Provide safe, welcoming and caring environments in which all students and staff have a sense of belonging and purpose.

Areas of Focus

Learning Environment: Positive, student-centered learning through student voice and access to instruction and school connections in a safe, supportive, and well-maintained environment.

Working Conditions: A positive and supportive environment in our schools and worksites, through staff voice, enabling all employees to perform their best work according to established responsibilities and standards, leading to increased job satisfaction and employee retention.

Professional Growth: A deliberate and personalized approach to building team members' capacity and well-being through the development of individual skills, traits and competencies, which supports individual and collective well-being as well as the division's needs.

Theory of Action

If we create student-centered learning in safe, positive, and well-maintained schools and workplaces, focused on student and staff growth, then team members will be well equipped to foster a sense of belonging and purpose.

Why this is Important

A school environment is broadly characterized by its facilities, classroom practices, school-based health supports, and disciplinary policies and practices.

• There is a strong connection between school climate and academic achievement of students (National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments, June 2022).
• A work environment characterized by positive working conditions has a direct relationship on employee retention (Yogita, 2015).
• A majority of employees (94%) report they would stay with an employer longer if it invested in their career (Workplace Learning Report, 2018).

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Student Attendance Data

Student Behavior Data

School Connectedness Data

Student Climate Survey Results

Staff Working Conditions Survey Results

Year One Strategies (FY23)

Identify components of Working Conditions survey and School Climate survey best suited to gauge student and staff perception of their environments and develop plan to survey students and staff annually.

Explore a transition towards an integrated VTSS framework that supports behavior, wellbeing, and instruction.

Perform a thorough review of existing staff mentorship/coaching programs and gain staff feedback to identify successes and areas for improvement across programs and departments.

Develop a checklist to assess the current state of the internal and external physical learning environments and implement audits of all division schools and worksites.

Perform a review of current student connections to schools as evidenced by enrollment in clubs, athletic teams, music and drama groups, student government and any other school activities or experiences which inform next steps to increase student connections.

Year Two Strategies (FY24)

Implement VTSS Tier II and Tier III processes related to integrated tiers of support for students with fidelity.

Lead school-based efforts to address chronic absenteeism rates by reducing the number of students with 5 or more unexcused absences.

Develop targeted, site-based plans which improve employee satisfaction and commitment using FY23 working conditions data and employee feedback.

Improve learning environments utilizing FY23 student climate survey data.

Create and enact a plan to improve the internal and external physical learning environments of each division school.