Category: Inspiring Stories

  • 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…

  • Our Work in Action

  • Campbell Hill Classified Staff use Data and SEL Strategies to Help with Transitions and Recess

    Campbell Hill Classified Staff use Data and SEL Strategies to Help with Transitions and Recess

    The classified staff of Campbell Hill Elementary, in Renton, WA, works hard every day to be sure that students know they are safe, belong, and matter in the unstructured spaces like the school playground and cafeteria. This team of educators meet monthly to align their practice, continue their learning about social emotional learning and trauma-responsive…

  • Sound Discipline Working Moms

    To celebrate International Women’s History Month and National Working Moms’ Day, we are featuring interviews with some amazing working moms here at Sound Discipline. Our Sound Discipline colleagues shared with us how they’ve attempted to balance working and parenting and also how working at Sound Discipline has impacted them as working moms. Stacy Lappin, Director…

  • Celebrating Black History Month with Facilitator Roshaé Lowe

    Roshaé Lowe, Facilitator   Why are you an educator/do you work in education? As a child, growing up, education was always presented to me as a pathway – a means to an end, a road that leads to all roads. As an adult, I still see education as a pathway — one that allows people…

  • Celebrating Black History Month with Teague Parker

      Teague Parker, Facilitator   Why are you an educator/do you work in education? Being a theatre artist brought me to the world of education! I would lead improv workshops every week through college, TA acting & playwriting classes, and soak up all the ways you could pass information. It felt to me that arts…

  • Celebrating Black History Month with Sylvia Hadnot

      Sylvia Hadnot, Facilitator and Social Media Coordinator   Why are you an educator/do you work in education? I’ve wanted to be a teacher since I was 5 years old. Looking back, I realize that my teachers were some of my first nurturers. I loved their love and the way it made me feel! As…

  • School Discipline Data Points to the Need for Self-Regulation Skills

    School Discipline Data Points to the Need for Self-Regulation Skills

    Terminal Park Elementary School in Auburn, WA is one of our Whole School partners. They have an active Data Team made up of staff who are leading the implementation of Sound Discipline work at their school. Data Teams in our partner schools gather and analyze discipline data – which is documentation of when a student…