Design schools for strong, personalized relationships through small learning communities, looping, advisory systems, teaching teams, and longer grade spans¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The report recommends designing schools so students are well-known and supported by creating small schools or learning communities within schools, looping teachers with students for more than one year, creating advisory systems, supporting teaching teams, and organizing schools with longer grade spans. It states these structures "have been found to strengthen relationships and improve student attendance, achievement, and attainment." The strategy operationalizes the supportive-environment domain of the framework by building continuity in relationships, consistency in practices, and predictability in routines that reduce anxiety.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Structures must allow for continuity in relationships, consistency in practices, and predictability in routines that reduce anxiety and support engaged learning

Constraints¶

Target Learners¶

• K-12 students

Target Learning Goals¶

• Student attendance
• Achievement
• Attainment
• Sense of belonging

Affordances¶

• Four Domain Whole Child Framework

Related Strategies¶

• Use advisories and looping to ensure every student is known and supported by adults
• Know every student well through many adults, multi-year teacher loops, and flexible small-group instruction
• Start simple: relationships-first, low-tech student success systems can suffice in small, tight-knit communities
• Personalize the learning environment and instructional process to foster belonging

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Darling-Hammond, L., & Cook-Harvey, C. M. (2018). Educating the whole child: Improving school climate to support student success. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/educating-whole-child. doi:10.54300/145.655