Creating Classroom Community One Student at a Time, S12 Episode 1

Episode Notes

The 22-23 school year has kicked off, so we’re back with another great season of 3Ps in a Pod! Today, we’re talking about how to develop those strong, caring relationships in your classroom with three fantastic Arizona teachers and providing you with ideas for how to start this school year off strong with a safe and successful classroom.

Hosts Kathy Wiebke, NBCT, and Paula Watkins, NBCT, welcome Aminah Abdelhaq, NBCT, of Mesa Public Schools, Gabby Chai, NBCT, of Tucson Unified School District, and Sara Wyffels, NBCT, of Chandler Unified School District to the podcast. They discuss the importance of not only teacher-student relationships but student-to-student relationships and teacher-to-parent relationships and share how they intentionally build those at the start of the school year and throughout the year.

They also share how they see relationship building fitting with classroom management and how they create equitable learning spaces that promote student agency. Sara and Aminah also share how they approach building relationships with their high school and middle school students and their parents since they see so many different students through the day.

Check out a note catcher specifically for this episode of 3Ps in a Pod at this link!

Here are some additional resources related to today’s conversation you can check out:

• 8 Tips to Set the Right Tone From the Start, Arizona K12 Center’s Homeroom
• Bulletin Boards, Seating Charts, and Love for Every Child, Arizona K12 Center’s Homeroom
• Relationship Status: Engaged, Arizona K12 Center’s Homeroom
• Simple Tactics for Captivating Students’ Attention, Arizona K12 Center’s Homeroom
• 6 Strategies for Building Better Student Relationships, Edutopia
• Start the Year With a ‘Primary Focus’ on Relationship-Building, EdWeek
• Building Relationships With Students Beginning Those First Weeks Of School, Second Grade Smiles

If you’re interested in expanding your understanding of building a restorative school culture, register to attend “Restorative Practices Playbook” on Oct. 20, 2022 and March 28, 2023, at the Arizona K12 Center. You will learn to ground a school and classroom culture in respect, build agency and identity in students, establish teacher credibility, set high expectations, and foster positive relationships. Learn more and register at azk12.org/RestorativePracticesPlaybook.

Learn more about the Arizona K12 Center at azk12.org.