ABSTRACT
Many excellent school climate surveys are available for conducting a needs assessment, but the Delaware School Surveys are the focus of this chapter. Emphasis is on how the surveys are used to help schools identify areas of school climate in need of improvements and to persuade major stakeholders (e.g., teachers, support staff, students, and parents) that there is a need for change. The Delaware School Surveys consists of the Delaware School Climate Surveys, which focus on the major domains of school climate, and four additional supplemental surveys that assess factors often viewed as school climate inputs or outcomes (or both). Those factors include bullying victimization, student engagement, social and emotional competencies, and teachers’ use of positive, punitive, and social and emotional learning techniques for classroom management. Evidence that the surveys are psychometrically sound and of high practical utility is briefly discussed, and recommendations and resources for linking scores to evidence-based strategies for school improvement are presented.
