Belonging Is the School Supply Every Student Needs

By: Tim Mulligan – President/CEO, Communities In Schools of Eastern Pennsylvania 

& Jessica Knapp - President/CEO, Communities In Schools of Pennsylvania

As families check off back-to-school shopping lists this summer, they're making sure students have notebooks, backpacks, pencils, and new shoes.

There's one thing, though, that no parent can buy—and every student needs.

A sense of belonging.

It's easy to think student success begins with curriculum, test scores, or technology. Those things matter. But after working alongside students and educators across Pennsylvania, we've learned something just as important: students learn best when they know they matter.

That truth came into focus this spring at Mosser Elementary School in the Allentown School District.

Thirty-seven students accepted a challenge through Communities In Schools’ new “Attendance Counts” initiative. They weren't students with perfect attendance. Quite the opposite. These second-, third-, and fourth-graders had each missed between 16 and 22 days of school the previous year, putting them on the brink of chronic absenteeism.

The goal wasn't complicated: miss 15 days or fewer this school year.

What happened next wasn't about rewards or punishment. Every month, our site coordinator met with students individually, celebrated their progress, encouraged them through setbacks, and reminded them why showing up mattered. Along the way, there were small celebrations, words of encouragement, and plenty of high-fives. Students who met their goal earned a pizza party at the end of the year.

The pizza wasn't what changed their behavior.

The relationships did.

By year's end, 15 students had met the challenge. Even more encouraging, nearly half of the group—48 percent—were no longer considered chronically absent.

Those numbers tell a bigger story than attendance alone. They represent children who reconnected with classmates, built stronger relationships with teachers, regained confidence, and rediscovered that school could be a place where they were excited to be.

That's what belonging looks like.

Across the country, educators are searching for ways to address chronic absenteeism, declining student engagement, and growing mental health concerns. According to the U.S. Department of Education, nearly one in three students is chronically absent–that’s nearly 15 millions students nationwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also reported alarming levels of persistent sadness and hopelessness among teenagers. These are often discussed as separate challenges, but in reality they're deeply connected.

Students who don't feel connected are more likely to miss school. Students who miss school fall behind. Falling behind can make students feel even less connected, creating a cycle that's difficult to break.

The good news is that the opposite is also true.

When students feel seen, supported, and valued, attendance improves. Engagement grows. Academic performance follows.

Communities In Schools’ holistic approach supports the whole child, which extends to students’ families and caregivers. Engaging parents and caregivers with their child(ren)’s school is imperative to student success and ensures the continuity of care and development. 

Last school year, Communities In Schools affiliates throughout Pennsylvania served nearly 65,000 students and families through an integrated student supports model, which places caring professionals inside schools, where they work shoulder-to-shoulder with educators to identify barriers before they become crises. Sometimes that means connecting a family with housing or food resources. Sometimes it means helping a student access mental health support. Sometimes it's helping a child join an after-school club, reconnect with classmates, or simply making sure someone notices when they aren't in school.

Those moments may seem small.

They're anything but.

Research continues to affirm that a strong sense of school belonging is linked to better attendance, stronger academic performance, improved mental health, and higher graduation rates. Students don't thrive because every obstacle disappears. They thrive because someone helps them navigate those obstacles and reminds them they don't have to do it alone.

We see that every day across Pennsylvania.

Graduation isn't simply the finish line. It's the beginning of opportunity—for college, careers, military service, and meaningful participation in our communities. Research underscores the lasting value of investing in student success. A recent Harvard/Cornell study found that three years of CIS programming—an investment of about $3,000 per student—is associated with an estimated increase of more than $75,000 in lifetime earnings. Every student who graduates strengthens our workforce, our economy, and our neighborhoods. 

As another school year begins, conversations about education will inevitably focus on academic recovery, standardized testing, and workforce readiness. Those conversations are important, but they miss a fundamental truth.

At Lebanon High School, Communities In Schools leads a Career and Development Guest Speaker Series to introduce students to diverse career paths they can pursue after graduation. Over the past two years, community members candidly spoke about their careers, the industry they work in, and their journeys to achieving their dreams. 

It’s more important now than ever that students are supported by their entire community. Students fare best when caring adults in their lives unite their efforts to support them - parents, caregivers, teachers, and for 2 million students in the country, their support system includes their Communities In Schools site coordinator.

Students cannot achieve their full potential until they believe they belong.

Belonging isn't a feel-good slogan. It's not an extracurricular activity or an add-on when budgets allow. It's the foundation upon which attendance, achievement, and long-term success are built.

If we want students to thrive, we must invest in more than academics. We must invest in the relationships that help every child walk through the school doors knowing that someone is glad they're there. Connections to caring adults are vital to keep students engaged in school. And the more students succeed, the stronger our communities become.

Sometimes changing a student's future starts with something as simple as a monthly check-in, a conversation in the hallway, or a slice of pizza shared to celebrate hard work.

More often than not, it starts with making sure every student knows one simple truth:

You belong here.