Fall 2025•Oakland Unified School District

OUSD addressed post-pandemic chronic absenteeism by aligning its Community Schools model, MTSS framework, equity initiatives, and use of leading indicators to prioritize belonging and proactive support. This coordinated, data-driven approach has helped OUSD make steady progress on attendance and belonging, demonstrating that meaningful relationships drive both attendance and engagement.

Spring 2025•Stockton Unified School District

After years of leadership instability, Stockton Unified School District began rebuilding trust under Superintendent Dr. Michelle Rodriguez by prioritizing transparency and community engagement in their whole-child approach. By embedding emotional check-ins in their MTSS, SUSD is strengthening student belonging, proactively addressing needs, and seeing early gains in graduation rates, attendance, and student well-being.

Spring 2024•Metro Nashville Public Schools

Metro Nashville Public Schools launched the Navigator Program to ensure “Every Student Known,” addressing the need for scalable structures that make relationship-building practical and measurable in complex school systems. Grounded in the simple idea of connecting each student to a caring adult, the program has strengthened student belonging and support by embedding meaningful connections into daily school routines.

Spring 2022•National Analysis

This Sown To Grow report presents the first week-by-week assessment of K-12 student emotional health throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The anonymized dataset uses 1.9 million data points from emotional check-ins provided by over 140,000 students nation-wide. Analysis of student self reported well-being showed the magnitude of the pandemic and school closure impact, but also highlighted remarkable student resilience.