Inspiring Stories

  • Nooksack Elementary Kindergartners Skillfully Shine During Their Problem-Solving Class Meetings

    Nooksack Elementary Kindergartners Skillfully Shine During Their Problem-Solving Class Meetings

    Phi Bean is a kindergarten teacher at Nooksack Elementary School in Everson, WA, part of the Nooksack Valley School District. She has been teaching kindergarten there for seven years and knows firsthand the importance of social-emotional learning for kids this age. We asked Ms. Bean to share the impact of working with BELONG Partners in…

  • Strengthening Family and School Partnership at Sunnycrest Elementary

    Strengthening Family and School Partnership at Sunnycrest Elementary

    Kelley Schottle is the Principal at Sunnycrest Elementary in the Federal Way, WA, School District. In the summer of 2023, Schottle participated, along with half of her school staff, in the BELONG Partners workshop Rooted Relationships: Growing Equitable Classroom Communities workshop. After taking that workshop, Schottle was interested in other components of the BELONG Partners…

  • Mentor Teachers Provide Inspiration and Support for New Teachers

    Mentor Teachers Provide Inspiration and Support for New Teachers

    Kalmiopsis Elementary School in Brookings, Oregon, is in the third year of its journey to whole-school transformation in partnership with BELONG Partners. Roxana Amaral, BELONG Partners Director of Strategic Partnerships, describes Kalmiopsis as “an innovative school community who cares deeply about fostering the agency and voice of young people. Educators at Kalmiopsis are driven by…

  • Highlighting Black Leaders in Education Equity

    As we wrap up Black History Month for this year, we are highlighting the transformative work of three Black consultants in the education equity space who inspire us by creating belonging through their work – Matthew Reynolds, Kirsten Harris-Tally, and Teddy McGlynn-Wright. Matthew Reynolds (they/he/we), is a practitioner of equity and healing, author, facilitator, and…

  • Building a Community of Belonging at Midway Elementary

    Building a Community of Belonging at Midway Elementary

    Collaborative Solutions for Emotional Growth Meet Midway Elementary, a Vibrant and Diverse School  Located in the Highline School District, Midway Elementary is a vibrant example of diversity and resilience. The school’s principal, Lyon Terry, leads a team dedicated to educating 570 students from pre-K through 5th grade. Their unique dual language program teaches all students…

  • Coming Together to Explore Ways to Dismantle the School-to-Prison Pipeline

    On Sunday, October 29, an impactful online convening took place to discuss collaborating to disrupt something that has been adversely afflicting our communities for far too long: the school-to-prison pipeline. BELONG Partners and community organizations including the Multifaith Coalition for Restorative Justice, Center for Children and Youth Justice, The Breakfast Group, The Black Prisoners Caucus…

  • Celebrating Five Years of More Equitable, Inclusive, and Student-Driven Experiences in Schools

    On a beautiful August morning in Renton, WA, Dimmitt Middle School filled with parents, teachers, administrators, community members – and, most importantly, students – all eager to join in on a community celebration to recognize the accomplishments of the Designing Our Own Learning (DOOL) summer program participants. DOOL is a BELONG Partners program, now in…

  • Fostering community and collaboration between new & seasoned educators 

    The BELONG Partners District Model is a comprehensive approach to school transformation that focuses on building capacity and sustainability within a school district. Through this train-the-trainer model, our experienced facilitators work closely with regional coaches hired by a district to implement the BELONG Partners approach in their schools. One of our original District Model partners…

  • BELONG Partners District Model Schools Hold 2nd Annual Convening in Medford, Oregon

    The BELONG Partners Model currently includes 11 schools from across 4 counties and 5 school districts in southern Oregon. This spring we co-hosted our second annual convening of twenty-five educators, representing our eight Whole School Partner schools in Medford, Oregon. They came together to collaboratively reflect on their practice, celebrate their accomplishments, and initiate plans…

  • Growing Through the Changes

    Just like in nature, community groups, school systems, and school communities grow in response to the environments around them. Sometimes schools are able to forecast changing needs and intentionally create new systems, and sometimes the environment forces change. School systems and communities have grown and changed based on new research, the experience of educators, and…