Authentic Inclusion Starts with the Youngest Voices: Teaching Belonging in the Modern Classroom

Hope   Abundance  Belonging

A better future
a wider world
See abundance
Create belonging

ecosystems of belonging

Mental health
safety net

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• Why is this work worth it?
• How can it be done?
• How do we know it's working?
• What difference does it make?

Thank you

The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.

Why is this work worth it?

Comfortable & Safe
Connected & Supported
Heard & Understood
Proud & Included

Comfortable & Safe
Connected &
Supported
Heard &
Understood
Proud & Included

What kind of world do we want to live in?

Youth who felt connected to adults and
peers at school were significantly less likely
to report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness (35% vs. 53%)
& Less likely to seriously consider
attempting suicide (14% vs. 26%)

How can it be done?

Belonging Ecosystem:
welcoming spaces, values that impact
the actions and opportunities within
a school community, and opportunities
to care for yourself and others to create
a mindfully-caring way of being.

Who is missing?

"a question can mean different things
depending on
who you are
and what you
care about and
believe in.”

"they might give you ideas that you didn't think of.”

"your information
can be one-sided
and biased.
This is not good
because we don't
get the full picture."

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Communities that live with scarcity
see abundance
in people,
connection, and community.

People who live in abundance see scarcity and are driven by fear.

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Equip our students to go
into that larger world.
Make our classrooms
spaces where we build
a future of hope, abundance,
and belonging.