Components of School Climate
2025
©
Milwaukee Public Schools
1
Relationships and Community
What: The connections and interactions between individuals. Strong relationships are crucial for building and maintaining healthy communities, as they foster a sense of belonging, support, and collective well-being.
Why: Warm and supportive student-teacher relationships are associated with positive outcomes including improved academic performance, engagement and effort around learning. In MPS 22% of 3rd-5th and 31% of 6th-12th grade students indicate they do not feel like they belong at school on the Student Well Being Survey.
How:
2x10
Relationship Mapping
Morning meetings
Shared agreements
2025
©
Milwaukee Public Schools
2
Expectations and Procedures
What: Expectations are what we want to happen and procedures are how we make it happen.
Why: Expectations and procedures create consistency, reduce distractions and increase engagement in the classroom. Predictability in the learning environment fosters student psychological safety by reducing unexpected events, allowing students to focus on and engage in learning activities. In MPS there were over 31,000 Classroom Behavior notes for leaving the classroom, over 27,000 for refusal to follow directions, and over 26,000 for off-task behavior in the 2024-25 school year.
How:
Co-created expectations posted
Pre-correction
I do, we do, you do
Sequence chains
CHAMPS
Explicit instruction around expectations and procedures
2025
©
Milwaukee Public Schools
3
Skill Development
What: Teaching and practicing the social, emotional, and behavioral skills that students need to be successful.
Why: Skills form the foundation for successful learning, positive relationships, and lifelong well-being. Students need to know how to manage themselves, relate to others, and make responsible decisions. Having a broad social, emotional, and behavioral skill set allows students to more fully participate in and navigate the educational environment. In MPS there are over 11,000 referrals written for chronic disruption across the district.
How:
Second Step
Behavior Lesson Plans
2025
©
Milwaukee Public Schools
4
Responding to Behaviors
What: The actions, strategies, and/or interventions used by individuals to address or influence the behaviors of others.
Why: It helps maintain a safe, respectful, and productive learning environment for all students. In MPS one-on-one conversation and redirection are over 55% of all documented strategies used while 16 evidence-based strategies listed are less than 1% of all documented strategies used across the district.
How:
Restorative Conversation
Praise 5:1
Buddy Classroom
Brain Break / Mindfulness
Validate-Affirm/ Build-Bridge
PLP Classroom Behavior Teacher Response
2025
©
Milwaukee Public Schools
5
Systems of Acknowledgement
What: A structured way through which all students receive recognition, validation, and/or appreciation for the value which they bring by being members of the community.
Why: Acknowledgement affirms identity, effort and worth. In MPS 11% of 3rd-5th grade and 18% of 6-12th grade students indicate they do not feel any adult cares about them at school according to the Well Being Survey.
How:
Verbal Praise
Tangible rewards
Special privileges
Awards
Events or activities
2025
©
Milwaukee Public Schools
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