A Place of Value and Belonging
When adults at school understand each student by their name, strengths, interests and needs, it fosters a sense of value and belonging.
When each student feels valued and that they belong in our schools, learning is inspired and engagement thrives. What does value and belonging look and feel like to our students?
- Each student has a friend and is connected to an adult at school.
- Students feel like their teacher knows who they are.
- Adults know and use the names of students.
- Teachers design learning to the students’ strengths and interests.
- Teachers work collaboratively to understand and address student needs, so NO child falls through the cracks.
- Students volunteer their time and attention to learning – and persist through challenges.
Our approach
Creating a place where students feel they belong doesn’t happen by accident. It’s also not just something we say. We are intentional in our work each day to create this place – what we call a learner-centered environment. Across grade levels and schools, we use a common set of core practices and strategies. These are some examples.
- Teachers get to know each child deeply and their individual strengths, interests, needs and use this knowledge in their learning designs.
- Through on-going and intentional interactions, adults in our building develop relationships and connections with students.
- Teachers and staff set up the physical spaces in our schools each day to maximize student engagement in the learning for that day. Sometimes that means learning in the classroom and sometimes it means learning outside the classroom.
- Adults and students work together to create their classroom expectations and the norms expected of everyone so each of them can own the experience. An example of this is creating respect agreements to help support the types of interactions we expect from each other.
- We create expectations for how we’ll interact. Voice scales clarify how loudly we will converse in different spaces and situations. Community buildings circles create and strengthen connections among peers.
- Each school day, students in kindergarten through sixth grade begin their day with a morning meeting. This is structured time to connect and interact with each other. It sets the tone for learning all day. Each day, the meeting includes activities to build stronger relationships with each other and as a classroom and school community.
- We design learning experiences to reinforce the skills students need to not only engage with the academic topic but to practices the skills they need to engage with each other. We want students to want to learn the content as well as the life skills they will need in the future.
- Providing choice within the expectations of a learning opportunity gives students autonomy and ownership over the learning. It also fosters independence and practice with decision-making.
- In our lessons, we aim to inspire each student’s engagement. Tapping into what interests them and motivates them supports deep and inspired learning.
- Positive and supportive feedback helps learning progress.
- We know behavior is a kind of communication. We use structured ways of responding to positive as well as unexpected or challenging behaviors. We know how we respond impacts each student’s sense of value and belonging. One way teachers respond is by initiating conversations to notice and respond to behaviors, re-establish expectations and discuss solutions – all while working to create stronger relationships.
- We work with students to identify and practice de-escalation strategies that work for them. This lays the groundwork for preventing unexpected behaviors and builds important life skills.
- As students get older, a robust selection of after school activities, clubs and athletic offerings help support them in exploring and discovering interests and community.
Our environments
Using time, space, human and other resources to effectively meet each student’s learning needs is a core capability of our approach. We believe if we craft environments around students, we maximize their opportunities for learning. Here are some examples:
- We match adult strengths with student needs and interests.
- Students and teachers manage their time each day based on the learning they are doing rather than only relying on routines and established schedules.
- Our physical spaces support all kinds of group sizes and learning setups.
- Learning spaces are set up and used based on the work of the day. Learning is not confined to just desks or classrooms.
- Even when a teacher is absent, learning continues for each student with an educator the student knows – or the learning has been designed by a teacher they know.
From Paper Plants to Community Circles
Paper plants on the wall are filled with students’ hopes and dreams. In another room, a poster with class rules has been signed by students. In another space, Tuesday mornings are circle time. Specific, intentional strategies and practices like these are creating an environment centered on students.
The Power of Morning Meetings
Elementary students start each day with a morning meeting. It includes a greeting, sharing time, an activity and morning message. This time each day helps create a sense of belonging and sets the tone for the day of learning. Sometimes it includes barefoot first graders giggling over “shoe greeting.”
Getting to Know You
There is power in a name. Kindergarteners chant each others’ names in morning greeting. Third and fourth graders learn what kind of candy they each like. High schoolers share adventures they’d like to have and qualities they value in a friend. Knowing each other leads to belonging . . . and learning.
