Education Law

Improving academic & health outcomes through school connectedness

A recent Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report on school connectedness concludes that adolescents who feel connected to school have better attendance, higher academic performance and better high school completion rates.  What is school connectedness BoardBuzz wonders?  When students believe that adults in the school care about their learning as well as about them as individuals, that’s school connectedness.  

Congress also noticed the report.  During a briefing this week on Capitol Hill, the CDC, a school superintendent and a student described how school connectedness initiatives can reduce high-risk behaviors such as absenteeism, substance abuse and violence.  Factors that increase school connectedness include adult support, belonging to a positive peer group, commitment to education and a positive school environment.  

The CDC is preparing a toolkit and developing parenting and other resources.  In the meantime, they identified 6 strategies to promote school connectedness, including 1) establish decision-making processes conducive to engagement, 2) enable families to be actively involved, 3) provided students academic, emotional and social skills for engagement, 4) use effective classroom and teaching methods, 5) provide professional development of teachers and school staff, and 6) create relationships that promote communication among stakeholders. 

Boardbuzz thinks that school boards provide strong leadership for the strategies described above.   What are the school connectedness issues and initiatives in your district?

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on June 26, 2009 (boomark / email).