TAHS uses school climate survey to improve itself

By Rhett Everhart

School climate is the quality and the character of a school through the eyes of students and teachers.

The school climate committee is in charge of administering the climate surveys and using the survey data to improve school climate. The climate surveys were administered in December 2010 and December 2011.

At Tyrone Area High School, Mr. McNitt, history and drivers education teacher, chairs the school climate committee.

“The school climate committee is important because it helps us better connect with students and staff in hopes of improving student-student, student-staff and staff-staff relationships,” McNitt said.

The committee uses student climate surveys to collect information from the students about issues in the school. For example, two items from last year’s TAHS climate survey showed that: 90% of the student body felt safe at school and 52% of the student body could see value in accepting differences in other students.

Once information is gathered by this survey the information is analyzed by the committee and given to teachers to help them better understand what students are dealing with so that they can better serve students. The goal is to provide a higher quality environment for learning and to make sure students feel safe.

“It makes me feel good that the school cares enough to check these surveys,” Gared Dixon, freshman, said.

One step towards helping students feel welcome is through door greeters.

Organized by the school climate committee and headed up by Mrs. Martin, math teacher, and Mrs. Pinter, English teacher, HS teachers created teacher teams that greet students in the morning by saying “Hello”, complimenting their outfits, asking how their night was, and wishing them good luck at upcoming games when they come into school.

“It’s good to know that the teachers care enough to try and give us a good start to our day,” Dixon said.

The school climate committee is also committed to making teachers feel good about the work they do and to thank them for their efforts. Two ways that climate committee is doing this is through a monthly birthday party and a festive table.

During every month of the year, the climate committee hosts a small celebration for the teachers that have a birthday in that month. This celebration consists of a birthday cake and decorations, usually in one of the teacher lounges, for the teachers who have birthdays in that month.