This resource explains community readiness for promoting positive school climate, describing how prepared a school community is to adopt new initiatives, programs, or policies and why assessing readiness matters for successful implementation and sustainability. It outlines the nine levels of readiness and five readiness dimensions (such as leadership support, community climate, knowledge, and resource availability) and provides practical steps and assessment questions to help schools determine their current level of readiness and plan actions to strengthen support before launching change efforts.
Type: Document
Focus on Prevention: A SAMHSA Community Planning Manual.
The Focus on Prevention manual (SAMHSA Publication No SMA 10‑4120), first published in August 2020, provides communities with a structured framework to design, implement, and evaluate substance use prevention initiatives. Covering the full prevention continuum, it offers practical guidance on conducting community needs assessments, identifying and partnering with stakeholders, developing targeted strategies, marketing prevention efforts, and setting up monitoring and evaluation systems, including a sample timeline of tasks. Intended for non‑profit and faith‑based organizations, this resource equips local coalitions with the tools needed to tailor culturally appropriate and evidence‑informed prevention programs. By emphasizing community collaboration, strategic planning, and measurable outcomes, the manual supports sustainable and effective substance use prevention at the grassroots level.
School Leaders: The Impact of School Leaders on a Positive School Climate
This resource outlines how school leaders can cultivate a positive school climate and culture by providing transformational leadership, building shared vision and goals, and fostering trust and collective efficacy among staff, students, and families. It highlights practical actions such as forming a school climate team, assessing community needs, selecting and implementing evidence-based supports, setting SMARTIE goals, using data for continuous improvement, and prioritizing responsive professional development to sustain positive environments for learning and well-being.
Coalition Check-Up Resource 1 – Coalition Check-Up Guidebook
Coalitions play a crucial role in fostering robust community development. Four tools were developed using the Coalition Check-Up to support the well-being of your coalition and its activities to ensure success! Coalition Check-Up Resource 1 – Coalition Check-Up Guidebook: Need some ideas of how to go about improving something about your coalition or its activities? See this comprehensive resource containing evidence-informed strategies!
Special Service Providers: The Impact of Special Service Providers on a Positive School Climate
This resource describes how special service providers (such as counselors, psychologists, and behavioral health specialists) contribute to a positive school climate by offering supports that enhance students’ social-emotional well-being and academic success. It outlines practical roles and strategies—such as using data to identify needs, facilitating evidence-based interventions, collaborating with teachers and families, and supporting inclusive, trauma-responsive practices—that help strengthen students’ sense of safety, connection, and engagement within the school community.
Coalition Check-Up Resource 2 – Action Planning Worksheets
Coalitions play a crucial role in fostering robust community development. Four tools were developed using the Coalition Check-Up to support the well-being of your coalition and its activities to ensure success! Coalition Check-Up Resource 2 – Action Planning Worksheets: Need a worksheet to help you make decisions about next steps and itemize them? Then, this is your resource!
Sustaining Positive School Climate and Culture in Schools and Districts
This resource outlines key strategies for sustaining supportive and inclusive school environments over time by embedding effective practices into school systems, culture, and everyday routines. It emphasizes using data for continuous improvement, aligning policies and procedures with school climate improvement efforts, building leadership capacity, engaging families and community partners, and maintaining shared ownership so that positive conditions for students and staff persist beyond initial implementation.
Coalition Check-Up Resource 3 – Action Planning for a Strength Worksheets
Coalitions play a crucial role in fostering robust community development. Four tools were developed using the Coalition Check-Up to support the well-being of your coalition and its activities to ensure success! Coalition Check-Up Resource 3 – Action Planning for a Strength Worksheets: Is something about your coalition going really well? Do you wonder how to give attention to that success and sustain the focus or practice going forward? Then, this is your resource!
The Community Readiness Model
The Community Readiness Model (CRM) toolkit provides a comprehensive approach to assessing and improving a community’s readiness for change. The document outlines key components of the CRM, explaining how to evaluate when both individuals and entire communities are ready to alter behaviors or attitudes. It includes a detailed guide on conducting a community readiness assessment, offering step-by-step instructions for defining the issue and community, preparing interviews, selecting key respondents, and analyzing data. The toolkit also emphasizes the importance of setting goals, developing action plans, and using tools like SWOT analysis to strategize for change. Additionally, it covers how to communicate effectively with the target audience and foster relationships, with practical activities and examples to guide the process.
Community Needs Assessment
This document is a practical guide to conducting a community needs assessment, outlining why such assessments are important, how to systematically collect and analyze data, and how to use findings to inform planning and decision-making. It describes key steps—including defining the purpose, engaging stakeholders, selecting data sources and methods, interpreting results, and communicating findings—to help communities identify priority issues, existing resources, and gaps that can guide effective prevention and development efforts.