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The CDC issued research showing that a significant percentage of young people are affected by childhood trauma and that it has long-lasting health effects. Among the factors that can ameliorate the effects are caring relationships with trusted adults at school.

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The article offers an array of commonsense strategies that school leaders can use to build trust and shared purpose among a school staff.

In the blog this week, Kris will be reflecting on how mistakes and imperfect moments can become opportunities to strengthen relationships. Many of the tips in this article also underscore relationships as key to working with challenging situations in the classroom.

The article outlines multiple factors that are making it more challenging for schools to communicate with parents, and offers 10 strategies to communicate in a timely, positive, effective way.

This brief summarizes research about the benefits of strong teacher-student relationships, as well as offering a few practical strategies for strengthening these at the classroom level.

A detailed rubric covering three major areas important to family engagement, with four stages of growth articularted for each.

This article explores how Nordic schools are ensuring work-life balance, prioritizing relationships, and creating egalitarian school communities. Especially noteworthy is how time is used within a school day and across a school year.

This article describes lessons learned in the first year of Pike Road Schools in AL, specifically how they supported older learners who weren't used to engagement-based practices; staff who needed help with learner-centered lesson design; and parents who had questions and wanted to be more engaged.

Accountability for students, teachers, and schools is important, but to what are we holding them accountable? This article from The Boston Globe touts an increased level of difficulty in standardized testing in Massachusetts, but it also begs questions around what testing is for and what makes a test rigorous.
Read the article, and let us know your thoughts on standardized testing.

A quick read about how one elementary school engaged families as it transformed the school model to be more progressive and student-driven.

An interview with a school principal two years after the school began implementing trauma-informed practices--great piece about organizational change and the evolution of their thinking about how best to support a specific population of students.

The article describes the pitfalls of "closed" education systems that keep families and community members at arm's length, and what truly "open" systems might do differently.

This news story about a female swimmer who was disqualified for the way her team suit fit has been making the rounds in the past few days. It's an important one, (and the impetus for Sara's blog on Wednesday) so we're highlighting one of the earlier stories today.

Project-based learning or inquiry-based learning can be done in many different ways. As we have traveled the country visiting classrooms (#EngagingSchools), we have seen many different approaches. One of the most important shifts toward a more inquiry-based or project-based classroom may be for the teacher to get comfortable giving up some control in the classroom. As Mike Kaechele summarizes it in this article: “Less of us (teachers), more of them (students).”

This article helps illustrate an important aspect of Radically Reimagined Relationships: the safety and space to be our true selves

Teachers play a vital role in helping students navigate our complex world. Many students view their classrooms as places to become more informed about controversial issues and to consider alternative perspectives. It is essential for students to have opportunities to interact with peers who hold opposing views in order to understand others’ positions and practice civil discourse skills.

A perspective piece from the Washington Post, reminding parents that while letting go is necessary, it's okay to acknowledge how hard it is.

For many families, sending kids out into the world for the first time - for college or other endeavors - brings an array of emotions. We appreciated the advice in this perspective piece from The Washington Post. It really comes down to imparting the message "You've got this!" and having faith that they do.