Belonging for All
Humans are driven to connect. We want to belong: to be treated as valued members of the community, understood and accepted for who we are. We see ourselves in relation to the groups we belong to, and these groups help develop our self-awareness, empathy, and relationship skills. The school community, especially at the classroom level, is a natural unit of belonging.
Strong feelings of belonging in the classroom can lead to:
Increased engagement in class
Increased cooperation and pro-social behaviors
Increased academic outcomes
Teachers have traditionally used many strategies to help children feel valued, understood, and accepted in the classroom. The Belonging for All practices will help you see the extent to which your current strategies are effective, and where to supplement your approach. Using these strategies more intentionally will magnify their impact.
These practices apply at the classroom level as well as at the level of the school building, for students, staff, and families. Classroom teachers focus on belonging for the students in their room, or for departmentalized grades, the students they share, and the families of their students. School leaders are responsible for the schoolwide culture of belonging among staff, students, and families.
Belonging for All Strategy Overview
Classrooms become more powerful centers of belonging when teachers intentionally build and reinforce a sense of shared identity, group norms & values, and shared goals. Leaders must exemplify group norms & values and lead the group in actively caring for its members. Our text-based implementation guide has more details on each of these strategies:
Download our implementation guides to learn more about these strategies!