The School Ecosystem: School and Community Connections that Support Student Well-Being
October 7, 2021
Most school-aged children have been back to school for a few weeks to over a month now. As they return to school buildings to resume studies, we are hearing more and more about how important a focus on relationships is in supporting their social and emotional well-being. But, as teachers and school administrators ensure students are not falling behind because of the changes the pandemic forced, we must also be intentional in providing opportunities for students to build connections and meaningful relationships with the adults and peers in their environments.
This concept of leveraging the potential power of the relationships available to a young person in their lives is often referred to as a Web of Support. A Web of Support framework was developed by Shannon Varga and Jonathon Zaff of the CERES Institute for Children and Youth out of Boston University. According to Varga and Zaff, “A web of support represents all of the relationships and resources in a young person’s life, and how they all fit together. Understanding who is present in a young person’s web and the supports they offer can help provide a more holistic understanding of a young person’s ecosystem that is not specific to certain programs or places.”
The image below represents their framework.
Building students’ webs of support is vital now as they return to full-time, in-school schedules and navigate continued uncertainty. There are multiple people in a student’s ecosystem who can offer a welcoming smile, a few minutes to chat, culturally-appropriate and age-appropriate check-ins, and more. In this blog post, we describe some of the incredible people in a student’s eco-system and how they have intentionally focused on relationships that build a web of support around young people in their schools and communities.
Classroom teachers and aides provide the most consistent connections with students and are doing so much to ensure students are getting the relationship support they need. Here are two examples:
Paraprofessional Hilda DelValle, Blackstone Innovation School, Boston, MA
Ms. DelValle shares, “Before I did anything this year, I made sure that students were comfortable with me. We do a lot of group activities, but I always make a point of talking to each student one-on-one to ask them what they like to do, what their favorite songs or shows are and encourage them to be themselves, ask questions or come to me if anything comes up. It is also so important to form relationships with parents so we can know how the child feels and how they are with other children and just to get to know how they are with just being in a different atmosphere. Also, to let them know they are safe. To let the parents know we are there to help in any situation.”
Literacy Specialist Kimberly French, Florida Ruffin Ridley School in Brookline, MA
Ms. French shares, “After 18 years working as a third-grade classroom teacher, this year I began a new role as a literacy specialist. During the first several weeks of school, my primary responsibility has been to administer one-on-one reading assessments with students. I’m finding that when students come to my room, what they are craving more than anything is the chance to connect. Each session begins with me trying to get to know them a bit. We bond over what types of books we like to read. They notice the pictures of my cats hanging on my wall, and we swap silly pet stories. Some students express relief at having been pulled from class, because they were feeling nervous or unsure about the work they were being asked to do. One student shared about a difficult situation she was experiencing at home.
When I told one of my colleagues about the conversations I’ve been having with students, she responded, ‘They share the most amazing things with you!’ And it’s true. It’s clear students are happy to be back in school and to have the opportunity to form connections with their friends and teachers. While of course it’s important, after more than a year of remote and hybrid learning, to assess students and determine where they are in terms of reading, writing, and math, I think we have a bigger responsibility to get a sense of how they are doing socially and emotionally. It’s only when students feel seen and heard that they can be fully available to engage in learning.”
MENTOR Affiliate The Mentoring Partnership of Southwestern PA has developed an incredible program called Everyday Mentoring. This program recognizes that any adult can make a difference for youth in their daily lives by doing just a few things in every interaction. Parents, teachers, youth sports coaches, cafeteria workers — anyone who interacts regularly with young people can use Everyday Mentoring to help youth feel known, recognized, cared for and supported. One of the groups they train are crossing guards. They support them in capitalizing on the everyday, simple interactions they have with young people and their families. As a result, they become more aware of strategies they can use to make the most of the short time they have to build relationships. Some of the strategies that crossing guards have identified include saying good morning to every child who is in their path, smiling often to welcome students to their day, and connecting with them by noticing details such as a haircut, a new piece of clothing, or a new school bag. The goal is to support adults in becoming everyday mentors by learning new ways to inspire and reinforcing that kindness matters.
Another MENTOR Affiliate, Massachusetts Mentoring Partnership, trains school personnel and others connected to students on how to enhance their relationship building and mentoring skills. They are currently working with Brockton Public Schools to train community members that the district has hired to be mentors for students. Rob Badgett has been a Brockton Public Schools Mentor for five years. He shares, “First, I see the “whole person” and stay focused on this. Just this week I was seeing a young boy who was experiencing some challenges. Before I asked about what was happening I wanted to get a sense of where he was so I asked, ‘Did you eat breakfast?’ and ‘What time did you go to bed?’ I see the whole person packed with compassion and empathy. Second is presence. I am a male and that makes a whole heap of difference here in a school. My tone, my posture, the way I came to things is different. Third are the skills and strategies — what do I need to pull out to help students. I reach in for my tools and sometimes we need regulation strategies and sometimes we need to build self-esteem. I need to know what is needed and I need the skills to help. This is what a teacher may not have time for while dealing with a whole class and focusing on curriculum.”
Finally, we end with this wonderful thought by Cathleen Donahue, currently a student at Boston University’s EdM Child & Adolescent Mental Health Counseling Program, but previously a high school English teacher in New Orleans, LA, who says, “Intentionally focusing on building relationships with students is important for a number of reasons. I believe the most important and also the simplest reason is that it creates a school that students want to go to. When students want to be at school they orient themselves to academics, social, emotional learning, and athletics with energy, devotion, and confidence. Too many of our youth wake up dreading the thought of entering their school building. When we build schools that young people want to go to, we create a positive impact on every measurable outcome.”
There are so many examples of the ways in which a student’s ecosystem can support them while they are in and out of school. Do you have examples to share? If so, share your story here.
Varga, S. M., & Zaff, J. F. (2021). Using the Web of Support Framework. Boston, MA: CERES Institute for Children & Youth.