The Air We Breathe: Why Psychological Safety Is the Foundation for Success in Schools
The Air We Breathe: Why Psychological Safety Is the Foundation for Success in Schools
By: Dr. Ruby Ababio-Fernandez
Imagine a school where teachers arrive early, work tirelessly, and care deeply about their students. The energy feels warm, even friendly. But underneath, something is missing.
The culture is congenial, not collegial. People prioritize being nice over being honest. When feedback happens, it’s often softened to maintain one another’s comfort. A teacher might say, “We know it’s hard and we’re all doing the best we can.” Another might say, “They observed me today, I’m not sure what they thought,” and no one probes further. Staff meetings are more call-and-response than dynamic exchanges. Heads nod in agreement, but hard questions stay unspoken.
Everyone is “doing the work,” but few stop long enough to critically name what isn’t working or to take creative risks. The result is a nice compliance that looks like harmony but actually masks a culture devoid of growth and progress.
This is what a lack of psychological safety looks like. The absence is subtle but powerful, a tightening in the air that limits curiosity and suppresses learning.
Psychological safety is the shared belief that within our community, it’s safe to take risks, ask questions, share feedback, admit mistakes, or challenge ideas without fear of embarrassment or punishment because who we are and what we bring here matters. It’s what makes innovation, trust, and genuine learning possible. Without it, people perform tasks, but transformation never happens.
In education, psychological safety is far from a nice-to-have; it’s an absolute must! It’s a structural condition that determines whether learning, equity, and excellence can thrive. When educators feel safe, they engage in honest reflection. They test new ideas and co-create a curriculum that honors diverse voices and experiences.
3 Ways Leaders Can Cultivate Psychological Safety in Turbulent Times
Make Psychological Safety a Design Principle, Not a Slogan
Leaders can’t simply declare that a school is safe, they must intentionally design for it. This begins with structures that invite reflection, dialogue, and learning from failure and experience. Protecting time for check-ins, debriefs, inquiry cycles, and feedback sessions where the goal isn’t evaluation, but shared growth. When leaders model curiosity and transparency, saying, “Here’s what I’m learning,” or “I missed that, let’s revisit it” they actually normalize imperfection and create permission for others to grow. This further models the structures and routines that educators implement in their classroom for students like community circles (see Harmony’s Meet Up practice).
Build Structures for Collaboration, Not Competition
In schools that thrive, adults learn together. They observe one another not to judge, but to discover. They analyze data collectively, not defensively. They challenge ideas, not people. They ask, “What are we not seeing?” and they do so not to assign blame, but to learn together.
Leaders can strengthen this culture by creating learning communities and protocols that encourage shared accountability where educators hold one another to their dreams, not just their duties. True collaboration replaces quiet compliance with dynamic engagement. Using quick community building activities, like Harmony’s Quick Connection Cards can help adults begin to safety and comfort in working together.
Attend to the External Pressures That Spill on Internal Climate
Today’s educators navigate a complex world. We are living out policies that are leaving real impact, including deep fear of physical safety and wellbeing that makes conversations about who we are individually, culturally, and socially feel risky. Diminishing resources continue to stretch emotional capacity thin. These external forces seep into school culture and can erode energy, confidence and trust. Leaders who name these pressures out loud, who make space for empathy, context, and humanity help staff feel seen and supported. Safety grows when people know their realities are acknowledged, not ignored.
When leaders commit to these practices, schools become what they were always meant to be: Places where adults and students can breathe, belong, and be brave together.
Psychological safety doesn’t make the work easy; it makes the work possible, even in turbulent times. When people feel safe enough to be real, they also feel safe enough to learn. And that’s where transformation begins — with the courage to show up as our full selves, together!
About Dr. Ruby Ababio-Fernandez
With an unyielding commitment to transforming the lives of adults, children, communities, and school systems, Dr. Ruby brings over 23 years of experience in education and leadership. She has held multiple senior roles, including Associate Vice President for Equity and Leadership Development at the New York City Leadership Academy (NYCLA), Deputy Superintendent, Senior Executive Officer, and Chief Strategy Officer for the New York City Department of Education. She currently serves as Superintendent in Residence at McGraw Hill, where she continues her mission of advancing learning outcomes, leadership, and systemic transformation.
