Students Share the Small Ways Teachers Build Belonging
Students Share the Small Ways Teachers Build Belonging
In Honor of Teacher Appreciation Month, we want to recognize the amazing educators who build belonging in classrooms every day. Teachers have a remarkable superpower: helping every student feel seen, valued, and like they belong in their learning communities.
How do we know that? Because their students told us!
We reached out to teachers across the country to ask their students: What does your teacher do to make sure all students feel like they belong in your classroom?
Here are their heartfelt responses:
“She helps us when we struggle.” – Leo C., 3rd grade
“She calls on us when we raise our hand.” – Una D., 3rd grade
“She makes us feel special. It’s her superpower!” – Owen K., 3rd grade
“She lets me and my friends help out, and gives new opportunities to be helpful.” – Myra K., 3rd grade
“When we need help, she comes to help us.” – Caroline M., 3rd grade
“We talk a lot, and what she says makes my insides feel warm and toasty.” – Zara O., 1st grade
“My teacher shows interest in what we do outside of school.” – Parker S., 1st grade
“My teacher gives us opportunities to show our personality.” – Liam T., 2nd grade
“My teachers smile and greet us.” – Vanessa M., 7th grade
“She is nice, she listens to us, we trust her, and I never want to go to 2nd grade.” – Jaycee D., 1st grade
“My teacher helps us with our work. She is nice, and everybody loves her, especially me.” – A’amoni H., 1st grade
“My teacher makes everyone in my classroom feel like they belong because she always asks if you feel down when you cry and she checks up on you.” – Gunner A., 4th Grade
“Every day Ms. Ahn helps the classroom and she is very funny. She picks the people with low points! She always treats us the same and always talks about what we should do. This tells me she is a good teacher and makes me feel like I belong.” – Anna G., 4th Grade
“My teacher has a special way of making everyone feel like they truly belong. When someone gets a problem wrong, he never makes them feel bad. He helps them understand where they went wrong, helps them fix it, and gives them the chance to share their new thinking.” – Elijah, 4th grade
“My teacher makes the whole class feel like we belong when we get new partners each Monday, and we spend time getting to know each other through different questions he asks. It helps me feel comfortable. “ – Berkley, 5th grade
We also received this video message from a second grader in Memphis, Tennessee:
What else can we say? Thank you teachers for making your students feel like they matter. You’re our belonging champions!
Belonging as a Core Condition for Learning
Belonging as a Core Condition for Learning
Schools today are grappling with rising chronic absenteeism, widening learning gaps, and increasing teacher dissatisfaction. Belonging — the feeling of being accepted, valued, connected, and a contributor within a community — is a fundamental human need. Research consistently shows that fostering belonging strengthens both student outcomes and educator wellbeing. It’s not just a feeling to be nurtured, but a foundational condition that shapes school climates, instructional effectiveness, and student success.
This whitepaper explores:
Barriers to student and staff feeling a strong sense of belonging
What belonging looks like in practice for students and adults
Concrete strategies educators and leaders can take to promote belonging
Can Reading Books Make Kids Smarter and More Connected?
Can Reading Books Make Kids Smarter and More Connected?
By: Carol Jago &Sarah Caverly, Ph.D.
Can reading books make kids smarter and more connected? In her article for Time magazine, Annie Murphy Paul argues that it can. She discovered evidence that “individuals who often read fiction appear to be better able to understand other people, empathize with them and view the world from their perspective” (Paul, 2013). Cognitive psychologists observed a similar result in young children: the more stories they had read to them, the better they understood themselves and others (Mar et al., 2006; Mar et al., 2009; Mar et al., 2010).
As a teacher, I have seen firsthand how books offer children vicarious friendships with individuals they would never otherwise encounter. They allow for travel to destinations far and wide. Stories show students how others have dealt with challenges similar to their own. In myriad ways, literature teaches us that we are not alone.
