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This article focuses on how crucial it is for teachers to create an effective learning environment. It claims that the environment can either help or impede learning ability in the classroom. Decorations can help create a warm environment; however, the classroom must be neat and organized as well. Teachers must ensure the organization of the classroom in a manner that makes the material available to all students, including students with disabilities. On important aspect of classroom organization that was pointed out was grouping of desks. The article claimed that students feel a better sense of community when the desks are grouped.

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According to the article, teachers must make the students feel safe, engaged, connected, and supported. If all of these elements are met, academic performance should also increase. This article highlights how traditional disciplinary methods, such as suspension, can harm the welcoming environment and have actually decreased the high school graduation rate. Schools and teachers must determine a better way to discipline students. There are a variety of ways to discipline students while maintaining a welcoming environment. For example, a teacher could give extra homework if a student continuously acts out in class.

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For students to learn, they must feel safe, engaged, connected, and supported in their classrooms and schools. These "conditions for learning" are the elements of a school's climate that students experience personally. They contribute to students' academic achievement and success and are associated with improved grades and test scores; strong attendance; positive relationships between students, adults, and their peers; and minimal engagement in risky behaviors, according to The School Discipline Consensus Report (SDCR) developed by The Council of State Governments Justice Center. New research also shows that a positive school climate, of which the conditions for learning are a critical part, can narrow achievement gaps.

But external factors-such as the fatal shootings from this summer and fall-and internal factors-such as exclusionary discipline practices, which disproportionately affect students of color, students with disabilities, and English language learners (ELLs)-can undermine efforts by teachers and school staff to create the learning conditions necessary for students to thrive. Exposure to violence, in particular, affects more than the family and friends of those involved and ripples through communities, ultimately impacting individual students.

With this context in mind, it is critical to explore what educators, parents, and communities can do to support students, especially students of color and students from low-income families who traditionally are underserved, to help them achieve academic and personal success. The need to establish positive conditions for learning is clear, but what exactly does it take for schools to get there?
1. Safety
Before students can succeed academically, they must feel safe, both physically and mentally. Although schools use a variety of measures to ensure students' physical safety, certain efforts sometimes have negative effects on students, particularly those who are traditionally underserved. While data shows that the rates that teens experience violent crimes in their schools has declined, issues such as racial bias prevail and impact the effectiveness of school safety measures.

Safety extends beyond the physical well-being of students. To have a safe learning environment, students must feel welcomed, supported, and respected. However, school discipline policies and codes of conduct do not always support a positive school climate. For example, exclusionary discipline practices, like removing students from the classroom, suspensions, and expulsions, negatively impact students' academic performance and their likelihood of graduating from high school. Even more concerning, data shows that schools discipline traditionally underserved students at much higher rates than their peers even though research does not show that these students misbehave more frequently. Building a positive school climate and ensuring students are ready to learn requires school district codes of conduct that promote positive adult and student relationships and work to keep more students in the classroom.
2. Engagement
Recent Gallup data shows a troubling trend-as students move through the K-12 education system, they become increasingly less engaged. By the time students reach eleventh and twelfth grades, only one-third of students report feeling engaged. In a survey of parents of students from low-income communities, the Alliance for Excellent Education (Alliance) finds the majority expressed concern that students' individual learning needs are not being met and that students are not learning the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the real world.

Personalized learning is one instructional approach that could reverse these trends. This student-centered approach to learning tailors instruction to students' unique strengths and needs and engages them in challenging, standards-based academic content. Personalizing learning helps students develop skills including thinking critically, using knowledge and information to solve complex problems, working collaboratively, communicating effectively, learning how to learn, and developing academic mindsets. These skills, known as the deeper learning competencies, are not only the skills students need to succeed in school, but the ones that will enable them to succeed in careers and life.

Personalized learning is greatly increasing student engagement in one school district in North Carolina. In the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district, currently in its third year of a personalized learning initiative, 81 percent of personalized learning students report feeling engaged in class, compared to only 47 percent of other students in the district.
3. Connectedness
Students must feel connected to teachers, staff, and other students. Schools can nurture these connections by focusing on students' social and emotional learning (SEL). SEL helps students understand and manage their emotions and interactions with others and build the skills necessary to communicate and resolve conflicts. "SEL programs have been shown to improve students' social competence, self-awareness, connection to school, positive interactions with others, and academic performance," according to the SDCR. There are specific practices that educators can adopt to embrace SEL in the classroom, which also create a positive school climate and environment that supports students' deeper learning.