National Nutrition Month: How Food Can Nourish Belonging in Our Schools
National Nutrition Month: How Food Can Nourish Belonging in Our Schools
By Esther Deth, Ed.D
School Wellness & College Preparation Coordinator, Long Beach Unified School District
When I think about some of my fondest memories with family and friends, many of them are centered around food. From joyful gatherings like a holiday potluck to quieter, meaningful moments — such as sharing a final meal with my mother at her bedside — food has often been part of how I connect, reflect, and feel a sense of belonging. I suspect I’m not alone in this experience.
That connection came into focus for me recently through my daughter’s kindergarten classroom. Her teacher shared a series of photos with families. In one image, my daughter and her classmates sat together around a table, smiling as they peeled and enjoyed mandarin oranges. In another, the students were outside in the school garden, examining new growth that had sprouted from seeds they had planted. The teacher explained that the class had been learning about germination, watching their radish seeds grow, and then enjoying fruit donated by the cafeteria team — making a real-world connection between seeds, food, and nutrition.
When I asked my daughter about the day, her response was simple: It was “a happy day in the garden.” But as we talked more about the photos, it became clear that something deeper was happening. Through food, learning, and time together, the students were building connections. Nutrition instruction wasn’t just about healthy eating — it was helping foster a sense of belonging.
Healthy Nutrition and a Strong Sense of Belonging
A sense of belonging is foundational to student well-being, engagement, and lifelong success. According to a recent article by Allen (2022), research shows that shared food experiences can strengthen relationships and help students feel seen and valued. Food is tied to culture, community, and memory, and when schools create space for students to experience food together, they support meaningful connections.
School lunch conversations, nutrition education lessons, garden-based learning, and collaborative food activities all offer opportunities for communication, respect, and relationship-building. These moments allow students to learn about one another while practicing essential social skills in ways that feel natural and joyful.
Community Built Around Food
In my work as a School Wellness and College Preparation Coordinator for a large urban school district, I’ve seen how intentional nutrition efforts can strengthen community across grade levels. Districtwide wellness policies focused on healthy eating and physical activity help create shared language and collective responsibility for student well-being.
At school and community events, food frequently becomes a bridge between families.
When families share meals that reflect traditions, it creates opportunities for connection, storytelling, and mutual respect. These experiences reinforce that schools are communities of learners where everyone belongs.
I’ve also observed older students engaging in nutrition instruction in creative ways. In secondary classrooms, students have collaborated to plan a food court outing with friends that stays within a budget while meeting specific nutrition criteria. Activities like these allow students to explore how food choices can connect to health, personal responsibility, and real-world decision-making — while strengthening teamwork and communication skills.
Starting Conversations with Harmony Quick Connection Cards
One of the simplest ways to foster belonging is to start meaningful conversations. Harmony Quick Connection Cards offer tools that do just that. The cards invite students to share favorite meals, family traditions, or food-related memories, providing starting points for building relationships.
These quick conversations — used during Meet Ups and Buddy Ups — support a sense of belonging. They honor students’ experiences while helping educators cultivate communities of learners. My colleague, Kate Komatz, and I have trained hundreds of elementary teachers on using these cards, and we regularly hear success stories. We now encourage teachers, counselors, and school leaders to use a card as students head to lunch or to hold a class Meet Up outdoors in a school garden or shared space.
Nourishing Bodies and Communities
Food is never just fuel — its connection, culture, and care. During National Nutrition Month, schools have an opportunity to highlight how nutrition instruction can support both physical health and a strong sense of belonging.
By creating shared experiences around food, whether in a garden, a lunch conversation, or a health lesson — educators can help students feel connected and respected. When we nourish bodies and relationships together, we strengthen the foundation for lifelong success.
About Esther Deth, Ed.D
As the School Wellness & College Preparation Coordinator for Long Beach Unified School District, Esther Deth oversees curriculum and instruction for Health, Physical Education, and School Wellness, and she coordinates the district’s Advanced Placement and AVID programs. She recently co-led the districtwide implementation of the Harmony curriculum across more than 50 elementary and TK–8 schools. Dr. Deth also oversees implementation of the Local School Wellness Policy through the district’s School Wellness Council. She brings prior experience as a principal, assistant principal, and National Board–Certified teacher in Los Angeles. She is a proud member of the Harmony Educator Advisory Group.