Our youngsters are in desperate need of the connections that books can provide. As highlighted in a recent article by TheNew York TimesMagazine, young people are currently facing a significant mental health crisis. Jia Lynn Yang reports that nearly 32% of adolescents have been diagnosed with anxiety at some point in their lives, with a median age of onset of just six years old, and that more than one in ten adolescents have experienced a major depressive disorder (Avenevoli, 2015; Yang, 2025). Amid these challenges, many young people feel disconnected and uncertain about where they belong, making opportunities for connection, reflection, and shared meaning more important than ever.
Teachers across the country are reporting that their students are disaffected, disengaged from school, barely putting in seat time, and stuck in neutral. This may be a continuation of habits formed during the pandemic and/or a result of too much screen time, but the moment for excuses is past. We need to help students rediscover their learning gear.
3 Strategies to Foster Learning & Belonging Through Stories
In my experience, children shift from neutral to drive when they are interested in a topic. And exposing them to a broad range of issues, people, and places through books widens their circle of interest. Consider nonfiction titles along with fiction. For example, Yoshi and the Ocean: A Sea Turtle’s Incredible Journey Home by Lindsay Moore. This is the true story of a loggerhead sea turtle who was rescued by oceanographers after an injury to her shell. After a long career at an aquarium, Yoshi was released back into the wild with a tracker attached. Yoshi traveled over 25,000 miles in 1,003 days in order to find her way back home.
Yoshi knew in her bones where she belonged.
Along with being an inspirational story of determination and perseverance, the book provides detailed information about the ocean, currents, food chain, and geography, providing a host of entry points for inquiry that children are keen to pursue.
Here are three strategies to foster this kind of engagement:
Include both fiction and nonfiction books in your classroom library: offering both expands students’ sense of what reading can be. Fiction encourages empathy and perspective-taking, while nonfiction invites curiosity about the real world and allows students to see their interests, identities, and questions reflected and valued.
Introduce students to fresh titles through an engaging read-aloud: Read-alouds lower the barrier to entry, especially for disengaged or reluctant readers. When students are invited into a story together, reading becomes a shared experience rather than a solitary task that sparks curiosity, discussion, and emotional connection.
Invite generous conversations about what it means to belong and how it feels when one feels left out: Creating space for these conversations requires more than good intentions. It requires shared language and structures that help students listen, reflect, and connect. Programs like Harmony Academy support educators in turning literature into moments of connection by offering Storybooks and Literature Guide with discussion and reflection prompts, as well as Everyday Practices that help students explore belonging together.
When books open doors to new worlds, and classrooms offer space to reflect and connect — as they do through approaches like Harmony — students are reminded that learning is not something they do alone.
Maybe instead of trying to meet today’s students where they are, let’s show them how books can take them to places where they have never been. Reading may help our children become smarter and happier by fostering a sense of belonging within their peer groups, families, and school communities.
About Carol Jago
She has taught for over 30 years and serves as associate director of the California Reading and Literature at UCLA. She is a past president of the National Council of Teachers of English and received the Squire Award, honoring an individual who has had a transforming influence and has made a lasting intellectual contribution to the profession.
References
Avenevoli, S., Swendsen, J., He, J. P., Burstein, M., & Merikangas, K. R. (2015). Major depression in the national comorbidity survey-adolescent supplement: prevalence, correlates, and treatment. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 54(1), 37–44.e2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2014.10.010
Mar, R. A., Oatley, K., Hirsh, J., dela Paz, J., & Peterson, J. B. (2006). Bookworms versus nerds: Exposure to fiction versus non-fiction, divergent associations with social ability, and the simulation of fictional social worlds. Journal of Research in Personality, 40(5), 694–712. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2005.08.002
Mar, R., Oatley, K. & Peterson, J. (2009). Exploring the link between reading fiction and empathy: Ruling out individual differences and examining outcomes. Communications, 34(4), 407-428. https://doi.org/10.1515/COMM.2009.025
Mar, R. A., Tackett, J. L., & Moore, C. (2010). Exposure to media and theory-of-mind development in preschoolers. Cognitive Development, 25(1), 69–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2009.11.002
Moore, L. (2022). Yoshi and the Ocean: A Sea Turtle’s Incredible Journey Home. Greenwillow Books.
