Clark Lane Middle School, Waterford, CT School Climate Plan 2025-2026
(Updated November 2025 – In compliance with Connecticut Public Act 23-167)
At Clark Lane Middle School, our primary commitment is providing a safe, inclusive, and deeply respectful environment where every student can thrive. Our foundation is built on promoting a strong culture of belonging and accountability, in alignment with Connecticut General Statute §10-222d and Waterford Public Schools' Board policies. We actively strive to strengthen positive relationships and address concerns before they escalate, using a comprehensive approach centered on three key pillars: consistent prevention, ongoing education, and restorative practices. Our plan reflects our shared commitment to nurturing strong relationships, fostering accountability, and building a school community where everyone feels like they belong.
Clark Lane’s vision is to empower every Lancer to be an active, thoughtful member of our community by focusing on three core areas: ● Empowering Learning: We commit to making every class, club, and activity engaging, challenging, and relevant, sparking curiosity and helping every student lead their own learning journey and find their passion. ● Fostering a Culture of Belonging: We work collaboratively—students, staff, and families—to identify and remove obstacles to learning, ensuring our school is a positive, supportive place where every student feels seen, valued, and ready to contribute. ● Taking Ownership and Repair: We are dedicated to building strong relationships where respect and empathy come first. Our system encourages students to take responsibility for their actions, understand the impact of their choices, and actively work to repair any harm done to others or the community.
Overview of School Climate Data: After examining our Spring 2025 CLMS Student Climate Surveys, we identified areas of celebration as well as areas of concern that will steer us as we plan our annual climate goals and school improvement plan. https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1M1mZ4mR2Tp8hSS_wfRwO9cIwrF4ich0t Celebrations:
Concerns:
Students: 98% feel safe on their trip to and from school and 95% feel safe once they are at school.
Students: 38% reported that peers regularly use words to hurt each other. We will be addressing the following through targeted lessons by grade; Address the boundary between joking and what is going to far- what is OK at home is not necessarily school- appropriate; Lessons on how to tell if other kids are joking around or trying to be hurtful might be good; Discuss how actions and words affect the unintended audience.
Students: 92% of feel included in activities and 93% stated they got along with other students
Students: 27% noted that they like school very little or not at all. We will be addressing the following through the following action steps: We will conduct an in-house survey to find out if what students don’t like about school is preventable or not; us Dimnsions of Belonging as a way to look at which kids