Recently, Kori Hamilton Biagas, Education Director of the National School Climate Center, was invited to speak about the importance of a positive school climate for cultivating belonging in schools at the National Partnership for Educational Access 2026 Conference. We are grateful to NPEA for the opportunity to share more about school climate, and we’re excited to share Kori’s words below:
The Antidote to Anonymity: Cultivating Belonging in Our Schools
By Kori Hamilton Biagas, Education Director, National School Climate Center
Think back to your school days. I want you to picture the hallway between classes. The sound of lockers opening and closing, the sound of conversation, the shuffle of feet, the sea of faces. Now, I want you to think about one specific student. Maybe it was you. That student, walking through the crowd, headphones on, hoodie up, head down, moving from Point A to Point B without a single person acknowledging their presence or saying their name. They existed in the building, but they didn’t belong to it.
We spend billions of dollars a year on education reform. We debate curricula, we update textbooks, we invest in technology. But I’m here today to talk about the one resource that is more powerful than any textbook, more impactful than any test score: School Climate.
School climate is not just the “vibe” of a building. It’s not just whether the walls are painted a happy color or the classrooms are inclusive and accessible. The National School Climate Center defines it as the quality and character of school life. It’s the norms, the goals, the values, the interpersonal relationships, the teaching and learning practices, the organizational structure. The interconnectedness of these dimensions construct the climate of a school. And there always is one, a school climate. Whether it is cultivated with careful intention or operating in standard default mode, the school climate is felt daily by every person who enters and exits the school.
But here is the truth we often miss: You cannot have a sustainable, positive school climate without a foundation of Belonging. School climate is the ecosystem of the school—it changes day to day–as the people in the building do. Belonging is the culture—the long-term, atmospheric condition that tells a student, “You are safe here. You are seen here. You matter here.”
So, how do we cultivate it? How do we move from a place where students feel like visitors to a place where they feel like owners?
I believe the answer lies in a cycle: Reflect, Connect, Understand, and Act. And it starts with what is sometimes a very difficult place to look: the mirror.
Start with YOURSELF: The Mirror Test
When we talk about building relationships, we usually look outward. We say, “We need to connect with ‘those’ kids.” But the first and most crucial step in cultivating belonging is to start with yourself.
You have to ask: What identity do I bring into this room? What are my unconscious biases? How does my culture, my background, and my experience frame the way I see a student who rolls their eyes, or a student who doesn’t speak English at home, or a student who can’t sit still? Am I leading with authentic care and curiosity, or creative compliance?
If we don’t do the internal work, we will inevitably alienate the very students we are trying to reach. We will misread their silence as defiance, their cultural communication style as disrespect, their trauma as a lack of effort.
So, Step One is an inside job. Reflect. We have to interrogate our own identities so we can truly see the identities of our students. Because belonging isn’t about making everyone the same. It’s about creating a space where every unique identity can thrive.
The Power of a Name: Fighting Anonymity
Once you are on the path toward earnest and intentional internal exploration, then you can turn your attention outward. And the very first outward step is the most simple, and the most profound: Names.
There is a reason that in every story, every myth, every culture, knowing someone’s name gives you a connection to them.
If you are a building leader—a principal, an assistant principal—I have a challenge for you. Make it your first-quarter goal to learn the name of every single student in your building. Not just the star athletes, not just the troublemakers, not just the student council. Every. Single. One.
When I was an undergraduate, I took a class taught by my university’s president and vice president and dean of the law school. It was a big class—over 100 students—and like many of my classmates, I was a student-athlete.
One day, right after a competition weekend where I had run a personal best, something unexpected happened. At the start of class, the vice president paused, looked up, and called my name—congratulating me in front of everyone.
I was stunned.
I hadn’t even realized they knew who I was. In a room that large, I assumed I was just another face. But in that moment, I felt seen. Truly seen.
And it changed something in me.
It made me want to work harder, to show up stronger, to keep pushing—not just because of what I had achieved, but because someone had noticed. I was not anonymous.
When a leader calls a student by name in the hallway, in a classroom, or at an event, it stops time for that student. It says, “You are not invisible. You are not a blur in the crowd. You are seen.”
But it goes deeper than that. We also have to be intentional about naming what we are doing. If your intention is to learn the name of every student in the building before fall break, then say that out loud to the school community. Tell the staff and students, “We are doing this to ensure no one feels anonymous in our building.” Tell the students, “We are doing this because you are important to us and we want you to know that you are not anonymous here.” When you name your intention, you create accountability. You create a shared mission that everyone can buy into. You lead with vulnerability. You create space to make mistakes, as a people, and recover. (Because you will likely have to ask people more than once what their name is.) You create opportunities to receive support and encouragement from unexpected places.