It’s Time to Shine: 6 Trauma-Informed Theatre Practices to Ease Stress
It’s Time to Shine: 6 Trauma-Informed Theatre Practices to Ease Stress
By Jennifer Wienke, Trauma-Informed Educator Fairbanks, Alaska
It’s National Stress Awareness Month, and as a trauma-informed theater educator at the Fairbanks Academy of Community Theatre (FACT) in Fairbanks, Alaska, it’s the perfect time to share strategies to help mitigate youth and family stress.
“Life-changing” is a word communicated to the FACT team often in emails, social media posts, and in the area on an audition form that asks for additional information to work better with families. These are words we deem common in our work.
But for the families we work with? It is life-changing.
Before diving into trauma-informed practices, I want to share a story of a 14-year-old student we work with. After a summer camp two years ago, we received a thank-you card signed by an entire family (mom, dad, and big brother). Their child was in our week-long camp and was a new face for us. He was a quiet student who didn’t speak to us or others, but that’s common in the theater world. Everyone needs time to settle in before their light gets to shine. What we didn’t know was that he was nonverbal and didn’t speak until well into middle school, and after, only spoke to family and close friends.
This was the moment we realized the value of our work and how it affects the people in our world.
6 Trauma-Informed Theatre Practices
Trauma-informed theater practice is the backbone of my organization in Fairbanks. We provide a safe space for all students and families, meeting everyone where they are while exploring the arts. When my partner and I began our company, we designed every facet with the mindset of what we wanted in a youth program growing up — a place that could give us a chance to explore theater and feel safe and nurtured when our homes did not provide the support we needed.
In each of our programs, we focus on developing connections, fostering a predictable environment, creating a strong sense of belonging, and building self-esteem for the youth we serve. We work extensively on confidence-building interactions, and we understand that everyone has a story. Our students, of all ages, come to us with past traumas. Our job is to create a safe space that resists retraumatization.
In my presentation, “Act It Up”: Trauma-Informed Theater Practices for Every Classroom, we walk through a typical rehearsal and explore how intentional practices can help students combat and manage stress, including:
A predictable schedule and routine to create stability
Warm welcomes to help every student feel seen and heard
Regular emotional check-ins to support self-awareness and regulation
Clear communication and choice, including opportunities to ask questions and opt out if needed
Tools for success, such as a cast website for each program, with resources to build confidence throughout the project
Thoughtful daily reflections to help students recognize their growth and take pride in their contributions
How Harmony Supports My Community
Harmony Academy resources have been pivotal in helping our process, especially when working with our teen mentors as directors in training or camp mentors. Our mentors always have Quick Connection Cards ready in their badge holders to help campers build connections, resolve conflicts, or offer brain breaks. Since our programs all take place outside of the school day, we utilize Harmony Out-of-School Time (OST) lessons in our work, especially with our youngest cast members. Even the Harmony mascot Z has been seen perched on our light board or hanging backstage in a youth production for a quick hug if needed!
Stress and anxiety can peak at this time of year, especially with state testing approaching. Many parts of the trauma-informed approach can help families and educators by providing easy-to-implement tools with social, personal, and academic learning concepts. With a focus on belonging, clear communication, and brain breaks, stressful days can be more manageable for everyone.
A Life-Changing Transformation
It has been two years since the 14-year-old nonverbal student came to us. Since that time, he has had three leading roles and tons of ensemble roles, has become a camp mentor, and learned how to do sound and instruct small youth groups. On our most difficult days, we think of these stories, and we are inspired all over again.
Whether it’s Stress Awareness Month or any other time, always remember to power through, knowing we must continue offering tools for every person to find their “shine”.
Jennifer Wienke is the current program development coordinator for Out-of-School programming in the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. In her time off, she is the owner and director of the trauma-informed theater company, Fairbanks Academy of Community Theater. Jennifer is a proud member of the Harmony Educator Advisory Group.
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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