Why Belonging Matters

Walk into any school at the beginning of a new year or semester and you'll see the tell-tale signs: students lingering at doorways, quiet uncertainty in new classrooms, anxious glances around the cafeteria. Behind these moments are questions that shape whether students show up, engage, and succeed: Will I have friends this year? Will my teacher care about me? These aren't trivial anxieties.

A strong sense of belonging is one of the most important predictors of student success. When students feel accepted, valued, and safe in their school community, they attend more regularly, perform better academically, and show greater motivation and well-being (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Allen et al., 2018).

True belonging means students are respected for who they are and encouraged to share their unique perspectives. It extends beyond "fitting in" to feeling genuinely included and appreciated.

Yet many schools face a belonging crisis. Surveys reveal that nearly 40% of U.S. high school students report feeling disconnected from school (Aspen Institute, 2025). 

When students feel unseen or undervalued, disengagement often follows, leading to higher rates of absenteeism and lower achievement. Belonging is not a soft ideal; it is foundational to whether students show up, engage, and succeed.

What the Research Actually Shows

The evidence for belonging is substantial and specific. A meta-analysis of 82 studies in secondary schools found that students who felt they belonged also showed:

• Moderately higher behavioral engagement including classroom participation, effort, and persistence (r = .36)
• Stronger motivation to learn (r = .30)
• More positive perceptions of their learning environment as fair and supportive (r = .39)
• Higher self-efficacy and confidence (r = .37)
• Modestly higher academic achievement on grades and test scores (r = .18)
• Lower rates of absence and dropout (r = −.16)

(Korpershoek et al., 2020)

In practical terms, these findings show that belonging and school success go hand in hand. While we can't claim belonging directly causes better outcomes, schools that strengthen belonging typically see movement across attendance, engagement, and achievement indicators. The effects are consistent, measurable, and compounded over time.

The Crucial First 30 Days: A Week-by-Week Blueprint

The opening month of a new term is a pivotal time to nurture belonging. Research shows that attendance patterns in the first month predict outcomes for the rest of the year. Students who miss just a few days early on are far more likely to become chronically absent (Attendance Works, 2025).

Early feelings of uncertainty such as "Will I make friends?" or "Does anyone care about me here?" can solidify into self-doubt if not addressed.

Schools that prioritize relationship-building in the first 30 days through personal welcomes, peer introductions, and family engagement often see stronger attendance and more consistent engagement all year long (EveryDay Labs, 2024).

The message is simple: start strong, start personal, and set a tone of care from day one.

Here's a realistic, week-by-week approach that doesn't require new programs or major budget:

Week 1: Establish Universal Welcome

• Every teacher greets every student by name as they enter the virtual classroom. This takes 5 minutes and sets a tone of warmth and individual recognition (Boudreau, 2020).
• Principals and counselors make personal welcome calls to 10-15 high-priority families such as students new to school, those with prior attendance concerns, or returning from long absences.

Resource reality: The steps above are virtually cost-free, but you’ll need to schedule one 20-minute staff meeting to introduce greeting protocols and divide family outreach lists. 

Week 2: Build Classroom Routines That Signal "You Matter"

• Launch a daily check-in routine in every advisory or first-period class. Here’s a research-backed example: ask students to share their "Rose, Thorn, Bud" (one good thing, one challenge, one thing you're looking forward to). This should take 8-10 minutes with a class of 25 (Duckworth, 2018).
• Teachers should identify 3-5 students in each class who seem quiet, uncertain, or disconnected and make one brief individual contact, such as a question about their weekend, noticing something they did well, or a simple "How are you settling in?"

Common obstacle: Your teachers might say that they don't have time for check-ins.

Solution: Explain that these first 10 minutes enhance instructional time. They prevent the loss of far more time later when disengaged students act out or disappear.

