Superintendent Arntzen Releases School Climate Data Interpretation Guidance

• Brian O'Leary
• December 23 2024

HELENA – Superintendent Arntzen is pleased to announce a new tool to assist schools in developing safe and supportive learning environments. This tool, School Climate Data Interpretation Guidance: Making Data-Driven Decisions to Foster Safe and Supportive Learning Environments, provides school leaders with step-by-step guidance to collaboratively analyze school climate data and make data-informed decisions to strengthen the climate of a school. This guidance meets the new school accreditation requirements related to school climate in ARM 10.55.801.

“The school climate guidance reflects my Montana Hope initiative, which focuses on strengthening our children’s well-being and family and community engagement,” said Superintendent Elsie Arntzen. “Safe learning environments foster student success. The data gathered from this survey will help improve teaching and learning in all of our public schools.”

Conducting a school climate survey provides stakeholders with an opportunity to share their experiences related to school participation. The results of this survey, in addition to other school data such as attendance data and Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data, allow school leadership to better understand the school experiences of students, teachers, and community members.

The school climate data analysis guides students, families, school staff, and community members through a collaborative process of reviewing data, identifying strengths and needs, and prioritizing actions that a school district can take to ensure every student feels safe and welcome at school.

This tool is being launched now so that schools may use it before accreditation reporting is due on February 28th. 

###