Teachers are an essential part of fostering the type of learning environment in the classroom that supports student success. And yet many students, particularly students of color and students from low-income families, do not have access to prepared and effective teachers. Educators and administrators need professional development opportunities and training to meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of students to create a positive school climate.
4. Support
Students must feel supported by all those connected to their learning experience. This includes teachers, classmates, administrators, family, and community members. These parties should share an understanding of what positive school climate at the school and classroom looks like so they can work together toward this common goal. School leaders can engage community members, teachers, students, and parents in school climate improvement work through conversations, meetings, surveys, and creating school-community partnerships. School leaders should gather and incorporate the feedback of all of these groups in any school climate improvement work. A quick guide for district and school leaders, teachers, and other members of the school community on how to initiate, implement, and sustain school climate improvements is available here.
How can parents help create a positive learning environment in their children's schools?

Encourage your school leaders to take this survey to measure the current climate at your child's school and help to identify opportunities for improvement.

Learn more about school safety efforts and how they can impact students by reading this blog post. Then follow the action steps outlined in the post to help your child's school provide a safe environment for students.

Check out these actions you can take to learn more about your school or district's discipline policies and find out how you can advocate for equitable practices.

Learn more about personalized learning and advocate for it and other innovative instructional approaches that engage students.

Ask your school leaders about the training and professional development opportunities in place for teachers that focus on the social and emotional needs of students.

Communicate to your school leaders about the need to incorporate parent, student, and community voice and feedback in any on-going or future school climate improvement work.

Check out the Alliance's Climate Change series to learn more about the conditions that support a positive school climate.

Caroline Waldman is a communications associate at the Alliance for Excellent Education.

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Four Elements for Creating a Positive Learning Environment

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For students to learn, they must feel safe, engaged, connected, and supported in their classrooms and schools. These "conditions for learning" are the elements of a school's climate that students experience personally.

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Teachers must get to know their students if they desire to create a welcoming environment. This includes doing things from getting their names right to knowing their culture and other aspects of their life. If a teacher can make positive connections with the students, the students will feel welcomed and will enjoy being in the classroom and learning. This article also stresses how difficult it is for English learning students to transition into the classroom because of different cultures and the language barrier. Therefore, it is even more important that teachers create a welcoming environment to make these students feel comfortable.

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An important first step in helping English language learners succeed is building their confidence and comfort level by making them feel welcome in the classroom and building positive relationships with students. We recommend getting started by reading our popular article How to Create a Welcoming Classroom Environment and this related blog post by ELL expert Judie Haynes on the TESOL website.

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An important first step in helping English language learners succeed is building their confidence and comfort level by making them feel welcome in the classroom and building positive relationships with students. We recommend getting started by reading our popular article How to Create a Welcoming Classroom Environment and this related blog post by ELL expert Judie Haynes on the TESOL website.

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In the classroom, creating a welcoming environment is vital to students comfortability and learning. Teachers can do this in a variety of ways such as physically posting things on the board that shows students how much you care about them. For example, if a student does a good job on an assignment, the teacher could post that assignment on an "achievement" board. Doing this and creating other traditions can create a positive learning atmosphere. Decoration of the room can be a very effective approach to create a welcoming environment.

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The environment we create for our students is equally as important as the content we teach and the learning strategies we use. This applies to all teachers of all age groups from preschool to graduate school. The environment includes the atmosphere, the traditions we set the furniture arrangement, the centres or special areas within the room, and the decorations. All of these things add up to create either a positive or negative environment for students.

Here are some tips to help you in creating a welcoming environment.

Students feel welcomed and inspired to learn from the moment they walk throughyour door.

This can be accomplished in a variety of ways. Primary and elementary teachersmay want to decorate their door with a theme. It can be a simple welcome theme,your classroom theme, or a unit theme. Some examples might include:

Welcome to a Very Special Place

Blasting off to Learning

Come Explore Learning in P2

Soar the Heights with Mr. Miango

Middle school and high school teachers may not want to decorate their door with a theme, but can use other items to show students that their room is a place of caring and learning. Some examples:

special artwork done by students

artefacts that show your personality

a welcome statement of some sort

a class slogan

When setting up your room, first do a sketch to get an idea of how everything will look and to help you stay organised when moving everything around. Ask yourself:

Should I use rows or groups of desks?

Should I use tables?

Should I have a reading corner?

Should I have a special place for centres?

Should I have a time-out area?

How easily will I be able to move between students?

Can we all get out of the classroom quickly in case of an emergency?

Classroom walls and bulletin boards are covered with thought-provoking and stimulating material

Motivational posters inspire students

Primary classroom walls should be language rich with words and pictures

Some posters can be practical such as listing classroom expectations, or things to do when finished early

Humorous posters tell students you know how to laugh

A poster of good manners and/or life skills is good to have up for reference during a teachable moment

Do you have any other suggestions for creating a welcoming classroom environment? Add them to the comments below...

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A selection of ideas to help you set up your classroom at the start of the year.

