Defining Greatness: Key Factors in Successful Schools

What makes a school great? Is it how the staff cares and shows it for their students, or is it the students? Many ask this question, and many come up with different responses than the ones that are stated above. It all depends on the school, and what the school has decided what would make them great. What I believe will make a school great is the school climate and closing the achievement gap from it, what a student wants from the school, encourage higher order thinking and self-regulation, and Adapting to Individual Developmental differences. If the schools focused on these things and made them all great, then schools would be enjoyable for all. One-way is the climate of the school or even the classroom; each staff member should be inviting and also, the school should be a safe place for the students. Classroom climate is talking about the psychological environment created through a social context and numerous instructional components related by the teachers characteristics and the behavior (Miller, Cunningham, 2011). A good classroom or school climate could be where the students are engaged, learning, and having fun in the

Each teacher should be involving their student, setting high expectations, and have leadership qualities. Classroom climate could also be meaning a healthy classroom which is, “help students see themselves as competent and effective learners, encourage self-determination by setting their own goals, support students in becoming self-controlled by behaving and adaptively with a minimum of teacher supervision, focus on caring and authentic relationships, and foster ongoing and rewarding friendships with classmates (McCombs, Miller, 2007, p.67)” When the climate in a school is great, and healthy then there is a focus on the academic achievement gap. The achievement gap is meaning the students