Glossary
Speak the same language as your MTSS team.
30 plain-English definitions across belonging, discipline, restorative practice, MTSS tiers, appreciative inquiry, and experiential learning.
Open the glossaryLearning Center
The research, the frameworks, and the first steps.
Free, research-cited guides for principals, deans, and district teams working on belonging, discipline, restorative practice, and Tier 1 systems — organized by what you need right now: understanding, a decision, or a plan.
15 guides · 30 glossary terms · written by educators, not marketers
1 · Learn
Understand the ideas
Answer-first primers on belonging, discipline, restorative practice, Tier 1 systems, and the research behind them.
Jump to Learn2 · Evaluate
Weigh the decisions
Frameworks for weighing the real decisions — suspension vs. repair, where to start, how to measure, and how to choose a PD partner.
Jump to Evaluate3 · Act
Put it to work
Checklists and first-90-days plans your leadership team can put to work this semester.
Jump to ActLearn
Learn the language of belonging-centered schools.
7 min read
What is school belonging — and why does it predict so much?
School belonging is a student's felt sense of being known, valued, and connected at school. Here's the research on why it predicts attendance, behavior, and mental health.
Read the guide 7 min readWhat is relationship-centered discipline?
Relationship-centered discipline holds high expectations and high support at once — consequences that teach and repair instead of exclude. The research case, explained.
Read the guide 8 min readWhat are restorative practices? The continuum, explained
Restorative practices run from affective statements to formal conferences. What the RAND randomized trial and California's 265,000-student study actually found.
Read the guide 8 min readWhat is Tier 1 behavior support? PBIS and MTSS, explained
Tier 1 is what every student experiences every day. How the PBIS/MTSS tiers work, what 200+ studies show, and why fidelity — not the framework — decides results.
Read the guide 7 min readWhat is Appreciative Inquiry — and why lead schools from strengths?
Appreciative Inquiry improves schools by studying what works at their best. The 4-D cycle, Gallup's strengths data on burnout and retention, and the toxic-positivity trap.
Read the guide 8 min readWhat is experiential learning — and why do experiences beat slideshows?
Experiential learning walks students around Kolb's full cycle — act, reflect, conceptualize, retry. The PBL evidence, Gold Standard design, and the growth-mindset link.
Read the guideEvaluate
Evaluate the path before you commit a year to it.
8 min read
Suspension vs. restorative accountability: what the outcomes data says
A first suspension predicts lower graduation and higher arrest rates. Restorative accountability asks more of students. The honest comparison for school leaders.
Read the guide 7 min readPBIS and restorative practices: which comes first?
PBIS defines and teaches expectations; restorative practices build and repair the relationships underneath. How the frameworks mesh, and how to sequence them.
Read the guide 7 min readHow do you measure school belonging and climate?
Validated survey instruments (5Essentials, Panorama, PERTS), the relational mapping exercise, and the perception gaps that averages hide. A leader's measurement guide.
Read the guide 7 min readHow to choose a school PD provider (including whether it's us)
Evidence base, embedded coaching, data-driven customization, adult learning theory, systemic alignment — the five criteria for vetting any school PD partner.
Read the guide 8 min readWhy school initiatives fail: the six patterns behind 'we tried that'
Fidelity erosion, climate-only fixes, unsupported mandates, toxic positivity, data without action, turnover without onboarding — the failure patterns and their antidotes.
Read the guideAct
Act with a checklist, not a hunch.
8 min read
The school climate & culture audit checklist
The complete audit checklist: survey data, discipline patterns, relational mapping, focus groups, walkthroughs — and how to turn findings into an action plan.
Read the guide 8 min readLaunching restorative practices: the year-one plan
Semester-by-semester: leadership modeling, proactive circles before responsive ones, coaching structures, re-entry processes, and the metrics that tell you it's working.
Read the guide 8 min readThe Tier 1 reset: a semester checklist for schools where PBIS drifted
Expectations differ room to room, recognition is rare, the same kids cycle through the office — the semester-long checklist for resetting a drifted Tier 1 system.
Read the guide 7 min readThe first 90 days: a belonging plan for new (and stuck) school leaders
Thirty days of listening, thirty days of visible structure, thirty days of system: a concrete 90-day belonging plan with weekly actions and honest metrics.
Read the guideFrom reading to practice
Every topic here maps to a program we deliver in schools.
The Learning Center exists so your team can think clearly before you spend a dollar. When you're ready to move, each topic connects to the training, coaching, or keynote that brings it to your building.
Belonging & Connectedness
Why feeling known at school predicts attendance, behavior, and mental health — and how to build it on purpose.
Reigniting Belonging KeynoteRelationship-Centered Discipline
Moving discipline from punishment to accountability, growth, and repair — without lowering expectations.
Relationship-Centered Discipline TrainingRestorative Practices
Circles, repair, and re-entry — what the research says, and what makes implementation stick past year one.
Restorative Practices ImplementationTier 1 & MTSS
Proactive, schoolwide behavior support (PBIS/P2BIS) that prevents most problems before they reach the office.
Positive & Proactive Tier 1 SystemsLeadership & School Culture
Appreciative inquiry, strength-based leadership, and climate audits that aim improvement at the real driver.
Appreciative Inquiry & Strength-Based LeadershipExperiential Learning & Growth
Project- and experience-based learning, growth mindset, and failing forward — for students and adults.
Project- & Experience-Based LearningShorter reads
Articles & insights from Jennifer.
- Why belonging beats compliance
- Relationship-centered discipline: repair over punishment
- Building Tier 1 systems that prevent behavior problems
- Restorative practices that actually stick
501(c)(3) nonprofit · 25+ years in schools
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