Stronger Connections, Better Year 🌟

Strong relationships between teachers and students are critical to create a supportive and engaging learning environment, especially during the beginning of a school year. When school leaders empower teachers to create stronger bonds with their students, they build the foundation that leads to positive outcomes for all students and their school community. 

To support school leaders, we’ve created this free ebook that outlines the current education landscape that reveals the importance of teacher-student relationships to address challenges such as chronic absenteeism and student engagement. It also includes practical ways to implement Along as a school-wide solution that fits into a diverse range of classrooms.

We hear from education leaders across the nation (and most recently at the UNITED conference) that finding effective and engaging tools to support your staff can be challenging. That's why our free tool fits seamlessly into educators' routines. Along is designed to be fun and easy to use and provides a consistent way for teachers to foster meaningful relationships with students.

At Along, we believe in the power of strong teacher-student connections. If you're curious about our free tool and how it strengthens teacher-student connections to uplift and integrate student voices for thriving classrooms, respond to this email or reach out to us.

We’re looking forward to hearing about all of the connections you make with your school community this year,

The Along Team 

Reflection Question of the Month

Get to know what makes your students happy using our fun and favorites collection, and ask: 

Who is someone you admire, or would like to meet? Why?

Ask This Question.

From a Fellow Educator

“I’ve noticed that when we build relationships, they do more of what you ask them to do. When you don’t click with a student, it’s hard to get them to try or share what is going on in their lives to see why it is affecting their education.” - Melissa Graciano - Bondy Intermediate School

Did you know? 

"Those who had formed a positive relationship with a teacher, a counselor or a coach increased their chances of going to college by at least 9 percentage points. That’s a substantial boost given that only 51 percent of students without a mentor enrolled in college.” - Hechinger Report, 2023

Along in Action

While trying to adapt to a new language and culture, some students may feel reluctant to speak in front of others and may struggle to connect with their teacher and the rest of the class. For this middle school, multilingual language teacher, these challenges have served as inspiration. Read more.

Fresh Reads

1. Strong classroom connections improve student outcomes - Along
2. 3 Strategies to Boost Students’ Connection to School - ASCD
3. Looking back at ‘23 – ’24: most asked Along questions and other educator trends - The Loop
4. 9 Minutes That Can Make a Big Difference - Edutopia
5. What Gets in the Way of Students Feeling a Sense of Belonging at School - Education Week
6. Sparking students’ passion for learning starts with connections: an Along employee story - The Loop
7. There’s a promising path to get students back on track to graduation - Hechinger Report
8. [Trending] Connecting with school leaders at UNITED 2024 - The Loop

Connect with Us 

Students love connecting with teachers, too. Hear from this student about her experience with Along.