And we have to deploy programming—structured time—designed to cultivate relationships. We can’t just hope it happens. We need Peer-to-Peer programs, advisory groups, and adult-student mentorship that is baked into the school day. Connect, on purpose. Because the goal is simple, yet radical: No student in the building should be able to move through daily life feeling anonymous.
The Architecture of Belonging: How Do We Know?
So, we’ve done the self-work through reflection. We’re learning names to cultivate connection. We’re building programs to support intention. But there is a dangerous gap between intent and impact. We can think we are creating a warm climate, but for who? Some students might be experiencing something entirely different than what you think.
Which brings us to the most important question you will ever ask yourself as an educator: “How do you know that the children know you care about them?”
Notice the question isn’t, “Do you care about them?” I assume you do. The question is, “How do they know it?”
This requires us to slow down. It requires us to slow down and listen.
Too often, we are rushing to the next lesson, the next fire drill, the next standardized test. We ask, “How are you?” while we are already walking away. We don’t wait for the answer.
Slowing down means sitting with a student who is having a bad day and just being present. It means listening to understand, not to reply. It means noticing when the usually talkative kiddo goes quiet, and pulling them aside to say, “I see you. You seem different today. I’m here.”
We have to stop relying on our own perception. We have to move from guessing to knowing. And that requires us to look at the data to begin to understand.
Examining the Climate: Data and Domains
Now we are in the third stage of our cycle from reflect to connect and now to understand.
Let’s go back to that definition of school climate. How do we actually examine and understand it? How do we examine and understand the quality and character of school life? It’s not just a feeling. It can be measured. We have to look at five distinct domains, or 14 refined dimensions:
- Safety: Do students feel physically and emotionally safe? Is there bullying? Is there a trusted adult they can go to?
- Teaching and Learning: Are the lessons engaging? Do students see themselves reflected in the curriculum? Is there a focus on building relationships during instruction, not just at lunch or recess?
- Interpersonal Relationships: This is the heart of belonging. Do students respect each other? Do students and teachers have healthy relationships and interactions with each other? Is there a sense of mutual appreciation?
- Institutional Environment: Does the school feel good to be in? Is it accessible for all students? Is it clean? Is the front office welcoming? Do the hallways reflect the students who walk them?
- Leadership and Efficacy: Is there trust in the leadership? Do the staff effectively work and learn together?
We need to collect data across these domains, using the Comprehensive School Climate Inventory or other assessment tool. Because we know Data isn’t just test scores. Data is perception measurement tools where students can anonymously tell us, “I don’t feel safe in the bathroom,” or “No adult here knows my name.” Data is listening circles. Data is exit tickets that ask, “Did you feel respected today?”
We have to examine this data through an equity lens. Are we asking, “How do we know?” We disaggregate the data. We ask: Do our Black students feel the same sense of belonging as our white students? Do our neurodivergent students feel the same safety as our neurotypical students?
When we have this data, we are no longer guessing. We are acting with precision.
Bringing It All Together: The Cycle
So, look at the cycle we’ve built.
We start with Reflection—looking inward at our own identity, bias, privilege, and position.
We move to Authentic Connection—taking intentional action by learning names, slowing down to listen, and creating programs that fight anonymity.
And we check our work with Understanding —using the five domains of school climate to ask the hard question: “How do they know?”
And pulling it all together with thoughtful, collaborative, informed Action.
This isn’t a one-and-done checklist. It’s a feedback loop. The data informs our reflection, which deepens our relationships and broadens our understanding which we then measure again.
- When you prioritize relationships, you stop the epidemic of anonymity.
- When you slow down and listen, you validate existence.
- When you use people-first language, you honor identity.
- When you know the names, you build the bridge.
- When you understand context, you adapt your approach.
- You cultivate a culture of belonging and build a positive school climate.
Conclusion: The Ripple Effect
We often think that cultivating belonging is a “nice to have,” a soft skill in a hard world. But it is the very engine of engagement. A student who belongs is a student who takes risks. A student who belongs is a student who raises their hand. A student who belongs is a student who shows up—not just physically, but emotionally and intellectually.
School climate and belonging aren’t just about making kids feel good. They are about creating the conditions where learning is possible. Where growth is inevitable. Where every child, regardless of their identity, can look around and say, “This place is about me. I am seen. I am safe. I belong.”
Let’s stop building schools where students move through anonymously. Let’s build communities where every single member is known.
