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Search Institute Report: Relationship-Focused Strategies for Connecting with Young People

By and Reprinted from the Search Institute As fall approaches, a return to the classroom can mean fresh opportunities for connecting with all students in meaningful ways. Educators and other youth-serving practitioners are busy making plans to return to the classroom, providing the perfect opportunity to consider tools and strategies that are proven to boost […]

The 4 People in Schools Who Students Are Most Likely to Call a Mentor

By Arianna Prothero, Reprinted from EducationWeek Ask educators and they’ll tell you that their students’ motivation to work hard and try their best in school is suffering. Eighty percent of teachers, principals, and district leaders surveyed in early 2023 by the EdWeek Research Center said that the pandemic had made their students less motivated. Mentoring […]

The Power of a 45-Second Investment in Relationship Building

A short, positive interaction with a student at the start of the school year can pay off all year long. By Lindsay Kervan, Reprinted from edutopia Six years ago, I started an experiment where I spoke with each student during the first week of school. I learned that this 45-second investment in each student, coupled […]

Highlighting racism and unequal access to mentors in schools

Flitner, A., McQuillin, S., Kornbluh, M., & Thompson, D. (2023). Spotlighting racism in schools: Teacher mentors and the mediating effect of school safety. American Journal of Community Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12680 Summarized by Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest: Evidence shows that access to supportive relationships with adults and feeling safe at school increases the likelihood of youth success. However, […]

National Bureau of Economic Research report explores how natural mentors contribute to students’ long-term academic success

Kraft, M. A., Bolves, A. J., & Hurd, N. M. (2023). How informal mentoring by teachers, counselors, and coaches supports students’ long-run academic success. National Bureau of Economic Research. © 2023 by Matthew A. Kraft, Alexander J. Bolves, and Noelle M. Hurd Summarized by Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest: Schools are institutions that foster academic skills that […]

3 Simple Yet Powerful Ways to Build Relationships With Your Students

  Use these interactive strategies to build strong relationships with middle and high school students without sacrificing teaching time By Jori Krulder, Reprinted from Edutopia Twenty-five years ago, as a new teacher, I struggled to connect with students. Relationship-building wasn’t covered in my teacher credential classes, and with everything I was expected to cover in […]

How Building Relationship Skills Supports Student Success

By and reprinted from the Search Institute Young people develop resilience to face life’s challenges when they have at least one well-rounded, strong, and sustained relationship in their lives. And they begin to thrive when they experience a broader web of relationships in their homes, schools, programs, and communities. But developmentally influential relationships do not […]

How educators can overcome barriers to building relationships

Reprinted from the Search Institute Schools are a place for learning, and a place for relating. Search Institute’s decades of research shows us that young people’s development is rooted in their community and in their relationships. When young people have high-quality, positive relationships with parents, teachers, mentors, coaches, and peers, they are more likely to […]

4 Simple Ways to Build Relationships With Your Students

High school students benefit from meaningful relationships with adults at school, and teachers can foster those ties in little ways every day. By Alex Brouhard, Reprinted from Edutopia Last year, my school’s social and emotional learning staff distributed a survey to every student, asking how connected they felt at school. Eighty-four percent reported feeling connected […]

The 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2022

By Youki Terada and Stephen Merrill, Reprinted from Edutopia This past year didn’t feel normal, exactly, but compared with the last few trips around the sun, well—it sufficed. In 2021, when we sat down to write our annual edition of the research highlights, we were in the throes of postpandemic recovery and wrote about the […]