Reference
Allen, K.-A. (2022, March 23). Psychology Today. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sense-belonging/202203/what-does-food-have-do-belonging-and-schools
Designing for Belonging: Practical Leadership Strategies That Strengthen Learning
Designing for Belonging: Practical Leadership Strategies That Strengthen Learning
By: Douglas Fisher, Ph.D., Nicholas Yoder, Ph.D., Sarah Caverly, Ph.D., Miriam Blanc-Gonnet
The desire to belong is a fundamental aspect of the human experience. Genuine belonging extends beyond simply fitting in, as it reflects being seen, accepted, and valued for who we truly are. Psychologist Geoffrey Cohen defines belonging as “the feeling that we’re part of a larger group that values, respects, and cares for us, and to which we feel we have something meaningful to contribute” (Cohen, 2022).
In schools, belonging is not a “nice to have.” Research consistently shows that a strong sense of belonging is associated with students’ academic engagement, motivation, and learning (Štremfel et al., 2024; Gülşen, 2024). When students do not feel they belong, they may question their value within the school community, which can undermine learning regardless of the quality of instruction they receive. In contrast, students who experience a sense of belonging feel supported and connected to the school community, which contributes to stronger well-being and better academic outcomes (Allen et al., 2025).
If belonging is foundational to learning, the question becomes how leaders intentionally ensure students and staff feel it at scale. This requires more than isolated initiatives; it calls for a shared language, consistent practices, and daily interactions that reinforce connection and care across classrooms and school communities — for instance, those practices found at Harmony Academy.
The following five strategies highlight concrete, research-informed actions that school and district leaders can implement to strengthen connections and belonging across a school community:
Belonging Builder 1: Welcoming Schools, Not Just Welcoming Classrooms
A school’s climate plays a meaningful role in learning and engagement. Research shows that students are more likely to engage academically when they feel welcomed by the adults in their school environment, an effect that has been demonstrated in studies of teachers greeting students at the classroom door (Allday et al., 2011; Smith et al., 2024).
For school and district leaders, the opportunity lies in extending this practice beyond individual classrooms and into the school’s overall culture. Leaders can support this work by equipping staff with shared language and practical tools that make relationship building a visible and consistent part of the school day. For example, Harmony’s Everyday Practicesprovide consistent and predictable routines to build connections. When adults intentionally acknowledge students by name during arrival, transitions, lunch, recess, or passing periods, they reinforce the message that students are seen, that they matter, and that they belong.
Even brief, genuine interactions, such as a smile, a wave, or a few encouraging words, can have an outsized impact. These moments signal care, strengthening students’ sense of belonging, and shaping a school climate where students feel welcomed throughout the day, not just at the start of class (Jang, 2024). These practices even work with the adults in the building, including colleagues and families.
Belonging Builder 2: Foster Belonging Through Visible Contribution and Shared Responsibility
Feeling needed is a powerful driver of belonging to students, just as it is for adults. When schools create opportunities for students to take on meaningful leadership roles and responsibilities, they communicate that their contributions matter (Jang, 2024).
Shared responsibility is most effective when grounded in trust, authentic communication, and understanding what is meaningful to students. When students feel they make authentic contributions, they foster agency, engagement, and a deeper connection to the school environment (Jang, 2024). When students are invited to contribute beyond their individual classrooms, they begin to see themselves not just as learners, but as active participants in shaping school culture.
School and district leaders can support this work by designing structures that make student contributions visible and meaningful across the school. Examples include:
Cross-grade mentoring programs
Peer mediation or conflict-resolution teams
Youth-led clubs or initiatives
Student councils supporting schoolwide events
In these roles, students support peers, contribute to problem-solving, and help strengthen the sense of community. These opportunities reinforce a sense of belonging by affirming that students are not only included in the school community but also needed by it.
Belonging Builder 3: Pathways for Student Participation and Voice
A core element of belonging is the feeling that one’s voice matters. In some school settings, participation may be limited to a small group of students who are most confident, outspoken, or comfortable sharing publicly. When opportunities to contribute are optional or high-risk, some students withdraw, while others begin to doubt that their perspectives are valued.
Research on classroom participation emphasizes the importance of providing universal response opportunities, encouraging students to engage safely and simultaneously, rather than relying solely on volunteers or random selection (Marsh et al., 2023). While these strategies are often discussed at the instructional level, the underlying principle applies just as strongly to school leadership: belonging grows when participation is designed to include everyone. This principle is reflected in approaches that embed regular check-ins, reflection, and shared discussion prompts into the school experience — such as those in Harmony’s Meet Up — helping participation feel routine rather than exceptional.
School and district leaders can apply this principle by creating structures that invite broad student input and normalize participation across the school community. This may include implementing schoolwide check-ins or student surveys that provide a low-stakes opportunity for students to give feedback on their various school experiences. These practices signal to students that their voice is an expected and respected part of the school culture.
