The secret to every positive learning environment? Belonging. When students feel that they belong in their school and classroom, commitment to learning goes up and behavioral disruptions subside. And when teachers embrace an SEL-infused approach to classroom management that helps every student feel valued, safe, and competent, belonging soars.
We Belong offers 50 targeted strategies to increase students' sense of belonging and reinforce the habits that support classroom harmony and learning success. Authors and award-winning educators Laurie Barron and Patti Kinney explore the dynamic partnership of belonging and classroom management and share specific ways to
* Build authentic, positive relationships with students and among students
* Create spaces that feel physically and emotionally safe for all
* Teach and foster social-emotional competence
* Increase student engagement and motivation
* Foster a sustaining sense of community
Covering a range of key topics—from behavioral expectations to conflict resolution to more effective collaboration—this practical guide for elementary and secondary teachers includes downloadable forms and templates to support strategy implementation. Use it to revisit your priorities and reshape your practices so that all students in your classroom can say of themselves and their peers, "We belong."
Laurie Barron is superintendent of the Evergreen School District in Kalispell, Montana, and was named 2021 Montana Superintendent of the Year. She has been a high school English teacher and coach, a middle school assistant principal, a middle school principal, and a part-time assistant professor. A National Board–certified teacher, she was 2012 Georgia Principal of the Year and 2013 MetLife/NASSP National Middle Level Principal of the Year. Barron is a coauthor of the books What Parents Need to Know About Common Core and Other College- and Career-Ready Standards and Middle School: A Place to Belong and Become and has authored numerous articles. She is also a speaker who provides motivation and professional learning to teachers and administrators throughout the United States.
Patti Kinney speaks, presents, and consults on middle-level education. She is a past president of the Association for Middle Level Education and of the Oregon Middle Level Association. In 1996, she was Oregon Assistant Principal of the Year; in 2003, she was both Oregon Principal of the Year and the Met-Life/NASSP National Middle Level Principal of the Year. Kinney has written several books, including Fostering Student Accountability Through Student- Led Conferences and (with Laurie Barron) What Parents Need to Know about Common Core and Other College- and Career- Ready Standards and Middle School: A Place to Belong and Become. Her numerous articles include regular pieces in NASSP’s Principal Leadership.
