Build a stronger K-12 school climate for students, families, and staff by addressing the academic, social, community, and physical environments of schools.
Research shows that when school communities feel safe, supported, and respected, there are measurable benefits in student achievement, teacher retention, positive relationships, and community trust. But knowing exactly which K-12 school climate practices lead to these positive outcomes is not always well understood.
How to Measure School Climate
In any K-12 environment, school culture develops based on the shared values, norms, and practices that set expectations and guide behavior. The school climate reflects how those values are experienced in practice — through relationships, the physical and emotional environment, open communication, and accessible support services.
To gain a fuller picture of school culture and climate, K-12 leaders can use surveys, focus groups, and in-depth interviews to learn how students, parents, staff, and community members experience a school environment. When those insights are compared against outcomes data, K-12 organizations can begin to identify broad trends as well as specific differences and gaps to address.
Between 2023–2025, Hanover Research conducted a national K-12 Culture and Climate Survey to explore the key drivers and challenges that shape a positive learning environment. Capturing over 100,000 respondents across 31 districts, the survey measures how students, parents, staff, and community members perceive the academic, social, community, and physical environment of their schools.
This data, along with other evidence-based research and best practices, can be used to develop a more comprehensive strategy to bolster a positive school culture and climate.
The Academic Environment in Schools
→ While 84% of survey respondents believe their schools want students to succeed, only 62% agree that schools sufficiently support under-performing students
The academic environment of a school refers to the quality of instruction, attitudes toward learning, and level of resources and accommodations for all students. A negative academic environment results in lower rates of achievement, leading to distrust in educators and lower academic self-confidence and motivation in students.
Teachers and staff must have adequate training and support to understand the factors that contribute to a negative academic environment and solutions to help remediate it. This means your organization’s professional learning plans must be built on data-informed practices that help educators motivate students, model a growth mindset, and embrace new instructional resources and methods. Yet it’s also important to survey teacher and staff to learn what professional development they believe they need most, and how they want it delivered.
Effective learning interventions are an essential part of a healthy academic environment. Accelerate student success with tips from our blog on best practices in math interventions.
The Community Environment in Schools
→ Only 43% of survey respondents agree their district engages the community, while just 34% say their district responds to community members’ questions or concerns
Creating an inclusive environment can unite all groups within a learning community — students, families, teachers, staff, and external community members — and help restore trust and shared values.
But without a strong connection to student and family voices, all other aspects of K-12 school climate may suffer. If students do not feel comfortable voicing their concerns, K-12 organizations lack the understanding and insights needed to improve their climate. Similarly, climate falters when parents and educators lack avenues of communication with the administrative leadership, limiting their ability to advocate for themselves and their students.
Schools and districts must create appropriate ways to invite and empower students, family, staff, and the community at large to engage with schools, including:
- Provide clear, accessible platforms for students and families to voice their ideas and concerns. Regularly collect this information and be prepared to make specific adjustments tailored to school concerns.
- Allow communities to take an active role in improvement efforts through focus groups, surveys, and participatory meetings.
- Promote teacher agency by bolstering the lines of communication to leadership and honoring the input of teachers in decision-making processes.
Looking to strengthen community connections? Start with our Engaging Families and Communities in K-12 Education infographic.
The Social Environment in Schools
→ 42% of middle school students and 38% of high school students say students at their school experience bullying based on their physical appearance a few times a week or almost daily
Particularly in 2025–26, many students need tools to manage emotions, build social connections, and manage conflict and differences in order to succeed at school. Schools and districts that effectively address students’ mental health challenges, behavioral concerns, and social development needs tend to share characteristics such as providing tiered supports, examining organizational policies and practices, and offering social-emotional learning (SEL) instruction and resources, such as anti-bulling initiatives. Together, these approaches ensure that students learn how to self-regulate, make meaningful connections with others, and fully engage in their learning.
To set up schools for success, leaders should allocate resources to conduct climate surveys that measure social-emotional competencies. By using data to create measurable action plans, schools and districts can better understand where and why students may need more social-emotional support resources. It’s also important for them to monitor current disciplinary processes to identify patterns or gaps in behavior management practices.
Learn how other K–12 leaders address mental health through an array strategies and resources. Watch our recorded webinar, Strengthening K-12 Student and Staff Mental Health and Wellness.
The Physical Building Environment in Schools
→ 86% of staff believe students feel welcome at their school, while only 65% of students agree
When school building environments are not managed properly, they can lead to a cascade of issues related to physical or emotional safety, learning disruptions, absenteeism, or even inequitable practices.
Maximizing quality, safety, and security within students’ physical surroundings helps promote attendance, engagement, well-being, and school pride. K-12 leaders will not be successful in repairing academic, community, and social environments if students do not feel a physical sense of comfort, safety, and security when they enter the premises.
Schools and districts should not only consider implementing data-backed, inclusive solutions but also provide resources to monitor their effectiveness, including:
- Create a staff culture that values the cleanliness and comfort of school facilities, emphasizing its direct relationship to overall school climate and student well-being. Provide training on how facilities impact those with disabilities, such as sensory-based considerations for students with sensory processing disorders.
- Honor the needs of students, families, and staff by providing clear processes for reporting hazards and incidents, bolstering accountability.
- Aim to create schools with warm, inviting, and accepting classrooms for students to bring their whole selves to class, providing effective ways for students to express themselves.
Find out how some K-12 leaders are rethinking their facility planning with our webinar recording, Navigating K-12 Enrollment Shifts: Strategies for Managing Growth and Decline.
Refining a Comprehensive Approach to K-12 School Culture and Climate
To move the needle on meaningful culture and climate improvements in 2026 and beyond, K-12 leaders must consider how all four dimensions of school climate (academic, community, social, and physical environments) impact one another in significant ways. With a holistic approach and a willingness to collect and analyze key data from multiple perspectives, school and district leaders can develop a nuanced understanding of what next steps they need to take to build a stronger school climate that will lead to lasting improved outcomes for students.
