Center for Supportive Schools

06/01/2026

Check out this new article from EdWeek:

The best professional development for principals has a lot in common with the best PD for teachers.

05/29/2026

🌟 Free Resource Friday: Closing the Year with Connection

As the school year comes to a close, students may remember many things—but what often stays with them longest is how they made others feel and how others made them feel. At CSS, we know that strong relationships are at the heart of student success. This week's Free Resource Friday focuses on helping students reflect on the connections they've built throughout the year.

Free Resource: Connection Reflections: Celebrating Our School Community

This adaptable activity invites students to recognize and appreciate the peers, educators, and staff members who made a positive impact on their school experience this year.

Students are encouraged to complete reflection cards or notes using prompts such as:

✨ A classmate who helped me feel welcome this year...
✨ An adult at school who encouraged me when I needed it...
✨ Someone who made me laugh, smile, or feel included...
✨ A person who helped me grow this year...
✨ One thing I appreciate about our classroom or school community...

The activity can be used across grade levels in classrooms, advisories, student leadership groups, morning meetings, or end-of-year celebrations.

Intentional reflection helps students:
✔ Strengthen their sense of belonging
✔ Recognize the value of positive relationships
✔ Practice gratitude and empathy
✔ End the school year on a positive and connected note

As educators, creating opportunities for students to acknowledge and celebrate one another reinforces the message that every member of the school community matters.

Here's to closing the year with gratitude, connection, and community.

05/27/2026

Students are driving the change they want to see—and we’re creating spaces for their leadership to shine ✨

Join us tomorrow 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM ET for Elevating Student Voice: When Students Lead Workshop

Discover how student‑led initiatives are shaping stronger, more inclusive school communities and how we can create more opportunities for authentic student leadership.

Register here: https://forms.gle/KRz1xQTVunggdtwXA

05/20/2026

Elevating student voice starts with giving students the tools to lead real change. Join us to explore how students are researching issues, analyzing data, and designing strategies to improve their school communities.

📅 May 28 | 1–2 PM EST | Zoom

Register here: https://forms.gle/KRz1xQTVunggdtwXA

05/13/2026

Students are building the confidence and skills to lead real change in school communities. Join our workshop to see how they’re researching issues, analyzing data, and designing strategies that make an impact.

📅 Elevating Student Voice: When Students Lead

Thursday, May 28 | 1:00–2:00 PM EST| Zoom

Register here: https://forms.gle/KRz1xQTVunggdtwXA

05/08/2026

Our Free Resource Friday for this week is the Encouragement Wall (Community in Action)

When Encouragement becomes part of the school culture, students feel empowered, community is created, and belonging is 2nd nature.

✨ Students and staff post encouraging messages to a bulleting board that can be seen by everyone.
✨ This is a visible reminder for students that there is an entire community behind them.
✨ This simple but powerful “wall” fosters community, belonging, and empowerment.

This is the heart of Peer Group Connection—students creating a culture where everyone feels supported.

When students lead the climate, belonging follows.

05/06/2026

May is Mental Health Awareness Month 💚

Across the Network, student leaders have made one thing clear: supporting mental health is essential to building thriving school communities. All year long, Peer Advocates have identified mental health as a top priority and designed powerful initiatives to uplift their peers and spark meaningful change.

This year’s student‑led projects included:
✨ The Power of a Pause – Hope Mills Middle School
✨Bullying Prevention & Mental Health – Spring Lake Middle School
✨Move for Mental Health - Exploris Middle School
✨Social Emotional Support & Positive Connections - Warsaw Elementary School
✨Building Meaningful Connections, and No One Eats Alone - West Columbus School
✨Secret Pen Pals, Penny Wars, and Family Game Night - Island Montessori
✨Mental Health Tabling, Connections with All Arts, and Career Horizons - Renaissance High School
✨Mental Health Walk - Woods Charter School

These young leaders are proving that when students lead, schools become stronger, more connected, and more compassionate. 💚

Let’s continue to champion their voices and the importance of mental well‑being—this month and every month.

05/01/2026

🍎 Free Resource Friday 🍎

May is a culminating month in schools, in many ways ... the promise of summer lies ahead at the same time as there’s still so much to accomplish to round out the school year. Educators are carrying a sense of all that they’ve accomplished over the course of the year, and also carrying questions about what they might have done differently to get an even stronger outcome. Some words of encouragement from William James:

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”

What’s one area of your life, personal or professional, that this quote makes you think about?

04/29/2026

Student voice is loud and proud at the Virtual Day of Learning! 🎉

73 middle and high school Peer Advocates from New York and North Carolina will come together this week to connect, reflect, and celebrate the impact they’re making in their schools and communities at the virtual day of learning!

At yesterday's session students shared what meant the most to them this year, including:

“having space to express their creativity”

“using their voices and resources to advocate for what matters to them”

“seeing everyone come together to make their school a better place”

“shining a spotlight on mental health in their presentations”

and of course… “the friends made along the way 😊”

Students aren’t just learning leadership — they’re living it. 💙💚

04/28/2026

✔️ Don't miss out on this offer! Email [email protected] to learn more!