Recovery through Relationships: 5 Design Steps for Strengthening and Building Students’ Networks

For schools nationwide, overcoming a year of isolation lends new urgency to the age-old adage that “relationships matter.” But on the road to recovery, schools must take relationships beyond a familiar slogan to a strategic priority, as social connections are still too often left to chance and remain unequally distributed. Now is the time that the science of fostering positive, lasting, and diverse relationships become part of a bolder innovation agenda across K–12.

This session will feature Clayton Christensen Institute researchers Mahnaz Charania and Julia Freeland Fisher sharing design and measurement insights from their new playbook, 5 steps for building and strengthening students’ networks. Using this free, customizable roadmap, education leaders can take a systematic approach to equitably forging students’ relationships with peers, educators, mentors, and community members across their schools and programs.