School Connectedness: Strategies for Increasing Protective Factors Among Youth

Children and adolescents are establishing patterns of behavior and making lifestyle choices that affect both their current and future health. Families, schools, and communities all need to work together to create an environment that facilitates healthy development of children and adolescents. Research has shown that students who feel more connected to school are more likely to have positive health and education outcomes. The six strategies outlined in this publication provide a framework for increasing students’ connectedness to school. In combination with evidence-based health promotion programs, strategies such as these can help schools have the greatest impact on the health and education outcomes of their students.

Six strategies that teachers, administrators, other school staff, and parents can implement to increase the extent to which students feel connected to school:

-Create decision-making processes that facilitate student, family, and community engagement, academic achievement, and staff empowerment.
-Provide education and opportunities to enable families to be actively involved in their children’s academic and school life.
-Provide students with the academic, emotional, and social skills necessary to be actively engaged in school.
-Use effective classroom management and teaching methods to foster a positive learning environment.
-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.
-Create trusting and caring relationships that promote open communication among administrators, teachers, staff, students, families, and communities.