Week 3: Facilitate Peer Connections

• Structured partner protocols: Use "interview your neighbor" activities where students learn three things about a classmate and introduce them to the group. This builds social capital quickly (Keyes, 2019).
• Launch or revitalize at least one low-barrier extracurricular such as lunch club, intramural sport, or homework help session, where students can drop in casually.
• Use a platform like SchoolSpace to create informal digital spaces like a virtual "commons" or open study hall where students can log in to collaborate or just hang out between classes

Resource reality: Peer activities take 15-20 minutes of class time. Clubs require one staff sponsor. Virtual spaces can be set up in existing virtual campus platforms or video conferencing products.

Week 4: Identify and Reach Out to Students Drifting Early

• Review attendance and engagement data: Who has missed 2+ days? Who hasn't spoken in class or turned in early assignments?
• Assign a trusted adult (teacher, counselor, dean) to make personal contact with each at-risk student. Not to scold, but to understand what's happening and problem-solve.
• Host one all-school community-building event (assembly, lunch gathering, morning meeting) that reinforces the message: everyone is part of this community.

Common obstacle: Your teachers might say that they can’t tell who's drifting yet.

Solution: Explain that they should use Week 1-3 check-ins and informal observations to identify at-risk students. Teachers notice who seems isolated or disengaged before formal data catches up.

Belonging is built through repeated small actions, not grand gestures. These four weeks create a foundation of routines and relationships that carry forward throughout the school year.

The Belonging Flywheel: How Small Wins Build Momentum

Belonging acts as a bridge from showing up to fully participating. When students believe "I am an important part of this community," they're more likely to contribute ideas, seek help, and persevere through challenges.

Psychologists describe this as a reinforcing cycle: small positive experiences strengthen engagement and confidence, which leads to more participation, which deepens belonging (Duckworth, 2018). A simple act such as making a friend, receiving specific praise, or contributing in class can start a positive feedback loop. Conversely, early exclusion or neglect can trigger a negative cycle of withdrawal and disconnection.

This principle applies in both physical and virtual environments. In online settings where informal social interaction is scarce, students can easily feel invisible. Intentional practices like teacher social presence, peer collaboration, and structured discussions help mitigate this (Learning Accelerator, 2023). Some virtual schools now use platforms like SchoolSpace to flag students who might be drifting, enabling educators to make early, caring check-ins before disengagement solidifies.

Brief, well-designed interventions can shift these patterns. Walton and Cohen's (2011) social-belonging exercise, in which students read stories normalizing early belonging doubts, significantly improved academic outcomes years later. Similar activities in K-12, such as having older students share their adjustment stories during orientation, can reduce dropout risk and foster resilience.

The key message: belonging grows with time and effort. Early discomfort doesn't mean "I don't belong here." It means belonging is still building, just what the flywheel is designed to support.

How True Belonging Feels (According to Students)

Students consistently describe belonging in relational terms. They feel it when teachers show genuine care, respect, and empathy (Goodenow, 1993).

Small gestures matter deeply: learning names, asking how students are doing, listening to their ideas, and spending brief moments in one-on-one conversations unrelated to academics.

At Georgia Cyber Academy, for example, Assistant Principal Brian Daughtry and his team rebuilt their mentorship program to prioritize casual, authentic interactions between students and mentors. Instead of formal check-ins, mentors and students connected through parallel play in SchoolSpace (skateboarding, decorating virtual lockers, or chatting while gaming) which eased anxiety and built trust. All participating students avoided repeat behavioral referrals once they engaged with a mentor.

Positive peer relationships are equally vital. Students report feeling more at home when classmates help each other, collaborate on projects through structured partner protocols where students interview each other weekly or work in consistent teams, or simply show kindness (Keyes, 2019).

Conversely, students lose their sense of belonging when teachers appear distant, overly strict, or dismissive. Feeling unseen or unfairly treated leads to disengagement and avoidance (Keyes, 2019).

True belonging depends on trust, empathy, and authentic connection. Students also value the ability to be themselves; when schools celebrate individuality, belonging deepens (Dunlea, 2019).

