Reconnect: Building School Culture for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging

by Doug Lemov, Hilary Lewis, Darryl Williams

Practical solutions to counter the isolation felt by K-12 students in a resource-challenged education system

In Reconnect: Building School Culture for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging, a team of distinguished educators from Teach Like a Champion and Uncommon Schools deliver practical guidance and concrete advice for teachers, administrators, and community members who seek to dramatically improve the lives of children and young people by fostering a sense of belonging in schools. In the book, you’ll find hands-on solutions to build or rebuild students’ sense of shared work and community in an era of increasing isolation and disconnections.

The authors draw on extensive experience with high-performing schools to show you how to build environments that allow young people to thrive and socialize them to become citizens who seek the well-being of those around them. You’ll also get:

Complimentary access to videos and downloadable assets you can use both within and outside of the classroom
Actionable strategies for countering the increasing isolation of students that has been aggravated by remote learning
Useful ways to facilitate positive and beneficial peer-to-peer interactions between students
A can’t-miss resource for K-12 teachers and administrators working in public, private, or charter schools, especially those in underserved communities, Reconnect will also prove a practical guide for parents and community members involved in the education of local children and young people.

Genres: Teaching, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Education, Psychology, Self Help

272 pages, Paperback

Published October 18, 2022

About the author

Doug Lemov is an American educator and author. He is currently Managing Director of Uncommon Schools, a non-profit charter management organisation that manages 42 charter schools across New York, New Jersey and Boston.

Reviews

[Rachel Miller Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started a new job this month and was finally able to return and finish this book. This is a post-pandemic book, timely, relevant, and needed by school leaders. I found the framing of the three big challenges in the introduction especially helpful and the treatment of cell phone policies as well. There are a number of specific strategies and recommendations, which I always find helpful in school leadership books, but they may be especially relevant to large public or charter schools where I, at least, imagined most of them playing out. A quick read and worth it (quickly!) for school leaders.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish this was longer! I noted down several practical changes I can make to my teaching practice and interactions with students outside of the classroom.

I'm particularly interested in involving student-student gratitude notes. The book suggests students distribute these by placing them in each other's lockers, but I can imagine many of my students writing inappropriate or mean messages to each other this way. Instead, I would provide class time to write notes, collect them (maybe in a nice box or container), and read over them before distributing. This way, I could also identify students yet to receive one, and subtly encourage someone to write them a note next time.

I valued the explanation of why and how to explicitly teach discussion and apology skills. The book directs teachers on how to make this meaningful for the kids- it's been done in a cheesy and out of touch way in my previous schools.

The final chapters on year level dean responsibilities, including liaising in a cooperative and supportive way with classroom teachers, helped me reflect on where behaviour managements have gone awry in the past. I have more clarity on what procedures I'll follow/ ask my dean to work with me on now.

Super frustrated at my current school for allowing phones to be out on desks with no consequences for checking them. Reading this book while witnessing my schools utter failures of providing kids with phone-free time and clear boundaries was painful.

Unfortunately students singing/ chanting together is an unrealistic vision for the majority of Australian state high schools, despite it being a beautiful way for kids to experience unity and connection.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feelings I have been having as educator in the past 3 years validated by research. Now, the question is- can the cell phone policy be changed in my district?

[Melissa Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could rate each chapter, I would. This book started at a strong 5, to the point that I was already thinking of who I wanted to share it with, educators and others. However, as the book went on, the star rating went down to the point that I had to force myself to finish it. The introduction and first chapter were enormously helpful. Framing our social development and the impact of technology, specifically cell phones and social media, was beyond helpful. To that end, I would still give a cautious, heavily specified, recommendation if only of the very beginning of the book. The next few chapters were so full of extremely detailed examples and elaborate explanations of a video series that was apparently essential, I grew bored. Bored and frustrated. I was unfamiliar with the authors, but by midway through chapter 2 I knew there were several philosophical points upon which I differed substantially. The world in which the authors lived, while aspirational, was neither realistic nor reflected the reality of so many school districts in the United States. I grew tired of hearing all the possibilities available to those in charter or academy-type schools, with obviously smaller, more homogenous populations. Though they gave a passing glance to the reality facing students in high poverty districts, it barely factored in to their recommendations and was patronizing and oblivious to the extreme. I learned some from this book, I was encouraged and inspired to consider my own approach to certain classroom dynamics. But the full-throated endorsement of school choice and charter schools was tone-deaf and disheartening. Their justification, giving parents and staff by-in from the outset in order to create a more productive school culture, was contradictory and unrealistic. Applying some of these ideas (the more realistic ones, certainly) in a public school setting could have really amazing results. Perpetuating school choice, inequity, and pretending they have found some universal solution when it in fact only aligns with very specific academic environments is unfair and limiting. To those that can look past these limitation, the book offers value, but take it with a huge grain of salt.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars...

