School-Connect is named for one of its major goals: to increase students’ sense of belonging and connectedness to school. Why is this so important?

“School-connectedness” affects learning.
Students who feel connected to school and their teachers are more likely to attend class, enjoy school, and perform well academically. Conversely, those who feel anonymous, unsafe, or unsupported at school are more likely to disengage both socially and academically. Research bears this out:

• By high school, over 40% of students become chronically disengaged from school (Steinberg et al., 1996).
• A survey of high school dropouts found top reasons for not finishing school were: a lack of connection to school, feeling bored and unmotivated, academic challenges, and real-world events (Bridgeland et al., 2006).
• School culture affects all students. Many intellectually capable students under-perform to avoid peer rejection, while other students act out to gain peer support (Ford et al., 2008; Bishop et al., 2004).
• School-connectedness is an important protective factor against emotional distress, violence, substance use, academic apathy, and dropping out (Resnick et al., 1997; Wingspread Declaration, 2004).

Ninth grade is a critical year.

As students enter high school, they face increased academic rigor and have fewer social supports. For the first time, their academic record will affect their post-high school opportunities. Many struggle in this more demanding, high-stakes environment, and need special attention during this critical period. Research highlights this need as well:

• Students’ grades are most likely to suffer in the ninth and tenth grades, and most students who fail to progress directly to tenth grade never recover. On average, only 60% to 75% of incoming freshmen graduate from high school in four years (Laird et al., 2007).
• Students need practice in skills essential to school and workplace success. Creating smaller, more collaborative and personalized learning environments increases the percentage of freshman progressing to tenth grade (Bernstein et al., 2008).
  

Many graduates are unprepared for college and the workplace.

Of the students who graduate from high school, many lack sufficient skills for success in college and the workplace. These deficits include social and emotional skills critical to today’s economy, i.e., the ability to: self-motivate, communicate effectively, work in teams, solve problems creatively, and adapt to changing conditions (Caster-Lotto & Barrington, 2006). In a 2005 survey (Hart, 2005):

• 42% of college professors reported that students were unprepared for college-level courses.  
• 45% of employers reported disappointment with high school graduates’ job readiness.
• 40% of high school students reported feeling inadequately prepared for either college or the workplace.

School-Connect classrooms create a work-like environment in which students practice collaborative problem solving, respectful listening, effective communication, emotional management, and responsible decision making.

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