Creating a Culture of Connectedness through Middle School Advisory Programs

In the middle of an ordinary day in an ordinary Los Angeles school, four middle school students shared fascinating insights in response to the question, "Does advisory help you feel connected to school? " Without advisory school would be more distant. It would not be as cheerful. We would not be as connected to everybody. -seventh grade girl Everyone in the school shares that bond that everyone has an advisor. So, from 6th sixth grade to 12th grade, everyone shares that connection with one teacher, and I think that everyone throughout the day has opened up to someone. It gets you into the state of mind that school is not only about work, but that it is a place where teachers really know you and understand you. So, I think, as a school, having advisory connects everyone. -eighth grade boy I totally agree with that. It is, like, at least you go to school and know that at least there is one person who you are comfortable to talk to. Normally, for me there is more than one teacher, but, um, at least there is always one so you are not nervous about going to school. -eighth grade girl I think in 6th grade, around that period we can all, um, agree that is when you have violence problems or drug problems or even academic problems or personal problems. You get more independent. It is, like, you go to school, and you do not care that much about academic work, but, um, with your advisors and the things that the advisories provide do make you feel more close. It is, um, a place where you can get stuff off your chest. And once you do, you rethink what you are doing and think, like, um, is this right? So that helps with your school work. -seventh grade boy These four middle school students recognize the connection between having meaningful relationships with an adult and a group of peers and thriving academically. An advisory program facilitates these kinds of relationships and provides the structure that creates "connectedness" in a middle school. Connectedness is a characteristic of school cultures in which students have meaningful relationships with adults within the school, are engaged in the school, and feel a sense of belonging to the school. School connectedness is linked to higher grades, higher test scores, and lower dropout rates, regardless of students' socioeconomic status (Blum & Libbey, 2004; Jackson & Davis, 2000; Klem & Connell, 2004; Mac Iver & Epstein, 1991; McNeely & Falci, 2004; National Association of Secondary School Principals, 2006). Moreover, schools intentionally organized to promote personalization and the development of communities of learners better prepare adolescents for later success as adults (Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, 1989). It is particularly urgent for middle school educators to improve school connectedness, because the roots of alienation take hold during early adolescence. Advisory Middle school reformers have widely promoted advisory programs as a way to strengthen connectedness at the middle level. Broadly defined, advisory programs are configurations in which an adult advisor meets regularly during the school day with a group of students to provide academic and social-emotional mentorship and support, to create personalization within the school, and to facilitate a small peer community of learners (Cushman, 1990; Galassi et al., 2004; Galassi et al., 1997; Juvonen et al., 2004; National Association of Secondary School Principals, 2006; Stevenson, 1998). While advisory programs have been promoted in the literature, and middle grades practitioners have intuitively recognize their value, up to this point there has been limited empirical evidence to support advisory programs. Additionally, there has been no accepted basis for identifying best practices in advisory programs (Galassi et al., 2004; Galassi et al., 1997). Thus, when schools have developed advisory programs and trained faculty and staff to serve as advisors, they have relied upon intuition and anecdotal evidence rather than empirical data. …