Belonging Builder 4: Collaboration That Requires Every Student’s Contribution
When students work together toward common shared goals or to achieve a group task, they build relationships, practice communication, and develop a sense of collective responsibility. Research consistently shows that structured collaboration, where students are expected to interact, contribute, and rely on one another, supports deeper learning and stronger peer connections (Fisher & Frey, 2021).
Yet not all collaboration is equally effective. When group work lacks structure and accountability, some students may disengage while others carry out the majority of the work. Productive collaboration is intentionally designed so that each student has meaningful responsibility. In these settings, students understand that their contributions matter to the group’s success.
School leaders can apply this principle by providing opportunities for productive collaboration throughout the school community. This could involve cross-class or grade-level teams collaborating on a shared product:
A school mural
A community reading or literacy project
A science exhibition
Additionally, it may involve establishing clubs organized around creating something together:
Robotics build
A Reader’s Theater production
School Yearbook
When collaboration is intentional, students recognize that they are part of something larger than themselves, and this interdependence is a powerful contributor to their sense of belonging.
Belonging Builder 5: Shift the Balance Toward Moments of Success
Students are more likely to take academic and social risks when they feel connected to their school community and believe that success is attainable. Research shows a consistent positive relationship between a student’s sense of belonging and their engagement, motivation, and participation in learning activities — all of which are foundations for risk-taking in academic contexts (Korpershoek et al., 2019).
Belonging is strengthened when students can draw on past successes to navigate new challenges. When the balance tips in favor of success, students are more likely to view setbacks as temporary rather than defining. They develop confidence in their ability to persist and grow.
At the school level, leaders can support this process by creating regular opportunities for students to experience and recognize their successes. This may include structuring schoolwide initiatives or expectations in ways that allow for early wins. For example, a student who has struggled to participate in class is recognized for increased participation, earning a shout-out on the morning announcements.
Equally important is making success visible and consistent. Schools can reinforce a sense of belonging by regularly noticing and acknowledging growth. This recognition may occur during morning announcements, classroom-to-schoolwide shout-outs, or brief interactions between staff and students throughout the day. Over time, these moments of success help students develop a history of positive experiences that they can draw upon when facing new challenges, thereby strengthening both their resilience and their sense of belonging within the school community.
From Intention to Action
Fostering a sense of belonging within a school community should not be treated as an idealistic add-on; it should be a fundamental part of the school’s culture. It is an evidence-based approach that directly influences students’ learning and well-being. When belonging is elevated as a schoolwide priority, schools not only support stronger academic outcomes but also help students develop the confidence and resilience they need to navigate challenges both in and beyond school.
The strategies outlined here offer practical, high-impact actions that can be easily embedded into the daily life of a school without incurring high costs or complexity. While none are flashy or new, their collective impact is substantial. When leaders commit to creating environments where students feel seen, valued, and needed, belonging becomes not just aspirational but a lived reality.
Reflect & Discuss
What barriers make it challenging to implement belonging builders, such as the ones listed here, in your school?
What leadership decisions could help remove those barriers?
What small, manageable steps could you take to begin introducing these strategies over time?
Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2021). Better learning through structured teaching: A framework for the gradual release of responsibility (3rd ed.). ASCD.
Jang, S. T., & Lee, M. (2024). Exploring the link between students’ sense of school belonging and shared leadership in U.S. high schools. American Educational Research Association, 10. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584241304699
Korpershoek, H., Canrinus, E. T., Fokkens-Bruinsma, M., & de Boer, H. (2019). The relationships between school belonging and students’ motivational, social-emotional, behavioural, and academic outcomes in secondary education: a meta-analytic review. Research Papers in Education, 35(6), 641–680. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2019.1615116
Štremfel, U., Ivančič,, K. Š., & Peras, I. (2024). Addressing the sense of school belonging among all students? A systematic literature review. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 14(11), 2901–2917. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe14110190 Gülşen, F. U. (2024). The effect of a sense of school belonging on academic achievement: A meta-analytical review. e-Kafkas Journal of Educational Research, 11(4), 673– 687. https://doi.org/10.30900/kafkasegt.1359812
Sharing the Love: How Students and Educators Build Community With Harmony!
Sharing the Love: How Students and Educators Build Community With Harmony!
It’s that time of year to celebrate love in all its forms — love for ourselves, care for one another, and connection within our communities.
We asked our Educator Advisory Group to share how they use Harmony activities to help students thoughtfully exercise their voice and choice, build harmonious peer relationships, and nurture a strong sense of belonging in their learning spaces.