Avoiding Pitfalls

Not all belonging efforts succeed. Common missteps include:

• Superficial Messaging: Repeatedly telling students "you belong" without meaningful action can feel hollow (Fotuhi, 2022). Real belonging must be demonstrated through relationships and dialogue, not posters or slogans.
• One-Size-Fits-All Approaches: Mandatory social activities can alienate introverted students. Providing multiple pathways to connect, such as quiet clubs, service projects, creative outlets, and online discussion forums, ensures everyone feels included.
• Overemphasis on Uniformity: Campaigns for school unity should never erase individuality. Belonging means being part of the community while staying true to oneself. Celebrate individuality, not conformity.

The thread linking these pitfalls is lack of authenticity. Schools succeed when they co-create belonging with students, rather than impose it on them.

Communicating Belonging

When it comes to fostering belonging, language matters. The way educators talk about belonging can inspire or discourage. Effective communication frames belonging as a shared mission rather than a remedial fix for "problem students" (Fotuhi, 2022).

The best communication normalizes early discomfort and reassures students that belonging develops over time (Student Experience Project, 2024). Leaders should highlight success stories and involve teachers and students in dialogue, turning belonging into a collective goal.

Warm, relatable language like "everyone matters here," "no one is invisible," or "we're figuring this out together" makes the message real.

A Global and Ongoing Effort

The belonging challenge is worldwide. International surveys show declines in students' sense of belonging over the past two decades, with increases in loneliness and disengagement (OECD, 2019).

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, education systems from Australia to the U.S. have made belonging a central pillar of recovery efforts. Initiatives emphasize relationship-building, cultural inclusion, and student voice as universal ingredients of thriving schools (AERO, 2024).

Belonging is not a one-time initiative but a continuous practice. It begins in the first 30 days of school and extends through every interaction that tells students: you are seen, you are valued, and you are part of this community.

Getting Started

If you take one action this week or at the start of next semester, make it to train your staff on greeting protocols.

A 20-minute meeting to establish that every teacher greets every student by name at the door or with a brief personal check-in. It costs nothing, takes five minutes per class, and the research shows that it matters.

Start small, build consistently, and remember, belonging is built through repeated small actions, not grand gestures.

Want help applying these principles at your virtual or hybrid school? Request a demo and we'll show you how SchoolSpace helps schools create the rituals, spaces, and rhythms that make belonging feel natural, and churn feel unlikely.

References

Allen, K., et al. (2018). School belonging: A review of the construct, the measures, and evidence for links to outcomes. Educational Psychology Review, 30(1), 1–34.

Aspen Institute. (2025). School Belonging. https://www.aspeninstitute.org/

Attendance Works. (2025). The Attendance Playbook. https://www.lacoe.edu/

Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO). (2024). Building Belonging in Schools.

Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 497–529.

Boudreau, E. (2020). A place of (remote) belonging. Harvard Graduate School of Education, Usable Knowledge. https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/usable-knowledge/20/04/place-remote-belonging

Duckworth, A. (2018). Belonging Mindset. Character Lab. https://characterlab.org/tips-of-the-week/belonging-mindset/ 

Dunlea, M. (2019, September 4). Every student matters: Cultivating belonging in the classroom. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/every-student-matters-cultivating-belonging-classroom

EveryDay Labs. (2024). The Attendance Imperative. https://www.everydaylabs.com/

Fotuhi, O. (2022). How to Get the Student Belonging Message Right. WGU Labs.

Goodenow, C. (1993). Classroom belonging among early adolescent students. Journal of Early Adolescence, 13(1), 21–43.

Keyes, C. (2019). A Qualitative Inquiry: Factors That Promote Classroom Belonging and Engagement Among High School Students. School Community Journal, Vol. 29, No. 1.

Korpershoek, H., Canrinus, E. T., Fokkens-Bruinsma, M., & de Boer, H. (2020). The relationships between school belonging and students' motivational, social-emotional, behavioural, and academic outcomes in secondary education: A meta-analytic review. Research Papers in Education, 35(6), 641–680.

Meloro, P. C. (2021). Do high school advisory programs promote personalization? University of Rhode Island.

OECD. (2019). Have students' feelings of belonging at school waned over time?

Student Experience Project. (2024). Conveying Effective Social Belonging Messages.

Walton, G. M., & Cohen, G. L. (2011). A brief social-belonging intervention improves outcomes. Science, 331(6023), 1447–1451.

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