There are a number of resources that can help you build a case for the importance of connectedness as well as provide ideas on ways that other schools have built engagement among students, school staff, parents and community members. The following resources may be particularly helpful:

• Research on Connectedness

• Universal Programs to Increase Connectedness

• Social and Emotional Learning

• Character Education

• Service-Learning

• Meaningful Student Involvement

• Meaningful Involvement for Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

• Positive Youth Development

• Assessment Tools

• School Climate Guidelines

Research on Connectedness

• Journal of School Health, September 2004
  http://allaboutkids.umn.edu/

  The entire issue is devoted to school connectedness. Articles include the Wingspread Declaration on School Connectedness, the latest research on connectedness and examinations of programs aimed at building connectedness.

• Students' Need for Belonging in the School Community
  http://people.hofstra.edu/faculty/Karen_F_Osterman/research.html

  A literature review on research concerning students' sense of belonging in
  educational settings and ways that schools can influence students' sense of
  community.

• Improving the Odds: The Untapped Power of Schools to Improve the Health
  of Teens
  http://allaboutkids.umn.edu/kdwbvfc/fr_pub.htm (look under monographs)

  An overview of the research on school connectedness and adolescent health.

• Engaging Schools: Fostering High School Students' Motivation To Learn
  http://www.nap.edu/books/0309084350/html/

  Reviews current research on what shapes adolescents' school engagement
  and motivation to learn, including new findings on students' sense of belonging
  and a look at ways these can be used to reform urban high schools.

• Places to Be, Places to Belong: Youth Connectedness in School and Community
  http://www.actforyouth.net/documents/PLACES_REPORT.pdf

  This report is based on a dissertation that examines youth's feeling of
  connectedness to their school and community in an upstate New York
  community. The report focuses on 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-graders and includes
  findings and suggested actions.

Universal Programs to Increase Connectedness

• Developmental Studies Center
  http://www.devstu.org

  Created the Child Development Program (now called the Caring School
  Community program), which is another long-standing program aimed at
  increasing connectedness among elementary students.

• Institute for Research and Reform
  http://www.irre.org

  Created a program for middle and high schools that is aimed at transforming
  low-performing public schools. The program uses many of the tenets of
  connectedness in its work.

• Social Development Research Group
  http://depts.washington.edu/sdrg

  One of the longest-standing programs that seeks to increase school bonding
  among elementary students.

Social and Emotional Learning

• Safe and Sound: An Educational Leader's Guide to Evidence-Based Social and Emotional Learning Programs
  http://www.casel.org

  Based on a three-year study funded by the Institute of Education Sciences and the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools in the U.S. Department of Education, Safe and Sound is a comprehensive and inclusive guide to social and emotional learning programming.

Character Education

• Character Education Partnership
  http://www.character.org

  Character Education Partnership is a national advocate for the character education movement. Its web site includes resources for character education such as a national database of Character Education organizations, publications, assessments, quality standards and frequently asked questions.

• Center for the 4th and 5th Rs
  http://www.cortland.edu/c4n5rs/

  The Center for the 4th and 5th Rs is a regional, state and national resource in character education. Its web site includes a 12-point comprehensive approach to character education, resources, newsletters, information about conferences and assessment tools.

Service-Learning

• Corporation for National and Community Service
  http://www.cns.gov

  Provides opportunities for Americans of all ages and backgrounds to serve their communities and country through three programs: Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America. Learn and Serve America provides grants to schools, colleges, and nonprofit groups to support efforts to engage students in community service linked to academic achievement and the development of civic skills. In addition to providing grants, Learn and Serve America serves as a resource on service and service-learning to teachers, faculty members, schools, and community groups.

• Learning in Deed
  http://www.learningindeed.com

  The W.K. Kellogg Foundation in 1998 launched Learning In Deed, a national initiative to engage more young people in service to others as part of their academic life. The concept at the heart of the initiative is service-learning. The site includes research on the effectiveness of service-learning.

Meaningful Student Involvement

• What Kids Can Do, Inc.
  http://www.whatkidscando.org

  A national not-for-profit organization founded in 2001 for the purpose of making public the voices and views of adolescents. On its Web site, What Kids Can Do documents young people's lives, learning, and work, and their partnerships with adults both in and out of school.

• SoundOut.org
  http://www.soundout.org

  An online resource center designed to promote meaningful student involvement in school change. The Web site provides a variety of resources for students and educators to create inclusive, constructive, and effective opportunities for students to learn by participating in transforming education.

• The National Youth Court Center at the American Probation and Parole Association
  http://www.youthcourt.net

  A central point of contact for youth court programs across the nation. It serves as an information clearinghouse, provides training and technical assistance, and develops resource materials on how to create and enhance youth court programs in the United States.

• Youth Crime Watch of America (YCW)
  http://www.ycwa.org

  Brings youth of all backgrounds together to identify and correct problems unique to their schools and communities. The YCW program empowers youth to take an active role in addressing the problems around them. Youth take ownership of their own YCW program for their school, neighborhood, public housing site, recreational center, or park.

Meaningful Involvement for Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

• Beyond Behavior: Special Double Issue. (Spring, 2001). Creating a Curriculum for Caring: Involving Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders in a Service-Learning Program.

• Muscott, H.S. (Summer, 2001). Service-Learning and Character Education as Antidotes for Children with Egos That Cannot Perform. Reclaiming Children and Youth, 10(2), 91-99.

• Muscott H.S. (August, 2000). A Review and Analysis of Service-Learning Programs Involving Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders. Education and Treatment of Children, 23(3), 346-368.

• Muscott, H.S. (2004). I Can Be of Help Too! Service Learning as a Tool for Enhancing the Education of Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. In B.H. Johns and E.C. Guetzloe (Eds.), Inclusive Education for Children and Youths with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: Enduring Challenges and Emerging Practices, (pp. 19-31). Arlington, VA.: Council for Exceptional Children.

Positive Youth Development

• Search Institute
  http://www.search-institute.org

  An independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide leadership, knowledge, and resources to promote healthy children, youth, and communities. To accomplish this mission, the institute generates and communicates new knowledge and brings together community, state, and national leaders. At the heart of the institute's work is the framework of 40 Developmental Assets, which are positive experiences and personal qualities that young people need to grow up healthy, caring, and responsible.

Assessment Tools

• Annenberg Institute
  http://www.annenberginstitute.org

  This Web site has a school improvement section with tools and step-by-step guides to help users examine specific school-improvement concerns. It is organized by seven key focus areas: leadership, community connections, professional development, school organization, school climate, student supports, and comprehensive school improvement.

School Climate Guidelines

• Ohio School Climate Guidelines
  http://www.ode.state.oh.us/students-families-communities/
  PDF/Ohio%20School _Climate_Guidelines_9-27-04.pdf

  These guidelines on the Ohio State Board of Education Web site describe how schools can create environments where every student feels welcomed, respected, and motivated to learn.