This post-pandemic look at schools considers how interpersonal connections and school culture can help to recover from the pandemic (socially and academically) and fight and/or protect against the teenage mental health crisis.

The authors focus on just a few key, foundational ideas that increase student-to-student and student-to-adult connection. The simplicity and depth is where this book works. Instead of a whole bag full of "tricks" to pick and choose from or try here and there, it favors consistency and whole-school buy-in.

I have a feeling these ideas would be a much bigger challenge for big public schools than for smaller charter and private schools that can focus on culture and individual students more effectively.

This is one that I want to come back to and that I want to share with others at my school.

[Tasha Bourassa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chapter 3 was my favorite! It was great to confirm that many of the best practices my school already uses (turn and talk, habits of discussion, etc) are what the authors stated as techniques that amplify belonging. If you’re not familiar with Teach Like a Champion, get yourself a copy because the books really go hand in hand. That will allow you to dig deeper into the techniques they reference and watch related videos to see it in action.

Alongside this book, I was also reading an article from TNTP called The Opportunity Makers which aligned so well with Reconnect. They state that the three practices of trajectory-changing schools are Belonging, Consistency, and Coherence. Highly recommended reading all in conjunction with each other, it makes the evidence very clear which direction schools need to go to support ALL students and build systems that will bring positive change.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a world where teaching has gotten harder when everyone needs more support (both adults and scholars in the building), this book brings to the forefront concrete ideas for how to build connections in school and do so in a sustainable way. This book has given me a lot of next steps that feel doable as a 5-8 Assistant Principal of Culture next year.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first PD audiobook perfect for my commute. Despite the really awful narrator (sorry dude I kept debating if it was AI), a good mix of practical application and philosophical considerations that have definitely, positively affected my approach to the new school year so far- a clear, strict no phone policy amongst others.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably my favourite of the books I have read on education. It details how to build and maintain a positive, respectful culture in a school, especially post-pandemic, and is both theoretical and practical in its approach with lots of examples. I’ll definitely be revisiting parts and using some of the ideas in my own practice.

[Jennifer Baudy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful Overview

Helpful overview of challenges educators encounter after the pandemic. Simple presentation of how to build a school culture that fosters belonging and a sense of community.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book with helpful tips somewhat diminished by the charter school rant at the end that is unsupported by the rest of the book’s lessons

[Heather Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

From start to finish, this book offered tangible answers as to what teachers and school leaders can do to help students re-connect to what matters in school.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book completely identifies the challenges and imperatives that schools face. Simultaneously reassuring and very challenging.

[Kelly Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. A must-read for teachers and leaders

[Lindy Torres · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting though not quite what I was looking for when I picked it. In desperate need of a copy editor.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a timely teaching book! I picked up some great, practical ideas to implement plus all the philosophy behind them. Teacher friends, check this out!

[Amber Hardisty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth the read, especially if you work in Pastoral.

[Justin Karolski · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is basically a charter school advertisement but there are some good nuggets in there.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping that Reconnect: Building School Culture for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging would talk about building school culture among staff and students. It gave a lot of advice on cell phone policies for schools, but the school where I work already has a no-cell phone policy so much of the book was not helpful in my situation. The book also centered around Teach Like a Champion procedures that not all school use. I wish the principles in this book were applicable to all schools, not just those using the TLaC system.

Thank you to Tantor Audio and LibroFM's Educator ALC program for a review copy of the audiobook.