Is Your Classroom an Academically Safe Place for All Students?

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What is a Classroom Community?

  • A classroom community is an environment in which students feel valued as individuals, and connected to their teacher and to each other.  
  • Students have confidence in their need to belong, be competent, experience independence, and have fun can be met in the community.
  • Students believe they have something to offer the community and the community has something to offer them.

A successful classroom community promotes positive social skills and academic achievement. Children learn best when they feel they are part of a community, where everyone feels accepted and where individuality is encouraged.  (Scholastic.com)
Why is it So Important?

Willard R. Daggett, Ed.D. Founder and Chairman, International Center for Leadership in Education and
Paul David Nussbaum, Ph.D. Clinical Neuropsychologist and Adjunct Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have found that: 

"Most successful schools have created learning environments that are not only rigorous and relevant, but also safe, secure, engaging, and caring for staff and students. Leaders in these schools know that humans are social creatures and that socialization based on strong relationships – between and among students, among students and staff, and with the larger community outside the school – are critical to optimizing growth for every individual. Socialization is also critical in language development, in the sharing and interchange of ideas, and in fostering creativity. Socialization matters, whether a part of everyday classroom learning or in the more subtle but critical learning that takes place elsewhere in the school, whether in arts and music programs, clubs, extracurricular activities, or through coaching and mentoring."  Ensuring that every student feels cared about, valued, and respected by the adults in the school is key.