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Creating a Welcoming Environment Through Sensory Details

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Creating a Welcoming Environment Through Sensory Details

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This article suggests that teachers need to provoke each sense of the student to create a welcoming and stimulating environment. For example, a teacher could spray air freshener to keep the room smelling fresh. The article also claims that making a good first impression is key in creating a welcoming environment. Therefore, teachers should have their room decorated and ready to go before they meet the students and parents. The article also claims that parent communication is also effective in connecting with the students.

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With Open House, Meet the Teacher Night, and Curriculum Night upon many, it is time to survey whether or not your classroom is welcoming.

That first impression really sets the tone for the rest of the year and can affect things such as student behavior and open parent communication. Make sure your classroom is ready to start off the year with a bang!

Here are some tips on how to use the five senses to guide your classroom environment making it inviting for your new students and their families.

Sight - See Your Classroom Through Fresh Eyes

This one is a given, but really check for things from a different perspective. Walk out of the room, and walk back in. If you were a parent or student seeing it for the first time, would you immediately feel comfortable? Ask a fellow colleague to do the same in your room. Offer to give one another feedback before the big day arrives.

Make sure that supplies and other necessities, such as tissues, are put at the students' level. They have to be the one to use them, so make sure they are easily accessible. This not only empowers them, but saves you many trips of grabbing the supplies for them.
Lighting can be key. Check to see if there is enough light in the room, and (if you are permitted) also add in some table or floor lamps so that all the fluorescent light is not just directed straight down. Lighting can really make a space feel homier. Think about your home as an example - do you only use overhead lighting in your home? Most of us use many other types of lighting solutions, so why would your classroom (aka home away from home) be any different?

Smell - The Scent of School Spirit

Smell can be tricky if your fire marshal does not allow air fresheners to be sprayed in the room. I have been able to get around this a bit by placing lightly scented potpourri or scented crystals in a bowl on top of my desk or hidden above a hanging cabinet. You want to make sure students are not able to access it for safety/ingestion reasons.

One other fun tip is to place some carpet sprinkle on your rug and/or carpets (if you have them) an hour before parents are due to arrive. Sweep it up shortly before, and you will still have the lingering smell in the air. Please note that I suggest a gentle fragrance. If it is too strong, you will have parents and students coughing and clamoring to exit your room as fast as they arrived! Similar to perfume, a little goes a long way! Better to have no scent at all than one that is so strong people become sick.

Sound - Creating a Classroom Soundtrack

I always turn on my iPod and speaker when I am having classroom guests. Think about the mood you would like to convey. If you are having an Open House "Party," perhaps some fun kids party music is in order. I find kid-friendly party CD compilations on iTunes. Make sure to preview all music before playing it aloud for families to hear. Some music may have a random word or two hidden that would be quite embarrassing to you if it were played in front of parents.

Keep the volume loud enough so that it is heard, but low enough to allow for talking amongst the visitors to your room. Really it is just background noise so that it is not completely quiet. Think about how you felt the last time you were with others in a silent elevator. This is the same idea.

Touch - Mix Textures & Add Props

For me, the touch factor involves having lots of different textures throughout the room. I like to incorporate curtains, tablecloths, placemats, rugs, beanbag chairs, and more into the overall dynamic of the room. Even fake greenery (if you are not permitted to have real) is wonderful. Throw a few twinkle lights into a fake potted tree in the corner, along with some throw pillows and you have an instant reading nook.

Simply placing textbooks and workbooks on the student desks allows for families to touch tangible items that will be used in the classroom. Part of the excitement for everyone in going back to school is the fun of getting new supplies, books, and paper! Have some of those items out for parents to preview. Even if they are 15-year-old textbooks - they are still new to the recipients!

Taste - Sweeten the Back to School Transition

Obviously you don't want students tasting the textbooks or supplies, but everyone loves a good cookie and a mini-bottle of water. No need to be baking at home either. Just grab a case of waters, and a couple dozen boxes of cookies from your local grocery store's bakery. Bring in a cute platter from home, lay our the cookies, napkins, and the waters on a tablecloth-covered desk or table and you will have people flocking to your room on Open House even if they aren't supposed to be!

Using the five senses to guide your classroom environment is great not only for the first week back to school, but should be utilized regularly as events come up throughout the year. It is especially helpful when you are looking for a nice change in January upon returning from winter break.

Knowing that your classroom is a place where student should feel comfortable to learn and take risks gives you an added bonus right from the get-go! You will now have a classroom that screams out "Welcome to our learning this year!"
In what other ways do you make sure your room is welcoming? Share your ideas in the comments section below!

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tips for creating a welcoming classroom environment

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Tips for Creating a Welcoming Classroom Environment

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Here are some tips on how to use the five senses to guide your classroom environment to make it inviting for your new students and their families.