment that suits their needs, the Safe and Supportive Schools Technical Assistance Center is developing a compendium of student, staff, and family surveys that can be used as part of a school climate needs assessment.  Below is an initial list of school climate survey batteries. (Alternatively, click  here to download a summary table (PDF) of each survey by respondent type.)

Please note that the Office of Safe and Healthy Students does not endorse any particular scale or survey presented in this compendium. Additionally, the database presented is not an exhaustive listing of available measures or survey instruments.  If you would like to nominate a survey that is not currently included in the compendium, click on the link below.

 Nominate a Survey
 

Alaska School Climate and Connectedness Survey