School climate topics from increased mental health funding to bully prevention policies sparked your interest in 2014. Below we revisit just a few news items from around the nation as well as what's coming in 2015 for NSCC in this year-in-review recap.

We know there's never enough time to manage everything on your to-do list and stay informed on the most recent news. To make it a bit easier, we're committed to sending you information that is relevant and timely. What topics are you most interested in learning about this year? Select all that apply here.

2014: Year In Review

A Gallup Education report shows 7 in 10 teachers are not emotionally connected to their profession. Feeling undervalued and not enjoying an open relationship with leadership are just two factors impacting perception.

What is bullying? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Education, and the Health Resources and Services Administration have outlined a uniform definition acknowledging two modes and four types of bullying.

More than $70 million invested by the U.S. Department of Education across 38 states for school climate improvement will be used to increase student outcomes, support students exposed to violence, and expand the capacity to develop emergency operations plans.

Looking at school discipline from a different lens, The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center released a comprehensive report of more than 60 recommendations to overhaul school discipline approaches.

The need to better equip educators with the tools to address mental health issues is constant. In his report, Now Is The Time, President Obama calls for Mental Health First Aid training for school staff to recognize mental health disorder signs.

What's Coming in 2015

Hand writing So Many Things in To Do List with red marker isolated on white.

We have grown our bully prevention campaign, BullyBust: Promoting a Community of Upstanders, to more than 3,500 schools! Be sure to join our free Partner Program to receive our monthly BullyBust e-blasts. Take a look at our highest clicked post from our October blast by educator and blogger Beth Morrow: 8 No-Prep Ways to Reduce Classroom Bullying. In 2015 we're looking forward to keeping you posted with the latest news like our new online state laws and educational policies database for school climate and bully prevention.

We need your continued support to keep this work going. Today is the last day of our Giving Program. Please take a moment to donate now. Every dollar makes a difference! You can also support us year-round by donating through our site and when you shop AmazonSmile.

We launched a new corner to our School Climate Matters newsletter called Legal Matters in January 2014. Led by NSCC's Senior Consultant Randy Ross, MS, MA and NSCC's Policy and Legal Director Jessica Savage, Esq., plans for 2015 include coverage of equity issues in school discipline, civil rights practices, and more.

NSCC also launched a School Climate Community Scale to complement our traditional Comprehensive School Climate Inventory (CSCI) assessment of student, staff, and parent/guardian perception. Through a short survey, K-12 schools have the opportunity to strengthen community partnerships and find ways these members are able to support school improvement goals.

We first introduced NSCC's pilot collaboration with Special Olympics Project UNIFY in our September 2013 newsletter. This fall, NSCC expanded beyond the pilot stage to begin the first year of a three-year research effort with 12 Project UNIFY schools and 12 non-Project UNIFY schools to assess the relationship between social inclusion characteristics and school climate. We look forward to unpacking the impact of Project UNIFY activities and how inclusion efforts are related to rates of bullying and in particular, to students with disabilities.

NSCC has joined efforts with Prevent School Violence Illinois (PSVI) on a two-year school climate improvement program known as CAST-Chicago (Communities Aligning for School Transformation). With the support of PSVI and NSCC staff, five middle schools throughout Illinois will participate in the CSCI, administer the Community Scale, participate in the School Climate Leadership Certificate Program, and receive guidance to implement the School Climate Improvement model. More updates and details to come in our spring newsletter.

Our 18th Annual Summer Institute of Policy, Practice and Leadership Development is happening June 25-26, 2015. More details to come shortly in our January newsletter.

In April 2014, we covered NSCC's partnership with Westbrook, CT to pass the nation's first comprehensive School Climate Policy. We look forward to more promising partnerships in 2015!

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