Enhancing Student Belonging
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) defines belonging as the degree to which learners believe, experience and feel that they are accepted by adults and peers, as well as respected as a valued contributor in their learning and social environment.
The start of a new school year is an opportunity to enhance belonging for your students. Whether you are a district/school leader or teacher (among so many other roles), you have an opportunity to make your students feel seen, heard and valued.
Why is a Sense of Belonging So Important?
According to the Institute of Education Sciences (n.d.), when students feel a sense of belonging, it can impact the following:
- Student Academic Motivation
- Student Emotional Stability
- Student Personal Characteristics
- Parent Support, Peer Support, Teacher Support
- Environmental and School Safety
What Can You Do?
- Create a welcoming environment that goes beyond just saying hello. Learn students' names and something about them. What are they passionate or excited about? How are they doing academically? What extracurricular activities are they involved in? If they aren't involved, how can you encourage them to get more involved?
- Ensure the classroom and school are co-owned by your students. Think about it. When you tell people in the community where you work and what you do, you want to do so with pride. Your students deserve the same thing when talking about the school they attend. How do your students get to co-create the environment that they will be proud of?
- Seek and leverage knowledge of student backgrounds (funds of knowledge). Research suggests that teachers who make learning experiences relevant to students' home lives and communities are more likely to improve school belonging for students and enhance student learning (Institute of Education Sciences (n.d.).
Data-Driven Systems Thinking
It's always wise to create systems around the goals we have. We can't just assume that students feel a sense of belonging.
Start Here: KDE School Report Card- Search Your School or District- Quality of School Climate and Safety Survey- Complete the Data Analysis Protocol found here based on this data
Videos to Watch
 Equity Playbook Update
The Kentucky Department of Education is the first state department of education in the nation to offer one-on-one executive coaching for educators. We currently have 270 participants throughout Kentucky receiving this (free to you) service.
Watch this KDE Equity Playbook video provided by our partner (Engage 2 Learn) for a more in-depth look into this initiative and how it's going!
There are still opportunities for new districts to sign on to participate in Kentucky’s Equity Playbook for cohort 3. The deadline is Sept. 22, 2023. To sign up, email Damien Sweeney and Florence Chang. Participants need approval from their superintendent.
Awareness Dates
August
- Aug. 26: Women's Equality Day
September
- Sept. 27: National Women's Health and Fitness Day
September is...
- Deaf Awareness Month
- Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15)
DEIB Summer Highlights
- The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Team presented at the American School Counseling Association's National Conference in Atlanta.
- The DEIB Team helped Frankfort Independent, Mayfield Independent, Augusta Independent, Rockcastle County and Rowan County kickoff their school year with trainings on cultural responsiveness.
- The DEIB team worked with Crestwood Elementary School's leadership team on enhancing student belonging.
- Personnel from Kentucky districts, the Kentucky Department of Education (every office represented) and regional educational cooperatives attended a retreat hosted by the DEIB Team at Bluegrass Community and Technical College.
- The DEIB Team facilitated workshops at the Jefferson County Public Schools Summer Conference for School Counselors.
- The DEIB Team will be traveling to McCreary County to train-the-trainers on the A4 modules on Aug. 24th.
- The DEIB Team will host a fall kickoff for regional DEIB coordinators at the Roots 101 Museum in Louisville, KY.
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