Creating a School Community

I read Creating a School Community by Eric Schaps which appeared in the March 2003 edition of Educational Leadership. I read this a few years ago but stumbled upon it in looking back through my school community builder activities. The article makes a case for the importance of creating community within a classroom and school with students, teachers, and parents. It mentions that when a school seeks to meet a child's psychological needs, he/she becomes more committed to the school.
It mentions that research confirms the benefits of creating a community because it motivates students academically, helps develop social and emotional skills, and may lead to lower rates of problem behaviors. One study showed that middle school students who were exposed to community building activities at their elementary schools outperformed comparable students from other elementary schools (without community building) in academic outcomes (test scores and higher G.P.A.), teacher ratings of behavior (respectful behavior and social skills), and fewer delinquent acts.
Osceola has been implementing Responsive Classroom (elementary level) and Developmental Design (middle school level). Most recently, it has made an attempt to train professional staff in regards to these community building approaches. Last summer, the district had many staff members attend a one week workshop to gain a better understanding of these programs. In prior years, many staff were using parts of the approaches but now a majority of staff members have been equipped with the tools and training in how to carry this into their own classrooms and schools until now. We are not expected to be implementing various components on our classroom and using similar terminology/vocabulary with our students.
An annual survey should be used to access how well the school's overall effectiveness is with the various community builder ideas used within a school as well as to give students a voice. Some ideas may include:

• My class is like a family.
• Students in my class help one another learn.
• I believe that I can talk to the teachers in this school about things that are bothering me.
• Students in my class can get a rule changed if they think that it is unfair.

The article also goes onto say that schools with strong community are truly rare and the schools that really need it do not have the necessary tools to truly build community. One does not have to adopt a program, but schools can strengthen students' sense of community by adopting a few ideas.

1. Actively cultivate respectful, supportive relationships (support others)
2. Emphasize common purposes and ideals (character education and citizenship, a shared understanding of the school's values)
3. Provide regular opportunities for service and cooperation (collaborate and create relationships with others)
4. Provide developmentally appropriate opportunities for autonomy and influence (student voice)

As of 2003, here are a few programs aimed at community building.
-James Comer's School Development Program (http://info.med.yale.edu/comer/index.html)
-Eunice Shrivers' Community of Caring Program (www.communityofcaring.org)
-Northeast Foundation for Children's Responsive Classroom (www.responsiveclassroom.org)
-David Hawkins Seattle Social Development Project (http://www.ssdp-tip.org/)
-Developmental Studies Center's Child Development Project (www.devstu.org)

These programs offer tools for helping to build all "stakeholders" in an experience of community. I would tend to think smaller schools may have an advantage of building community than larger ones.
Does your school use any programs to build community? I do not see the the same positive statistics in Osceola as the article mentions with such programs. However if we truly are working to build community, wouldn't a lot of the behavior problems take care of themselves? I feel like children are having more behavior problems now than in years past which may make it difficult in the classroom.


Schaps, E. (2003). Creating a School Community. Educational Leadership, 60(6), 31.