Student input is so crucial when it comes to Harmony in our academic spaces. Asking students to check in when arriving, and sharing how they feel about observable behaviors in the school community are just two routines that I incorporate on a daily basis with my 5th graders. This allows them to take ownership and hold themselves accountable through self-assessment. They have the opportunity to reflect on their choices, as well as on how the group can meet their personal and community goals. – Lee Eisen, 5th Grade, Brooklyn, New York
I incorporate the Harmony Curriculum in my Tier 2 small group meetings. During a small group meeting, it is important that every child feels “seen” and “heard”. I give every student an opportunity to use their voice by asking them open-ended questions that allow them to share their experiences and opinions. The other students practice active listening by leaning in and tracking with their eyes and bodies. They are also encouraged to ask follow-up questions, staying on the topic.
Many of the students I work with in small groups have suffered trauma in their lives. They are not usually the students who will actively raise their hands and participate in class when it is a large group. Small group settings offer a safe place for students to practice using their voice to gain self-confidence.
I love to offer students opportunities to show their learning in different ways during group time or during a counseling curriculum lesson. By offering students choices to demonstrate their learning, I can learn about the child’s preferred learning styles and their interests/talents. Sometimes students may choose to answer questions by drawing their answers, or using puppets/drama, or just talking about their answers instead of writing them. – Deborah Goodman, School Counselor, Elementary level, Las Vegas, Nevada
Student voice, student choice in all out-of- school time (OST) programming is the key to a successful structure. So many parts of the Harmony Curriculum can be used to design and implement quality programming.One of our favorite tools to use is the Quick Connection Cards to help youth find their voices! Our high school mentors, who support seven of our OST sites, love to lead these connections. Our youth love it too! Our mentors carry the printed cards in the back of their name tag badges to have an immediate plan to help as needed. We work with our mentor staff on how to modify or adjust a card as needed. This also gives our teens a voice and choice as well! These cards have been highly successful during our month-long summer program offering any teacher or staff member a fast, dependable way to engage with kids they may not be familiar with since many schools merge together for this camp experience. These cards really are a “quick connection” for any program! – Jennifer Wienke, Out-of-School Time Coordinator, Fairbanks, Alaska
Using the Harmony Everyday Practices helps our classroom community truly thrive.Each month, our class creates a Harmony Promise — with our Harmony Goals— for how we want to learn and grow together. These goals become part of our daily Morning Meeting, guiding the way we treat one another and approach our day. At the end of the month, students reflect together on what we’re doing well and what still needs work. Each month we revise our Harmony Promise based on their insights, ensuring that our classroom community is always growing, responsive, and student-driven! – Olivia Leone, 5th Grade, Milburn, New Jersey
I integrate the Harmony Curriculum with my students as a Reading Interventionist. Each day, I learn about how my students are feeling, what activities they participate in after school, and what they are interested in with the support of the Harmony Curriculum. I pull from a list of questions as well as the Quick Connection Cards to initiate conversation. The conversations prompt their writing.
I primarily teach early childhood students and the Quick Connection Cards assist myself and students in regard to my teaching of literacy. I’m able to learn what particular areas of reading and writing I need to work on with students through encoding, which allows me to see how students spell and write particular words. This informs how I teach students to decode. Decoding allows children to learn spelling patterns and blend sounds, which contributes to building fluency and confidence. I get to know students and their feelings.
These methods assist in continuing to establish and nurture relationships with students. – Stephanie M. Johnson, Reading Interventionist, Columbia, South Carolina
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“One must nurture the joy in one’s life so that it reaches full bloom.” – Maya Angelou
Many of us approach a new year by “resetting” goals and expectations in our classrooms and homes, using the calendar to instigate a fresh start or commit to resolutions. But what if we used the promise of the new year to intentionally cultivate joy for ourselves and our students? Most of us would welcome more joy in our lives in these times of uncertainty and conflict and it’s possible to design our classroom experiences with joy in mind.
Joy as a Way of Being
While joy is often thought of as fleeting and brought on by external circumstances, in The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama posit that joy is a state of mind and heart — a way of being that doesn’t deny challenges and difficulties but rather embraces compassion and acknowledges our connectedness. Research provides multiple definitions of joy, with University of Cambridge scholar, Matthew Kuan Johnson, offering this helpful interpretation: “joy involves a state of positive affect, in which one experiences feelings of freedom, safety, and ease” (2019, p.6).
