The Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC) in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are working to increase protective factors among the youth. One of these strategies is school connectedness, wherein a sound environment is created and maintained to facilitate healthy development of adolescents and children.
School connectedness is defined as "the belief by students that adults and peers in the school care about their learning as well as about them as individuals".
The CDC and HHS believe that one strategy to foster school connectedness is to provide professional development and support for teachers and other school staff to enable them to meet the diverse cognitive, emotional, and social needs of children and adolescents.
Here are some ways to put this into action.
a. Employ teachers who have been trained in child development, and demonstrate effective implementation of student-centered pedagogy, a variety of classroom management techniques, and teaching methods (e.g., cooperative learning).
b. Offer professional development on ways to organize and structure the classroom to promote a positive environment. Developmentally appropriate discipline strategies emphasize positive behaviors and values and assist students in developing self-control.
c. Educate school staff on strategies to effectively involve parents in their children's school life. Important skills include how to establish regular communication, communicate effectively with parents from diverse cultures, conduct effective parent-teacher- student conferences, involve parents in homework assignments, and organize classroom events that engage parents.
d. Provide training on all curricula the school plans to use, as well as effective teaching methods (e.g., cooperative learning, active learning), to maximize the curricula's effectiveness. Ensure that teachers have the necessary materials, time, resources, and support to effectively use the skills learned in training.
e. Enable teachers to learn from each other by building learning teams to observe experienced teachers applying effective classroom management techniques and facilitating group work in a way that values students' thoughts and opinions.
f. Develop a coaching or mentoring program for teachers. Pairing teachers in this manner allows them to solve problems at school, share teaching techniques and classroom management strategies, and create a supportive work environment.
Source: CDC and HHS
