Dive Brief:
- Students at Avonworth Elementary School in Pennsylvania are getting to familiarize themselves with their teachers and peers thanks to an advisory program created to holistically foster interpersonal relationships on campus.
- Started in 2022, Bridges is a school-wide advisory program that divides the building’s 600 students into one of 11 core groups with 40 to 60 students each. Led by three to four staff members, these groups are the school's way of creating smaller student cohorts and allow them to get to know their peers.
- According to a 2023 survey from national nonprofit Youth Truth, students' experiences with mental health and support from adults in school declined during the pandemic. While research shows that students who feel school connectedness are more likely to exhibit general well-being, student perceptions of teacher connection declined during the health crisis and hit a new low in 2022-23, according to the survey findings.
Dive Insight:
“We wanted to build bridges between students in different grade levels, students within the grade levels, adults with students, staff with students,” said Avonworth Elementary School Principal Bill Battistone. “We want to really try to go for a deeper, more meaningful connection with the kids.”
Bridge groups are made up of a mix of students from grades 3 to 6. Students stay in the same bridge group for the entirety of their time at Avonworth, which allows them to strengthen those relationships with adults and their peers. Battistone said that because elementary schools are often homeroom-focused, before Bridges there was less opportunity for students to socialize with teachers and students outside of their classes.
According to a 2024 EdResearch for Action report on strengthening school connectedness, researchers identified four factors that lead to stronger school connectedness for students. These include:
- Feeling that specific teachers and staff know and care about them as individuals.
- Belonging to a supportive peer group.
- Engaging in prosocial school activities.
- Feeling accepted within the school community.
At Avonworth, this type of engagement is fostered through Bridge Day. Wearing customized T-shirts and reciting team slogans and chants, students at the school gather in the auditorium once a month for a school-wide assembly celebrating kindness and empathy. This is an opportunity to celebrate students who exhibit these traits by giving team and individual certificates.
Elementary and middle school students who feel connected to school have higher attendance rates, fewer disciplinary problems and better academic outcomes, according to the EdResearch for Action report. They also go on to have better high school graduation rates and post-secondary education success than their less-connected peers.
Having staff who are excited about the work and connecting with students is one of the crucial aspects to the program’s success, said Battistone. He recommends having dedicated staff who can create the material and lessons necessary for Bridges-related programming so educators don’t feel like it is added work.
“I think it just requires, you know, the commitment to carve out the time for it, but also the willingness to stick through it and not discard it the first time you run into a challenge,” Battistone said.
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