The Consortium’s Building a Positive School Climate (BPSC) cohort feels like a gathering of old friends. At the program kickoff on October 8th, 70+ educators from 14 districts buzzed around the room, sharing hugs and telling stories. If you didn’t know, you might think they’d been working together for years.
However, it’s not the longevity of the cohort but the shared sense of purpose and community that gives the BPSC its infectiously positive energy: Everyone in the BPSC is deeply committed to creating learning spaces where all children feel accepted, supported, seen, and celebrated. For many of the school teams, this work takes the form of “house systems:”
A House System is a structure that “sorts” students into “houses” themed around specific characteristics that are important to the school. Students then work as a team to earn points for their house through fun competitions, displaying positive behavior, increasing academic performance and attendance, or engaging in community service projects.
Now in its second year, the preliminary positive impacts of the BPSC show up all across the cohort. For one team, it was a 900% increase in family engagement. Another school saw a nearly 90% reduction in student discipline referrals. Many in the cohort speak to the excitement and purpose that is daily inspiring their students to show up, engage, and lead more than ever since the pandemic lockdown.
The BPSC cohort continues to expand rapidly, with six new schools joining this year for a total of 18 teams and more than a hundred educators from across the region (with several more already asking to join next year!). The cohort is a welcoming home to public schools and charters alike, as well as non-traditional systems that serve students, including Pressley Ridge.
During the kickoff, the day began with teams re-introducing themselves, their work, and the proudest moments and traditions from their schools. Members split up to discuss and troubleshoot challenges across their systems, sharing lessons learned from last year and borrowing new ideas to incorporate into their plans for 2025-2026.
With the cohort now underway, many of the teams have offered to open their own doors to their fellow members, with six school site visits scheduled throughout the winter and spring. So much of the momentum within the BPSC is driven by the willingness of each team to share their learning, structures, strategies, and mistakes. Teams will re-convene in January for an unconference-style exchange of ideas and knowledge.
In recent years, the BPSC is one of the rare spaces where educators (and teachers, specifically) across western Pennsylvania have an opportunity to come together, network, co-learn, and brainstorm with one another. And just as they strive to create a sense of belonging for their students, the Consortium is truly proud that the BPSC cohort can offer the same for its members.
