Fostering a Calibrated Sense of Belonging at Fox Tech High School

Jennifer Benavides • Cahn Fellow 2022

Fox Tech’s 2021-2022 Social, Emotional, Academic, Development (SEAD) Survey, a district student Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) survey, indicated that while 92% of students (n=379) participated in the survey, only 35% (n=144) of them denoted a  favorable response to questions regarding their sense of belonging at Fox Tech High School.  

During the data presentations of these indicators, teachers were overwhelmingly alarmed at the results as they believed that they had established strong connections with students in their work to build and maintain relationships with students. The data being reviewed was actually a 5% decrease from the 2020-2021 survey results and the downward spiral had begun at the conclusion of the 2019 school year, pre-Covid.

Our project focuses on the work of creating systems for building student’s sense of belonging so that our socio-emotional performance matches our academic performance. We spent the last three years developing a plan of action and implementing a HOUSE system to increase student choice, student voice and student’s sense of belonging. The HOUSE System has not only increased our student culture but has also contributed to positive teacher and staff relationships.