Georgia Education Leaders Release New Learning Climate Videos
Unless discipline focuses on teaching children how to act appropriately, they won’t learn anything from it. Creating a supportive school climate—and decreasing suspensions and expulsions—requires close attention to the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of all students.
But all too often, preschools and early learning centers are left out of conversations about school climate and strategic planning for student discipline.
The Get Georgia Reading Campaign has released a new resource to educate childcare and school staff about embracing a new way of looking at behavior and discipline. Five videos, created for administrators, teachers, parents, policymakers—anyone with a stake in creating healthy classrooms in Georgia—show how to apply positive learning climate practices in everyday, real-life classroom scenarios:
“These videos clearly illustrate what a positive learning climate looks and feels like,” said Garry McGiboney, deputy superintendent, External Affairs, for the Georgia Department of Education. “They convey in a clear, concise, compelling, and accessible way, the significant impact that these climates have on student success.”
A positive learning climate means that when children go to school, they feel safe, supported, respected, and they clearly understand what is expected of them. For children ages 0-8, a positive learning environment requires adults to teach skills in problem solving, friendship, following expectations, rules, and routines, identifying feelings in others and in oneself, controlling anger, and exercising self control. And it requires that adults engage with and listen to children.
That is why education leaders in Georgia are deliberately working to shift these outcomes consistently by developing standard practices that will create a Positive Learning Climate, one of the four pillars of the Get Georgia Reading Campaign.
“My hope is that we can provide safe, secure, and productive learning environments for all children,” said Michelle Sandrock, Early Learning Climate manager at Metro Regional Education Service Agency (MRESA). “And that we not only see an increase in academic achievement and success, but that all kids leave school with a lifelong love of learning. We encourage you to use this valuable resource in your trainings, curriculums, presentations, keynotes, and anywhere else you can think of.”
The videos are the result of a collaboration between MRESA, Bright From the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL), and the Georgia Department of Education. They were filmed and produced by Georgia Public Broadcasting, and funded by a grant from the David, Helen, and Marian Woodward Fund—Atlanta.
The Get Georgia Reading Campaign is a platform for connecting people, agencies, organizations, sectors, disciplines, communities, and regions across Georgia around a common agenda supporting the shared expectation that all children in Georgia will be on a path to third grade reading proficiency by 2020.
Contact:
Lynn Peisner
Get Georgia Reading Communications Associate
Office: 404-507-0489
Mobile: 404-446-7925
lynn@gafcp.org