Joy facilitates our goals as educators, helping effective learning and development to take place.
Johnson cites research that joy provides children with,“the opportunity to learn new cognitive and behavioral skills and forge new social relationships and skills, which enhances resilience to future obstacles . . .” (2019, p. 6). In further support for creating joyful classroom environments, experiences that spark relational joy — moments shared by educators and their students — help to build connection and collective well-being (Karjalainen, et al., 2019).
Creating Joy-Nurturing Conditions
However we choose to define it, we can invite joy into our learning spaces by modeling a joyful state of mind and creating what I like to call joy-nurturing conditions.
It’s easy to be intimidated by the task given the challenges we and our students experience every day. But inviting joy does not need to be elaborate. It can be as simple as asking students what makes them feel free, safe, and at ease and working to incorporate their responses into your routines. In my own homeschool classroom, my children and I focus on micro-moments of joy, like having an impromptu dance party to celebrate even the tiniest win or taking a break to have ”poetry tea time” where they choose the poems we read. Below, you’ll find examples of the ways the Harmony Educator Advisory Group create joy-nurturing conditions and design for joy in their own classrooms . . .
We invite you to hear the classroom joy from across the nation!
“It’s easy to find joy in an elementary classroom. Many classrooms feel like a family — a place where students experience a true sense of belonging, feeling accepted, included, and safe. This supportive environment sets the stage for students to take risks and form meaningful connections to their learning. Joy is often seen and heard in those powerful moments when a student makes a breakthrough or when something they’ve been working hard on finally clicks. In those moments, learning feels like fireworks!”– Randi Peterson, Elementary Curriculum Developer, Bellevue School District
“I have seen the most joy from my students when they are collaborating and connecting with one another. It brings me true joy to listen and watch my students have genuine discussions during our turn and talks, and the excitement that they show while sharing with their classmates during our morning meeting. In our classroom we celebrate one another’s accomplishments, cheer one another on, and are each other’s biggest supporters.” – Aimee Gallant, 1st Grade Teacher, Hopewell City Public Schools
“The purest joy in my classroom isn’t seeing an A+; it’s watching the immediate, practical success of the Harmony Curriculum. It’s the collective sound of children truly connecting. There is nothing better than watching students execute the ‘Team Manuel Handshake’ during morning Meet Up, taking turns listening without interruption, and genuinely leaning in for the discussion cards. When the music starts, they eagerly find their partners for the movement activity — that is the sound ofempathy coming to life, laughing and sharing together. Their smiles are the sound of pure joy that makes teaching truly come alive.” – Anderson Manuel, 1st Grade Teacher, Sudbury Public Schools
“Each school year, building a nurturing classroom community sparks joy. A safe and caring learning environment is essential if we want our students to thrive. Relationship-building takes time and practice. As educators, when we provide students with opportunities to interact with each other, they develop positive attitudes and healthy relationships—fostering empathy, understanding, and caring.” – Sharyn Kang, 3rdGrade Teacher, Chula Vista Elementary School District
“In my classroom, JOY is everywhere! When I think of joy in my students and the community we’ve built, I think of affirmations. Our Harmony Class Goals (our class promises) are written as affirmation statements. We have an Affirmation Station, which is a mirror in the corner with affirmations around it for students to say to themselves, like “I am creative!” and “I am brave!”, and every single morning, we start the day together with an affirmation song. This not only sets the tone for the day, but for the entire school year! Affirmations lead to self-love, confidence, compassion, and support for each other. We celebrate what makes us unique and build upon those strengths!” – Josie McClain, 2nd grade teacher, Paloma Elementary School District
Works Cited
Dalai Lama, & Tutu, D. (2016). The book of joy: Lasting happiness in a changing world. (D. Abrams, Ed.). Avery.
Johnson, M. K. (2019). Joy: a review of the literature and suggestions for future directions. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 15(1), 5–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2019.1685581
Karjalainen, S., Hanhimäki, E., & Puroila, A. M. (2019). Dialogues of joy: Shared moments of joy between teachers and children in early childhood education settings. International Journal of Early Childhood, 51(2), 129–143. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-019-00244-5
Staying Grounded in Gratitude This Holiday Season
Staying Grounded in Gratitude This Holiday Season
by Jennifer S. Miller, M.Ed.
The fall leading into the holiday season is such a ripe time for gratitude. We are already engaged in celebrating the harvest at Thanksgiving and offering thanks with friends and family. But our lives are full and often rushed and gratitude can become something we may remember to do only on the holiday itself. So how do we ground ourselves in gratitude as a mindset throughout the holiday season and beyond?
