Building School Connectedness

Thank you for joining Inspired Teaching for our LinkedIn Live on the importance and urgency of creating connection in our school communities.

You can view our conversations with Dr. Sarah Ash Combs (attending physician, Children’s National Hospital) and Dr. Tangy Millard (principal, West Potomac High School) below!

Hooray For Monday

Inspired Teaching’s award-winning collection of resources and insights, shared via inboxes and podcast platforms every week. See below for our recent issues with a specific focus on building school connectedness.

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Safe and Happy and Healthy April 24, 2023
Can AI Bring Us Together? April 17, 2023
To, Not, For, WITH April 10, 2023
You Are Not Alone April 3, 2023
We Find Connection in the Process March 27, 2023
Don’t Know How? Your Students Might! March 20, 2023
Create Connection by Sharing Student Expertise March 13, 2023
Curiosity and School Connectedness March 6, 2023
The Urgent Need to Increase School Connectedness February 27, 2023

Activities for Building Connection

Inspired Teaching offers an array of easy-to-implement strategies and activities for building connection in your classroom. We’ve highlighted a few below and encourage you to learn more about our Inspired2Learn and Instigator of Thought Challenge resource collections.

Sometimes

Sometimes one person can have lots and lots of feelings — different from each other. This activity encourages students to explore that experience.

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Zoom Out

Considering the size of our problems in relation to larger context can help us understand the nature of the issue better, and sometimes even makes the problem seem less huge

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Inside/Outside

In a moment when the world is especially fraught with change and uncertainty, we are all struggling to observe, name, and adjust to the flood of feelings around and within us. This activity was created in response to that reality.

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4 Ways to Start Class with Breathing & Mindfulness

Starting class with stillness, attention, and deep breathing can set a peaceful tone for your day.

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Coloring Our Emotions

Talking about feelings is vital to building mutual respect in the classroom. Considering feelings in a visual way can deepen that discussion.

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Professional Development

Professional learning that is fun and engaging is also effective! Join us for our monthly Inspired Teaching Institutes for a unique, joyful professional development experience that will help you build connection with your practice, your students, and your school community.

PD to promote a “Yes! And…” Mindset

In this article in Kappan magazine’s May 2023 issue, Aleta shares in-depth insights and research into how — and why — to create relevant and engaging professional development opportunities for teachers.

Read the article here.

As we prepare for the start of a new school year, we will hold conversations with expert guests, who will share invaluable insights on mental health, well-being, and community.

Learn more about the series and our acclaimed guests at the button below. Each will offer a unique perspective on School Connectedness and insight into resources, tools, and strategies for educators and parents to use in building connection in their own school communities.

You can watch — and participate — on Inspired Teaching’s LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook pages. Make sure to follow us!

Learn More

Elizabeth Cutler

Grants Manager

As Grants Manager, Elizabeth manages Inspired Teaching’s grant requirements and writes proposals and other fundraising materials. She is a writer, creative producer, and longtime improv performer and teacher.

Elizabeth has an MA in Democracy & Governance from Georgetown University and BA in Politics from Occidental College. She previously served on the boards of nonprofits Young Professionals in Foreign Policy and the District Improv Festival.

What brings you joy in life?

Creativity! Pushing through a challenging writing process or learning a new improv format often feels frustrating at the moment, but the satisfaction of reaching the other side brings me such joy. I also love seeing a variety of live theater and performances and nerding out about books.

Dr. Michelle Edwards

Director; Founder & CEO, The Idari Collective

Dr. Edwards is the Founder and CEO of the Idari Collective. Idari means leadership in the Yoruba language. The Idari Collective is a coaching, mentoring, and consulting firm whose mission is to come alongside leaders, especially Black women leaders, so that they will thrive in leading their personal and professional lives.

She is a native Chicagoan and a career educator who found her way to the East Coast as a resident principal in New Leaders, Inc. during its inaugural year in Washington DC. She also served as a principal in Anacostia at Orr Elementary for almost a decade. Michelle returned to New Leaders in 2013 as the Director of the Emerging Leaders Program. Dr. Edwards served for nearly seven years as the Executive Director at Live It Learn It, an experiential learning nonprofit located in Washington, DC that partners with schools and cultural institutions to create and deliver experiential learning opportunities for Black and Brown elementary-aged students.

She earned a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania and received a Certificate in Executive Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University. Michelle is a graduate of Creative Results Management, where she was trained to coach. Dr. Edwards also advocates for social justice and racial reconciliation as a leader of the DC Unity and Justice Fellowship, a new 501c3 in Washington, DC where she serves as the inaugural Board Chair. She is a trained Urban Missionary, a proud, 25+ year-member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and the mother of two adult sons, Darren and Dante.

