Thriving Schools Readiness Assessment

Readiness assessments support K-12 school leaders and/or leadership teams considering current strengths, needs and challenges in ways that promote effective and sustained school improvement efforts. The focus of the assessment indicators is on the principles of social, emotional and academic development (SEAD) of students, and equity informed planning. Included in SEAD is character as well as skill development. All schools – like all people – present with an array of strengths, challenges and needs. This tool is to be used by school leaders and a school planning team to review key aspects of prosocial education work. Using the understandings generated from reflecting on the assessment will assist schools to intentionally, strategically and collaboratively focus on current and new improvement goals. This readiness assessment assumes that school leaders agree at least philosophically that schools should be:

• Supporting universal social, emotional and civic as well as academic teaching and learning;
• Systemically working to ensure that all students feel and are safe, supported and engaged;
• Working to support healthy and ‘connected’ relationships throughout the school;
• Intentionally working to coordinate universal prosocial improvement efforts with a multi-tiered system of student supports.

This readiness assessment is designed for principals to complete, in consultation with the planning team. Consider it a template to use according to the stage of your school’s prosocial efforts. The following response categories should be used in reflecting on and answering each item:

1. Not at all satisfied
2. not very satisfied
3. satisfied
4. very satisfied
5. extremely satisfied

Jonathan Cohen, Ph.D., Phil Brown, Ph.D. & Grace Skrzypiec, Ph.D.
Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Allison Ward-Seidel who has been and is a valued partner in thinking about a range of thriving schools related guidelines and information.

Suggested citation: Cohen, J, Brown, P. & Skrzypiec, G. (2019). Thriving Schools Readiness Assessment: Understanding Strengths and Challenges.(second edition) Unpublished. (jc273@tc.columbia.edu)