Relationship are the Work: Leaders' Roles in Supporting Relationship-Rich Schools

There is no doubt that educators get the importance of relationships – in fact, most come to teaching because they enjoy working with young people. They aim to not only connect with their students but also help them discover who they are, shape their identities, and support them in finding their sparks. It is encouraging that educators overwhelmingly express their commitment to building relationships. Yet, in our partnership with schools, we often find that educators encounter barriers to implementing the Developmental Relationships Framework in their classrooms. 

Educators balance many competing priorities. Testing and curriculum guidelines, large class sizes, and the allocation of time and budget resources can work against teachers’ relationship-building efforts with students. And, administrators may be rightly focused on other pressing concerns like budget allocations and testing and curriculum standards. Alongside the priorities that educators and administrators must attend to as part of their jobs, an intentional focus on student-teacher relationships can greatly impact the school community. Relationships make up the cultural fabric of schools, impacting how students show up as well as the outcomes they are able to achieve.

School leaders hold a vision for relationship-building and play an important role in leading their schools to become relationship-rich environments. Search Institute has found that when administrators focus on supporting structures, such as communications, staff hiring, training and retention practices, and budget allocations, they set educators up for a focus on relationship-building. Additionally, administrators can enhance the relational climate across the school, setting the tone for educators to implement developmental relationships in the classroom. 

We are sharing four actions administrators can take to support educators in building developmental relationships in the classroom: 

1. Double down on developmental relationships. Attention to developmental relationships at the classroom and school levels holds great promise. Students who experience strong developmental relationships with their teachers are more likely to feel motivated in school and have better academic outcomes. Relationships offer not only the stability and support young people need to do well in school, but also to imagine their futures, take an interest in curriculum, and to attend school in the first place. Administrators play a substantial role in setting the tone and shaping the strategic approach their schools take. We encourage administrators to start by getting familiar with the Developmental Relationships Framework, understanding the elements and actions so they can also enact them with colleagues and students. Administrators who understand the importance of developmental relationships and those who implement them have the power to shift the relational culture of their schools and empower educators to do the same.
   
   
2. Coach educators on implementation in their classrooms. We often hear from educators that implementing developmental relationships in their classroom is difficult because of the number of students they encounter on a daily basis, as well as curriculum standards they must meet. Once administrators have embraced developmental relationships and have supported their implementation, they can coach educators how relationship-building practices may be implemented in their classrooms. This may look like coaching educators to recognize moments in their day that they can purposefully, and with explicit attention, build developmental relationships with their students.
   
   
3. Identify potential gaps in supporting structures at your school.

   Supporting structures, or the foundational organizational structures of a school’s relational culture, provide the foundation for a school’s ecosystem and one’s leadership style, allocation of resources, and alignment of time and space so that student-teacher relationships can thrive. The presence or lack of supporting structures influences how responsive educators can be to their students in their classrooms. Educators who feel aligned with leadership expectations and the mission of the school, have the time and resources to do their job well, and the professional growth opportunities to support their work, will be more likely to see pathways to implement developmental relationships in their classrooms.

4. Cultivate a strong relational culture. We believe that administrators can deeply influence how relationally-rich their school culture is and shape shared goals that target relationships. A relationship-rich culture includes relationships between educators and administrators. When those are strong, positive relationships with students are more likely to flourish. Leaders who make time and space for professional and personal connections will have a lasting impact on educators as they build relationships with their students. To understand your school’s relational culture, you can begin by taking the Relational Culture Checkup. 

Today, educators and administrators face a suite of challenges that can impact the relational culture of their schools and their own capacity to contribute to relationship-building practices. Yet, schools are inherently relationship-rich environments where an intentional focus on relationships can greatly contribute to a positive future for each and every student. A focus on relationships does not have to be a separate, add-on strategy for schools. Rather, administrators can lead their school in integrating relational practices into the everyday. And, encourage educators to do the same.