Meag Campos

Project Manager

With over ten years of experience in education, Meag Campos is dedicated to making learning accessible for all students and to supporting their social-emotional growth. Her career spans working with elementary through high school students, during which she has served as a Teacher, Learning Specialist, and Instructional Coach.

She holds a Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on literacy leadership from the University of New Orleans. Her passion for education is matched by her love for reading and exploring the world with her husband and two sons.

Micaiah Anderson

Community Outreach Specialist

As a Community Outreach Specialist, Micaiah is responsible for program promotion and outreach support for Inspired Teaching events and workshops. Micaiah has a passion for collaborating with community members to build-power and connect. She is an educator with a heart for youth and has experience supporting students fight injustices within their schools and communities. She has a BA in Political Science from, the real HU, Hampton University & anticipates graduating in May 2024 with a Masters of Arts degree in Educational Policy Transformation from Georgetown University.

AUTONOMY

"I want to have a say in what happens to me."

Autonomy is the need for independence; the ability to make choices, to create, to explore, and to express oneself freely; to have sufficient space, to move around, and to feel unrestricted with opportunities to exercise free will.

Brady Maiden

Speak Truth Faculty

As Speak Truth Faculty, Brady helps to lead one of our model youth programs. She provides training and support to high school students as they lead and engage in Speak Truth discussions on issues important in their lives. Brady has her Master’s in Public Policy from George Mason University and her BS in Political Science from Northern Arizona University. She is passionate about community, equity, and coalition building recognizing that learning and growing with the community at large is how we continue to be impactful.

What brings you joy in life?

I find joy in spending time with my friends and family and meeting new people. I like going to concerts and festivals, and finding new books to read.

The Learner’s Cycle, Wonder-Experiment-Learn, and the Teacher’s Cycle, Observe-Plan-Instigate, comprise Inspired Teaching’s approach to engaging students in inquiry-based learning.

When they are engaged in the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, students are immersed in learning. They take the lead in designing authentic learning experiences around their own interests and their school’s standards of learning. Each discovery leads to a new question which in turn leads to more wondering and more learning. In the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, Learn is not a destination or an endpoint; it is a deeper understanding, leading to a deeper wondering and new possibilities that create new entry points to further exploration. The cycle continues because what students have learned generates more wonderings that require more experiments that foster more learning – and on and on.

The Observe-Plan-Instigate Cycle is the work of an Inspired Teacher. While a student is expected to follow the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, the teacher joins them on the learning journey while following their own cycle of Observe-Plan-Instigate. This cycle ultimately serves to ensure an inquiry-based atmosphere is at play in the classroom.

Jaqueta Abbey

Teaching and Learning Specialist

Jaqueta is the Teaching and Learning Specialist for Inspired Teaching. In addition to her current role with Inspired Teaching, Jaqueta is a first-grade teaching assistant. Her background features a variety of traditional and non-traditional experiences in the field of education, including working as an adjunct professor, teaching summer reading programs to children and adults, and tutoring children in the foster care system. Jaqueta earned a B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an M.A. in Interactive Media from Elon University.

What brings you joy in life?

Creative self-expression! In addition to my passion for storytelling, I love dancing of all kinds. I've studied belly dance, bachata, and Brazilian Zouk among other styles. I also enjoy glass fusing, crocheting, photography, and cross stitching. These art forms allow me to express myself and build connections with other people at the same time. I think life would be a lot less vibrant without artists and storytellers!

Michelle Welk

Communication & Marketing Specialist

As Communications and Marketing Specialist, Michelle is responsible for finding and creating new ways to highlight Inspired Teaching and promote its programs in order to expand and deepen the organization's impact. Michelle has worked in communications in an array of settings, from creative agencies to state politics to national nonprofits. She has a BA in Journalism from Temple University in Philadelphia and is passionate about education, access, and equity.

What brings you joy in life?

My son, the beach, making a persuasive argument and good food!

Max Peterson

Real World History Assistant Teacher

Max received his Bachelor’s degree in History and African American Studies from Boston University in May 2016. He has worked in museum curation at the Museum of the White Mountains in New Hampshire and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Max has worked with young people of varying ages from young children to young adults transitioning to college.

Feedback and Accountability

We grow through feedback and an understanding that the quality of our work is a reflection of what we are learning, but the shift to remote learning this spring disrupted a lot of the tools teachers were used to using to evaluate student growth. How might we do things differently this fall? Participants in this workshop will explore ways to bring meaningful assessment into the virtual and/or socially-distanced classroom and approaches to student feedback that strengthen motivation, and build relationships and achievement.