Faculty and staff at the Baker Road Educational Center recently gathered for an interactive professional development session focused on relationship-building and fostering a supportive culture for both students and educators. The event is part of an ongoing series of conversations taking place across multiple E2CCB sites and centers designed to strengthen school communities from within.
The session brought together E2CCB leaders to facilitate and support the discussions, including Brandon Hafner, Principal of Baker Road, Dr. Melissa Rivers, Director of Instructional Support Services, Robin Brown, Director of Alternative & Special Education, Lisa Walker, Associate Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, and Jason Mank, Comprehensive Health Coordinator.
The workshop focused on establishing trust before academic expectations. Facilitators outlined key learning intentions centered on the importance of relationships and defining what it means to belong, both of which serve as the foundation for successful learning outcomes.
Mank, drawing from his own background as an educator, stressed that meaningful human connection always comes before academic milestones. “Kids don’t remember your best lesson; they remember the best version of you,” Mank noted during a post-session reflection. “The stronger the bonds that you form, the stronger the growth that occurs in that room.”
Hafner echoed this sentiment, challenging staff to completely reframe the start of the upcoming school year by focusing on student connections rather than curriculum during the first week of classes. “If you front-load that time to build those relationships, all the things that we deal with on a daily basis with regard to discipline and problems in the classroom will be lessened,” Hafner explained. “We front-load this time spent with those types of relationship building to gain a lot of time throughout the rest of the school year.”
The professional development engaged attendees in the same relationship-building strategies they are being encouraged to use in their classrooms. Walker led teachers and staff through an activity called “What’s in a Name?”, which asked each participant to share about an educator who made an impact on them during their time in school. With most students spending approximately 15,000 hours with teachers from kindergarten through 12th grade, recent studies confirm these hours are most productive when built upon a foundation of trust.
To turn these concepts into actionable strategies, staff were asked to answer the question, “What Does it Mean to Belong at Baker Road?” Staff mapped out individual, classroom-level, and schoolwide efforts required to reinforce a positive environment. “I want things to be done with me rather than to me or for me,” Mank said. “We want that as adults, and so do kids,”
The session brought together more than just instructional staff, including paraprofessionals and support staff. Dr. Rivers commended this unified approach, noting that a student’s success relies on every adult who believes in them. She highlighted examples of campus staff routinely mentoring students on life skills, which builds the confidence that students need to thrive.
The Baker Road session marks the third time the leadership team has visited the center this year, building upon a two-day restorative practices session held a few months prior. The ongoing initiative will be expanding to other regional sites, including upcoming sessions planned for North Collins.
As the program moves ahead to the next school year, the leadership team plans to guide school staff from broad concepts of belonging toward creating concrete, co-authored classroom agreements. “One aspect of belonging is being a part of the conversation of what is a good student, what is a good teacher,” Mank said regarding the long-term vision. “If adults and kids have trust relationships where they feel safe, it gives them the best possible chance to be the best they can be. You’re creating the space for them to thrive.”
