Educators know that relationships matter. A student who feels known and supported by a teacher may be more willing to participate, ask for help, take a risk, or share when something isn't working.

But knowing relationships matter and having practical ways to strengthen them are not always the same thing. That gap is at the heart of a set of new tools from Search Institute designed to help high school educators turn developmental relationships into everyday practice.

Through Search Institute’s work with two high schools, students and school teams consistently identified being known by teachers as foundational to a strong developmental relationship. Students wanted educators to understand who they were beyond academic performance, including their strengths, interests, identities, experiences, goals, and how they learn.

For students with Individualized Education Plans (IEP), 504 plans that outline educational needs and accommodations, and/or other learning differences, being known also carried another dimension. Students wanted educators to understand their learning needs and accommodations, and to provide those supports consistently. They also wanted opportunities to develop greater understanding of how they learn and confidence communicating what they need.

Those insights helped shape two connected collections of tools.

The Know Me tools help educators get to know students as people and learners through student inventories, classroom games, conversation prompts, and relationship feedback.

The Know. Support. Advocate. tools provide more targeted resources for supporting students with IEPs and 504 plans. They include tools for making accommodations meaningful, creating student learning profiles, conducting mid-quarter check-ins, and building self-advocacy skills.

The tools were designed to be practical and adaptable. An educator might use a brief prompt at the beginning of class, bring a structured guide into a student check-in, or select questions from an inventory that fit their particular students and subject area. There is no required sequence and no expectation that every educator use every tool.

That flexibility is intentional. Strong developmental relationships are built over time, through the everyday ways adults listen, respond, follow up, offer support, and invite young people to share who they are. These tools provide educators with concrete ways to make those moments more intentional.

They are one example of Search Institute’s broader commitment to translating what we know about human development into practical action that helps young people thrive.