District leaders presented the New Haven Public Schools’ year-two strategy for improving school culture and climate at the Nov. 24 Board of Education meeting, centering on data-driven supports, professional development and student voice.

Superintendent Doctor Negron said the district opened a ThoughtExchange to solicit budget feedback and thanked early participants: "I wanna thank already the 376 people that have already responded," he said, and reported 289 'thoughts' submitted by late afternoon. He then introduced Office of Student Support Services staff to present culture-and-climate work.

Instructional coach Bill Scott described tools the district uses to measure and support school climate, including the Tiered Fidelity Index for observational data, behavioral-incident disaggregation by location and staff response, and a new walkthrough tool to take snapshots of school practice. Scott said the district is emphasizing universal supports drawn from CASEL (engagement strategies, relationship-building and restorative practices) and described tiered interventions such as Check‑In/Check‑Out and functional behavior assessments for individualized supports.

Presentation staff described professional development delivered at multiple levels: district academies, whole-school staff meetings tailored by data, triple-team (SST/TRIAGE) meetings, grade-level supports and individualized 1:1 coaching. The team said a catalog/calendar of training topics is available; some offerings are reserved for schools already in state PBIS cohorts, while others can be scheduled for any school that requests them.

Principal Doctor Haka provided a school-level example from Truman School, describing bilingual welcoming at arrival, family outreach in Spanish, English and Pashto, pantry and clinic partnerships, PBIS incentives ("ticket tiger" rewards), town-hall meetings and student leadership clubs (including a "Future Leader Educators Club" pairing older students as mentors for younger peers).

Student leader Lele, a senior at Metropolitan Business Academy, described co-organizing the district's first SEL Symposium, mentoring middle-school students and plans to expand student-led SEL activities.

Why it matters: The district’s plan links classroom strategies, school-level practice and districtwide training. Board members used the Q&A to press for clarity on how schools sign up for training, what additional resources are needed and how staffing models could support expansion.

Next steps: Presentation staff offered to follow up with a report on additional needs and to provide more detailed information about catalog access and staffing supports requested by board members.