Connections Across Education

Among its five core principles, the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) recognizes the importance of relationships. We believe that what we can accomplish together is stronger than what any one of us can accomplish alone, and our potential for making an impact in our schools is based on the connections that we build. Similarly, we believe that relationships are at the foundation of public education, and that there are countless connections in our school divisions that drive the important work that they do.

We call relationships many different things in education. Students with a higher sense of belonging tend to feel more connected with their school, teachers, and peers, which often relates to better academic performance (1). Students who are emotionally engaged in school tend to have more favorable interactions in the classroom, which can contribute to higher interest and investment in learning (2). When students feel a strong sense of relatedness, they are more likely to be self-determined at academic tasks (3). When teachers show warmth toward their students, it can relate to how much resilience they exhibit in the classroom (4). Perceptions of strong relationships between educators and parents tend to predict stronger academic achievement in students (5), higher teacher empowerment (6), and reductions in perceived cultural mismatch between schools and the families they serve (7). Research supports what so many stakeholders from our MERC division schools have told us over the years: that relationships are at the heart of what they do.

The Connections Across Education series by Abstract will showcase and celebrate stories of relationships in metropolitan Richmond schools. Each episode will feature a story about a meaningful connection in our MERC divisions, and illustrate how relationships make the experience of going to school better. Abstract will produce seven episodes in the series, one from each of our school divisions, over the summer and fall of 2018. These stories will lead up to our 15th Annual MERC Conference in the fall of 2018, which will highlight the value of relationships, connections, and collaborations in public education. Episode participants will also take part in a session at the MERC Conference focused on what we learned from their stories, moderated by Brionna Nomi (VCU Curriculum, Culture, and Change), Brian Condit (Richmond Teacher Residency), and David Naff (MERC), who will also host the podcast episodes.