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School Climate Enhancement Training Programs
On Common Ground, Inc. is a NJ Character Education Partnership Program of Merit

Introduction:

What is school climate?

On Common Ground, Inc. describes school climate as an amalgamation of the prevailing attitudes, norms, and culture of a school environment with regard to how people treat each other. This view of school climate invites the following questions:

• Do members of the community feel safe and comfortable there?
• How safe is it (emotionally and physically) for a student or adult in the community to be considered “different”?
• Does each member of the school community feel respected and valued?

Why is school climate important?

The climate of a school can play an enormous role in the emotional health and academic availability of students. Many schools are witnessing increased levels of bullying, isolation, conflict, and violent behavior. Our children appear to be facing serious challenges to their emotional and physical well-being. Professor Nancy Guerra of the University of California, Riverside explains, “that there is a more general atmosphere of meanness, where teasing and taunting are the norm among most students, rather than the exception.” The implications for events like the Columbine tragedy are painfully clear. On the positive side, something can be done to help. There is a growing consensus among educators that school climate has a powerful effect on the health and academic performance of individual students.

How can On Common Ground help with school climate?

On Common Ground, Inc. strives to help students attend schools that are emotionally and physically safe and secure, free of fear and conducive to learning. On Common Ground designs trainings to impact the interrelated issues of the emotional intelligence of individual students and the culture or climate of the schools they attend.

While a "typical" On Common Ground school climate training is outlined below, all On Common Ground training programs are customized to meet the exact needs of each school and always beginning with a program planning process. For more information on the program planning process, click here.

"Typical" Training Description:

This model is designed to impact the overall climate of a particular school by training and empowering a selected group of students with proven leadership ability and a desire to have a positive impact on their school culture. Our school climate trainings focus on two important, interrelated processes: the development of emotional intelligence skills in individuals and the building of a safe, supportive community of trained students. This approach helps develop a team of highly skilled, empathetic leaders who can support each others efforts in creating a positive and inclusive culture in the larger school environment.

The students and adult participants begin by deciding how they would like to treat each other. In other words, the group actively and consciously develops a blueprint for the type of community culture which they desire. On Common Ground facilitators guide the group through a carefully selected series of experiential activities to help the group learn the necessary skills to bring their vision of community to life. These activities help individuals develop proficiencies in self-awareness, emotional self-management, empathy, effective listening, cooperation, and conflict resolution skills. Concurrently, On Common Ground trainers facilitate group-building and trust-related initiatives to help the group function effectively as a team. On Common Ground helps the group experience the safety and wonder of a supportive, positive peer culture, empowering them to turnkey their experience to the larger school community.

Program Goals:

The overall goal is to positively impact overall school climate by:

1. Building a core team of student and adult leaders with a shared vision of community
2. Training the core team members in inter- and intra-personal emotional competencies, including empathy, communication, and teamwork skills
3. Helping the core team develop strategies to build a more supportive, inclusive school environment

Program Overview:

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead

On Common Ground school climate trainings stem from our philosophy that students themselves are a vastly underutilized resource within our school systems. Trained students can be extremely effective leaders, impacting the accepted norms of how students treat each other. After participating in a On Common Ground school climate training, students are prepared to take an active role in improving the level of acceptance and support within the school environment.

Program Fees:

For information on fees, please click here

Program Funding Sources:

1. Many of our clients use Character Education funding for our services:

   The New Jersey Character Education Partnership (NJCEP)

   "The purpose of the NJCEP is to assist public school educators to adopt validated character education programs that will meet the developmental needs of students throughout New Jersey by promoting pro-social student behaviors and creating a caring, disciplined school climate conducive to learning." –NJCEP

   To learn more about Character Education funding, click www.state.nj.us/njded/chared

2. In addition, many schools have utilized Municipal Alliance and/or Title IV funding to pay for On Common Ground services.
3. For more program funding suggestions, please contact On Common Ground at 908-879-8516 or by email.