Ask principals to stand outside each day and greet students by name.

Ask teachers to stand outside their classrooms between classes and greet students.

Enlist students, teachers, and parents in cleaning up the school and taking responsibility for its physical upkeep.

Build in professional development to help faculty learn the practical steps in building connectedness, such as classroom management.

Have principals model respectful behavior toward teachers and other school staff. This can include holding collaborative meetings, asking for their input, being available to talk, and writing handwritten notes to each staff member.

Give students a voice in classroom management and in classroom work.

Establish, with student input, a discipline code that is fair. Find ways to keep students with behavior problems in school rather than relying on out-of-school suspensions.

Provide students with meaningful opportunities to participate in school and community governance. Give them leadership opportunities and chances to teach others about respectful behavior.

Place students in smaller groups in secondary schools and with the same teachers to build cohesion.

Establish advisory periods where students can get to know one another and build connections.

Go to the parents, find out what their needs are, and work to meet them (for example, by offering parenting, ESL, or GED classes). That may mean going out into the community rather than asking parents to come to school.