This year, my son is a senior in high school. I have no idea how we arrived at this moment so quickly. And precisely because I know it’s the last year with him living at home, I am keenly aware of savoring every moment. There are plenty of milestones through a child and teen’s years that call us to that kind of savoring. Whether it’s the year your baby first walked, or the year when a big family gathering is possible, or the year when your kindergartener is wearing his superhero costume everywhere you go, these may not be possible the following year and are moments to treasure.
Although gratitude can exist as a feeling or mood, we are capable of cultivating more gratitude in our lives by becoming intentional about generating it and staying in its goodness.
Robert Emmons, a gratitude researcher, defines gratitude as “a sense of thankfulness and joy in response to receiving a gift, whether the gift be a tangible benefit from a specific other or a moment of peaceful bliss evoked by natural beauty.” Although gratitude can exist as a feeling or mood, we are capable of cultivating more gratitude in our lives by becoming intentional about generating it and staying in its goodness. Research offers many compelling reasons to do so. Gratefulness has been linked to greater health and well-being and is capable of preventing major diseases like heart disease. Studies have found that grateful teens not only have fewer physical symptoms like headaches, stomach aches, and runny noses, but also have more life satisfaction, are more optimistic, and feel more connected to friends and family.
Let’s take a look at four simple ways we can ground ourselves and our family in gratitude more fully throughout this holiday season.
Set an Intention as a Family
An intention, particularly when it’s made as a family, helps ensure that your hopes are followed up with actions. An intention statement can simply be: “We, as a family, will generate gratitude for the goodness in our lives daily throughout the holiday season.” Perhaps you introduce the topic at a family dinner. Or try out a Family Meet Up within the Harmony at Home app to gather your family with an easy agenda to guide you. While you are meeting, you might also access some gratitude prompts or Conversation Starters within the app to help you focus on gratitude. When you hold your family discussion, be sure you ask family members how they would best like to think about gratitude daily. Be sure you are specific and if you need to, schedule it. When you decide on actions you’ll take together, you can work as a team and share ownership for grounding the season in gratitude.
Create Regular Pauses for Reflection
Did you know that a research study found that children who say grace or give thanks before or during meals develop more gratitude than their peers? Simply pausing when you sit down to eat together and appreciating the food you have, your own health and well-being, and your ability to savor time with one another can create a grateful mindset. Researchers also point to the fact that children who ask questions about where things come from and why they are the way they are can generate gratitude. One way to do this is by tracing the origins of your meal. You might ask: Where did our corn come from? Is it from an Ohio farm? If so, who was involved in the seeding and harvesting and where did it go from there? When doing that kind of reflection, you may realize that the corn on your plate was likely handled by ten or more people before it got to you. All of those people have jobs and families and hopes and cares and have impacted your life through their work. You may also consider other times of the day or family routines that may create opportunities for the gratitude pause like a longer road trip in the car, your morning commute, afternoon snack time, or bedtime.
Practice Identifying Emotions With Your Child
Research confirms that children’s understanding and ability to find gratitude by age five is strengthened when they have a better understanding of their own and others’ emotions. Why? It’s because gratitude is experienced as a feeling and children’s raised self-awareness contributes to better understanding their own sensations and interpretations of experiences. Use this holiday season as a way to begin doing daily feelings check-ins to help build your child’s emotional vocabulary. When you check in on feelings together, not only does your child get a chance to identify his/her own, but they also hear what you are experiencing. This builds their social awareness. Check out the Harmony at Home app for the daily feelings check-in, which prompts you with words and emojis to make it simple and fun!
Cultivate a New Gratitude-Centered Family Ritual
Creating your own family ritual around gratitude sends a signal to all family members that gratitude is important and worthy of your reflective time together. Check out the Harmony at Home app’s Do Together: Creating a Gratitude Jar. Make your own gratitude tree where you bring in a large branch. Place it in a safe container, vase, or pot. Each day, family members can write what they are feeling grateful for in that moment and place the notes as leaves on the branches of your gratitude tree. With young children, you may work together and spend some time brainstorming ideas with questions such as:
– Who do we love spending time with? (That could be one gratitude note). – What’s our favorite activity to do at home? – What pet or animal do we love? – What do we love about our family? – How do specific family members make our lives better? – What friends do we appreciate and love to spend time with?
