By Lea M. Crusey
Co-founder and
President of WOOF
They don’t talk nicely to each other,” groaned Ms. Briggs, a middle school teacher, frustrated that interactions between students were too often laced with antagonism, shaping both classroom culture and the instructional climate.
Magnet schools are built around choice, identity, and shared mission. They bring together diverse students around a theme, often anchored in academic rigor. That foundational diversity and intentionality can foster pride and shared identity. But identity does not automatically produce belonging.
Childhood and adolescence are defined by a search for belonging. Developmentally, students are negotiating the relationship between self and group. Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory reminds us that development unfolds within nested social environments, with the classroom serving as one of the most immediate and influential contexts shaping a young person’s growth. Interpersonal dynamics are not peripheral to learning; they are central to it.
At WOOF, a tool created by teachers in Denmark to help schools surface classroom wellbeing dynamics, we have consistently observed that belonging moves first. In adolescence, this tension becomes especially visible. Shifting classrooms, changing peer groups, increasing academic pressure, and the developmentally appropriate desire to fit in converge. Even in schools of choice, group dynamics shape the instructional climate.
Classroom culture is the daily lived experience of belonging. It is the space where students are processing new academic content while navigating profound biological, psychological, and social change. How connected a student feels to their 2nd-period biology class or their advisory group influences their capacity to focus, engage, and problem solve.
Research reinforces what teachers see every day. When students trust that they will not be dismissed or embarrassed, they are more likely to participate openly and take intellectual risks. The CDC has identified school connectedness as a powerful protective factor linked to engagement, persistence, and reduced risk behaviors. Psychological safety is not the absence of challenge. It is the confidence that one can take risks without social penalty.
The global pandemic heightened national attention on youth mental health. From broad public discourse to the expansion of socio-emotional programs, there is widespread acknowledgement that a child’s emotional state influences learning. Decades of meta-analyses demonstrate that social and emotional learning interventions are associated with improved academic outcomes, including gains in achievement and long-term benefits .
Yet many interventions focus primarily on the individual student. Belonging, by contrast, is inherently relational. It is experienced and reinforced in groups. Barbara Fredrickson’s broaden and build theory suggests that positive emotional experiences expand cognitive capacity and build durable personal and social resources . In classrooms, those positive emotional experiences are shaped collectively.
In schools, classroom-level insight often reveals more actionable opportunities than annual surveys. About 18 months ago, we partnered with researchers Dr. Greg Norman and Anita Restrepo Lachman, PhD candidate at the University of Chicago, to launch a quasi-experimental study using the validated School Belongingness Scale. Students in treatment and control classrooms respond monthly to statements such as “I can really be myself in this school” and “I think people care about me here.”
In the first year, classrooms reporting stronger belonging also demonstrated greater gains in math over the school year.
While correlational, this finding aligns with decades of research showing that peer relationships, emotional regulation, and cooperative classroom structures are associated with engagement and academic persistence. Academic rigor and relational climate are not competing priorities. Belonging does not replace instruction; it enables it.
Families do not default into magnet schools. They choose them. That choice fosters shared identity and aspiration. But, identity alone does not ensure belonging.
We are excited to continue learning through this multi-year partnership with Dr. Norman, Ms. Lachman, and our participating school partners. Could belonging data complement academic dashboards? How might teachers use insight into group dynamics to inform instructional practice, individually and across grade level or content teams?
Given magnet schools’ intentional design, they are well-positioned to lead. They have already demonstrated a commitment to innovation, diversity, and rigor. By treating belonging as a leading indicator rather than a peripheral sentiment, magnet schools can advance equity and excellence together.
When asked what shifts she had observed as a result of check-ins and activities, Ms. Briggs reflected, “Whether you like to participate or not on a regular day in class, this is something everyone wants to participate in.” She described students interacting more with one another and, over time, stronger academic performance emerging alongside improved classroom climate.
4005 Wisconsin Avenue NW #5997
Washington, DC 20016
202.824.0672
