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Fostering School Connectedness

The Untapped Power of Schools to Improve the Health of Teens by Robert Blum, Director, University of Minnesota Center for Adolescent Health and Development, isolated a number of factors that contribute to school connectedness.

The article identifies the following ten strategies for teachers that foster connection to school:

Help students get to know each other’s strengths
Involve students in planning, problem solving, identifying issues and assessing curriculum in the classroom
Promote cooperation over competition. Post everyone’s best work. Offer opportunities for the class to work together to help everyone achieve excellence
Build a strong relationship with each student
Convey attentiveness to students and excitement about learning through nonverbal gestures
Involve all students in chores and responsibilities in the classroom
Integrate concepts of discipline and respect for classmates throughout instruction
Give students more say in what they will learn
Involve students in developing the criteria by which their work will be assessed and provide guidelines so they clearly understand what’s expected of them
Use first person plural (we, us, let’s) when presenting classroom activities

The Untapped Power of Schools to Improve the Health of Teens
Robert Blum, April 2002
Complete report available at http://www.allaboutkids.umn.edu/presskit/monograph.pdf

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