You’ll find that when you as a parent or caregiver become more intentional and reflective on the gratitude you are feeling, your family will follow. Children will learn from you, experience your feelings, and begin to feel and express more gratitude themselves. I cannot imagine a more important gift this holiday season in order to become more present to one another and truly appreciate all of the goodness the holiday season has to offer you and your family.
About Jennifer S. Miller, M.Ed
For over thirty years, Jennifer Miller has worked with educators and families to help them become more effective with children and teens by understanding and supporting their learning and development. She authored and illustrated the book Confident Parents, Confident Kids; Raising Emotional Intelligence In Ourselves and Our Kids — from Toddlers to Teenagers and founded the organization by the same name twelve years ago growing an international platform through her blog with more than 24K followers in 152 countries world-wide and a diverse team of seven writers. She has worked with Harmony Academy over the past year to build Harmony at Home, a parent-child application for home-based skill building. She has served as a regular expert contributor to NBC’s TODAY Parenting, PBS, WNET, and Parent Magazine.
Froh, J.J., & Bono, G. (2014). Making Grateful Kids; The Science of Building Character. West Conshohocken, PA: Templeton Press.
Welcome Back! Family Strategies for a Strong Start to the New School Year!
Parents and caretakers, there’s no better time than the first weeks of school to build a strong foundation for your child’s personal, social, and academic success.
We’re excited to share our Key Steps for a Successful School Year Toolkit, designed especially for the 2025–2026 school year! It features insights and strategies from experienced educators who are part of our Harmony Educator Advisory Group. These leaders have spent decades positively shaping classrooms and healthy learning across the country.
This toolkit isn’t just another back-to-school checklist. We’re offering practical, research-informed guidance to support your children in meaningful ways. Inside, you’ll find tools and tips to help your child:
Build strong, healthy relationships
Develop a sense of belonging at school
Feel seen, heard, and understood
Strengthen their overall wellness and mental health
Harmony Academy at National University draws from years of research and educator experience to create resources that prioritize what truly matters: relationships, belonging, and well-being. These foundational factors pave the way for lifelong success in school and beyond.
We hope you use our toolkit – available in both English and Spanish – to help your children thrive both in and outside of the classroom.
Special thanks to our educators who contributed their voices and expertise to our toolkit:
Get ready to spark connection and fun for the whole family! This new, innovative app makes it easy for busy families to support skill-building, strengthen connection, and enjoy quick, meaningful interactions every day. Learn More!
Build Stronger Connections Beyond the School Day with Harmony
Build Stronger Connections Beyond the School Day with Harmony
At Harmony, we believe learning doesn’t stop when the school bell rings. Harmony Out-of-School Time (OST) provides students with meaningful opportunities to develop and apply personal, relational, and academic skills in enriching, real-world environments.
Whether it’s during after-school programs, summer camps, or youth sports, Harmony OST empowers youth to build healthy relationships and strengthen skills beyond the classroom.
Through a collaboration with the U.S. Soccer Foundation, we discovered they had a similar focus on supporting champions on and off the field.
“Sport has limitless power to transform youth by fostering impactful, healthful connections with mentors and building life skills that extend beyond the game.”
– Audrey Shaw-Edwards, Director, Content & Education, U.S. Soccer Foundation
We know that strong teams start with strong relationships. Young people thrive when they have consistent, supportive opportunities to practice relationship-building and teamwork. Sports-based programs offer a unique space where youth can grow in confidence, connect with peers and mentors, and apply what they’ve learned in new and exciting ways.
That’s why Harmony offers flexible, engaging Everyday Practices and Lessons & Activities specifically designed for OST and sports-based program settings. These tools help youth develop essential skills for building healthy team dynamics on and off the field while nurturing a sense of belonging and community.
“Sport has limitless power to transform youth by fostering impactful, healthful connections with mentors and building life skills that extend beyond the game. Tapping into this potential by empowering leaders with the tools they need to build meaningful, lasting relationships with the youth they serve builds a foundation from which the next generation can experience success and growth.” — Audrey Shaw-Edwards, Director, Content & Education, U.S. Soccer Foundation
NEW This Summer!
In our continued collaboration with the U.S. Soccer Foundation, Harmony has developed sports-based activities to help coaches, mentors, and sports educators promote teamwork, empathy, and respect — on and off the field.
These activities feature:
Custom Quick Connection Cards for sports settings
A focus on building strong peer and adult relationships
Adaptability for various OST and athletic programs
Whether you’re a coach, after-school coordinator, camp leader, or volunteer, Harmony OST provides everything you need to create a more connected, compassionate community for youth.
