10th Annual Wellness Together Conference

Join us for a dynamic 12-minute Lighthouse Talk, designed to showcase bold ideas, innovative practices, and inspiring stories shaping the future of student mental health and wellness. This presentation is one of four featured during this one-hour block. Due to the fast-paced format, there will be no formal Q&A, but we encourage you to connect with the speaker directly after the block to continue the conversation.

New research on California community schools finds that schools investing in a culture of belonging & connection are reducing chronic absenteeism and exclusionary discipline at accelerated rates compared to other schools. 

Six years after the heart of the pandemic, student attendance and behavior challenges have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Chronic absenteeism and behavior management issues remain top priorities for schools and drivers of educator burnout. It is clear that schools need new strategies, and new research points to the importance of belonging and building strong relationships as promising solutions. Focusing on consistent connection with students to feel seen and supported is both a preventative and proactive approach. When students feel they matter at school, they are more likely to want to attend and engage positively. Similarly, when we establish trust with students, we build the psychological safety necessary to identify the root causes of absenteeism and disruptive behavior before they escalate. This session will anchor on research, challenge attendees to rethink their toolkit for attendance and behavior, and give them some practical strategies to take belonging-based action this school year.