Relationship Skills

Discover Together

The people around you are the passengers in the car you're driving. You want people who you enjoy being around on your journey, who will pull over and sit with you when you're down or stuck, and who will push you forward when you get off track.

Discover who you are, then share with others

How does it work?

Practice Interpersonal Skills

People have a biological need for connection, making interpersonal skills too important to be left to chance. Without skills, especially in a time of a digital increase, we may feel that relationships are superficial and fake, or we may unintentionally destroy relationships by misunderstanding others feelings or intentions. Relationships should be moments of meaningful interactions and genuine connection, not only tasks turned into relationships.

Reflect on People

While humans are seeking connection and belonging, we only have the capacity for a limited number of relationships at one time. We have circles of connection, ranging from our closest circle of up to 5 out to 150 acquaintances. Reflecting on the band that the people in lives fall into, based on aligned values and goals, both in-person and digitally, can help us with our own priorities and time management. We must be intentional in our choosing of who we let into each circle.

Find Belonging

True friendship is a person with you in the lowest lows and the highest highs. A close friend develops through meaningful episodes of connection over 200+ hours of quality time. When we feel we belong, we can be vulnerable and authentic, aligned with our values.

What does it look like?

Students

Students have strong communities in school and online, engaging with individuals with similar values and interests, instead of relationships by task. This helps cultivate a student's support system.
Students have adults in the building they trust and seek out for social emotional and academic support.

Families

Families have a collaboration partnership with the school that allows transparent discussions and conversations.
Families share conversations with students to discuss the people the student follows online and the people the student in spending time with in person, so the family can support in-person experiences of belonging with the people in their student's closest circle.

Staff

Staff have genuine connections with students, eliminating conflicts due to power struggles.
Colleagues collaborate and innovate together, pushing instructional practices out of the box and providing feedback for growth.
Staff co-regulate with colleagues and pursue related professional experiences.

Schools

Overall, schools have a healthy and positive school climate and culture that is visible in stakeholder satisfaction feedback and in situations when adults seek each other out for problem solving and reflection.

What are the potential benefits?

Students

Friendships aligning with interests and values, both in-person & on digital platforms
Belonging in school & community clubs & activities
Relationships with trusted adults in school

Families

Increased communication and conversation with student
Sense of partnership and collaboration with school
Transparent, honest communication from school and division

Staff

Increased functioning of CLTs/PLCs through higher levels of trust
Higher sense of trust and collaboration between teachers and leadership teams
Increased empathy through perspective-taking with students

Schools

Higher satisfaction results on stakeholder surveys
Positive feelings about school culture & culture

"Groups are so valuable to us they can be considered a kind of social capital." -Louise Hayes & Joseph Ciarrochi

Hacks

Podcasting in small student groups
Use podcasting as a student assessment option, a book club discussion platform, or as a school counseling small group

Co-plan & co-teach with support staff
Capitalize on the expertise of other staff in the building, like counselors or administrators, to coplan and coteach a lesson. Students and staff benefit from this partnership

Digital communities using online platforms
Use division edtech tools, like Microsoft Teams, to allow chat conversations to continue small group or table team work

Adults as mentors for students
Have students identify trusted adults for academic and social/emotional and then utilize those relationships to provide additional supports or check-ins for students

Create seating charts based on shared interests
Fostering connection between individuals with similar interests and activities cultivates deeper discussions on content topics.

Group work in class
Students set common goals and solve problems together in preparation for events and deadlines, fostering strong bonds between students.

Schools engaging on social media
Schools embrace social media channels to build systems for students to follow and engage with, and school embrace negative situations as moments to establish guardrails.

Templates

Circles of Support & Influence Template

Circles of Connection Template

Class Small Group Podcast Planning Template

Examples

Classroom

SEL in Performing Arts Courses

Project-based experiences help develop each student's musical opinions and self-awareness of strengths and weaknesses. By sharing original work in class and/or on personal platforms, students become aware of how their work and behavior affects others. Under time constraints, students learn how to process stress and manage their own time in healthy ways, co-regulating with those around them. Students consider social and musical normals and potential problems when making aesthetic choices about their process and products.

Examples

Music Technology elective course

Student Podcasts

Podcasts are small group conversations with 2, 3, or 4 students. It allows students a platform that naturally gives them agency and ownership of their own learning experience. When they create and disseminate their own ideas, they are building SEL skills and have a genuine investment in their work. It removes any anxiety of a presentation in front of the group so teachers assess actual levels of mastery of content. Group members can give stories with information, connecting with each other after sharing personal experiences making it easier to relate to one another and leading to in-person support. Furthermore, after podcasting for a class assignment, many find their own voices in other stories or social change they want to make.

Examples

English book club discussion podcasts
Social Studies cultural event discussion podcasts

Additional resource on SEL & Podcasting

Contribute to others' goals

Community and belonging within a classroom involves students feeling like they are making a contribution. After students curate their own manifesto or compass, ask students to share a goal by putting it on a post it that they stick to the around the room. Have students circulate and absorb the desired experiences of those around them. Students make connections, finding individuals to walk alongside. To strengthen the contributions, have students find one goal they can do something to assist with.

Examples

Leadership students legacy planning
New year resolution reframe

School

Restorative Practices

One aspect of restorative practices is healing conversations following an event that disrupts or breaks trust. Using these conversations with relationship skills allows perspective taking for greater empathy. Students and adults don't change because you tell them they should, but they may gain greater understanding into a situation if they reflect from the other person's shoes...How did behavior affect others? How did another person feel? How would I feel had I been on the other side of the situation?

Examples

Following a discipline incident involving two or more students
Following a student/teacher disagreement
Counselor assisting student in reflecting on a disagreement with a family member

Podcasting as Communication

Podcasts for the school or division community allow wrap-around conversations that meet families where they are. It allows the conversation to be continued at the dinner table or available as a resource at timely for family needs. Podcasts allow educators to tell the story, the "why" behind decision making. It's a behind-the-scenes feel that humanizes the staff and empathizes with the family. These episodes eliminate the barriers of seat capacity or time of in-person events, and instead, lets a parent listen on their drive to work or while they do the dishes.