Workbook for Improving School Climate & Closing the Achievement Gap, 2nd Edition

Using Your California Healthy Kids and California School Climate Surveys

Produced by: WestEd, California Department of Education

This workbook helps local school community members evaluate data in order to close the racial/ethnic achievement gap among students and strengthen special education, migrant education, and other education services for culturally, linguistically, and ethnically diverse students.

The Workbook for Improving School Climate, 2nd Edition guides users through their school or district survey findings to create supportive school climates — climates that enhance professional outcomes for staff, academic and social–emotional outcomes for students, and involvement outcomes for parents.

Specifically, this resource helps school communities interpret and use data from the Cal-School Climate Healthy & Learning Surveys [Cal-SCHLS] suite of surveys administered throughout the state of California:

• California Healthy Kids Survey
• California School Climate Survey (staff survey)
• California School Parent Survey

Building upon the success of the first edition of the Workbook for Improving School Climate, this second edition includes only the most salient survey items from important school climate domains on each of the three surveys.

To guide readers as they compare results among surveys, this new edition also provides current item crosswalks for each of the surveys in the Cal-SCHLS suite.

Although the surveys highlighted are California-based, readers will find the information presented in this workbook useful in school communities nationwide.