SCHOOL 

CONNECTEDNESS 

STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING PROTECTIVE 

FACTORS AMONG YOUTH 

Suggested Citation: 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. School Connectedness: Strategies for 

Increasing Protective Factors Among Youth. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services; 2009. 

Additional Copies: 

To download or order a free copy of this publication, go to www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth. 

1 
Families, schools, and communities 

all need to work together to create 

an environment that facilitates 

healthy development of children 

and adolescents. 

2 
Efforts to improve child and adolescent health typically 

have featured interventions designed to address specific 

health risk behaviors, such as tobacco use, alcohol and 

drug use, violence, gang involvement, and early sexual 

initiation. However, results from a growing number of studies suggest that greater health impact might be achieved 

by also enhancing protective factors that help children and 

adolescents avoid multiple behaviors that place them at risk 

for adverse health and educational outcomes. Enhancing 

protective factors also might buffer children and adolescents 

from the potentially harmful effects of negative situations 

and events, such exposure to violence. 

Protective factors include personal characteristics such 

as a positive view of one’s future; life conditions such 

as frequent parental presence in the home at key times 

(e.g., after school, at dinner time);2 and behaviors such 

as active participation in school activities.3 School 

connectedness is a particularly promising protective factor. 

This publication defines and describes the components 

of school connectedness and identifies specific actions that 

schools can take to increase school connectedness. 

What Is School Connectedness? 

In 2003, the Wingspread Conference was sponsored 

by CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health and 

the Johnson Foundation to bring together key researchers 

and representatives from the education and health sectors to 

assess the state of knowledge about school connectedness 

and its effect on health and education outcomes. Through 

an extensive review of research and in-depth discussions, 

the interdisciplinary group defined school connectedness 

and identified, in the Wingspread Declaration on School 

Connections,

4 strategies that schools could implement to 

increase it. School connectedness was defined as the belief 

by students that adults in the school care about their learning 

as well as about them as individuals. Because studies indicate 

that individual students’ feelings of being connected to 

school are influenced by their peers as well as by adults,3,5 

this publication has expanded that definition to include 

peer influence. 

Risk Factors are individual or environmental 

characteristics, conditions, or behaviors that increase 

the likelihood that a negative outcome will occur. 

Protective Factors are individual or environmental 

characteristics, conditions, or behaviors that 

reduce the effects of stressful life events; increase 

an individual’s ability to avoid risks or hazards; and 

promote social and emotional competence to thrive 

in all aspects of life now and in the future.1 

School Connectedness is the belief by students 

that adults and peers in the school care about their 

learning as well as about them as individuals. 

3 
How Was This Publication Developed? 

The strategies and actions recommended in this publication 

are based on the Wingspread Declaration on School 

Connections and a synthesis of school connectedness 

and related research from the fields of education, health, 

psychology, and sociology. Materials in the review include 

peer-reviewed journal articles, books, reports from government agencies and non-governmental organizations, and 

Web sites. Information from these sources was summarized 

to identify policies and practices that demonstrated an 

impact on students’ sense of connectedness to school. 

In addition, recommendations were informed by the opinions 

of expert researchers, public health practitioners, and 

educators. This process identified six evidence-based strategies that could be implemented to increase students’ sense 

of connectedness to school, along with specific actions 

that can be taken to implement each of the strategies. The 

audiences for this publication include school administrators, 

teachers, support staff, and parents, as well as others interested in promoting school connectedness. Each audience, 

however, has different roles and responsibilities related 

to garnering support for, and implementing, these actions. 

Only a limited number of studies have evaluated the impact 

of specific actions designed to foster school connectedness 

on health and academic outcomes. Therefore, many of the 

actions suggested in this publication are recommended 

on the basis of a single study of interventions that implemented multiple actions simultaneously, and it is difficult 

to isolate which components of the overall intervention 

contributed to observed positive changes in behavior and 

outcomes. However, actions were included only if CDC 

scientists and the panel of advisors for this project believed 

there was a logical connection between the action and 

school connectedness; the action was consistent with recognized standards of practice and feasible for most schools 

to implement; and the action was considered highly unlikely 

to be harmful to students. 

4
 
 

Why Is School Connectedness Important? 

Students are more likely to engage in healthy behaviors 

and succeed academically when they feel connected 

to school. The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent 

Health looked at the impact of protective factors on adolescent health and well-being among more than 36,000 

7th–12th grade students. The study found that family, school, 

and individual factors such as school connectedness, 

parent-family connectedness, high parental expectations 

for academic achievement, and the adolescent’s level of 

involvement in religious activities and perceived importance 

of religion and prayer were protective against a range of 

adverse behaviors.2,6,7 School connectedness was found to 

be the strongest protective factor for both boys and girls to 

decrease substance use, school absenteeism, early sexual 

initiation, violence, and risk of unintentional injury (e.g., 

drinking and driving, not wearing seat belts).2 In this same 

study, school connectedness was second in importance, 

after family connectedness, as a protective factor against 

emotional distress, disordered eating, and suicidal ideation 

and attempts.2,3,6 

Research has also demonstrated a strong relationship 

between school connectedness and educational outcomes, 

8–12 including school attendance;10 staying in school longer;11 and higher grades and classroom test scores.9,12 

In turn, students who do well academically are less likely 

to engage in risky behaviors.13,14 Compared with students 

with low grades, students with higher grades are significantly less likely to carry a weapon, smoke cigarettes, drink 

alcohol, and have sexual intercourse.14 

What Are the Factors that Can 

Increase School Connectedness? 

Adult Support: School staff can dedicate 

their time, interest, attention, and emotional 

support to students. 

Belonging to a Positive Peer Group: 

A stable network of peers can improve 

student perceptions of school. 

Commitment to Education: Believing 

that school is important to their future, 

and perceiving that the adults in school are 

invested in their education, can get students 

engaged in their own learning and involved 

in school activities. 

School Environment: The physical 

environment and psychosocial climate can set 

the stage for positive student perceptions 

of school. 

5 
Adult Support 

According to research by Blum and colleagues, children 

and adolescents’ beliefs about themselves and their abilities 

are shaped by the extent to which they perceive that the 

adults in their lives care about them and are involved 

in their lives.3 Children and adolescents who feel supported 

by important adults in their lives are likely to be more 

engaged in school and learning.15 In the school setting, 

students feel supported and cared for when they see school 

staff dedicating their time, interest, attention, and emotional 

support to them.16 Students need to feel that adults care 

about them as individuals as well as about their academic 

achievement.2 Smaller schools may encourage more 

personal relationships among students and staff and allow 

for personalized learning.17–19 Schools can form schoolswithin-a-school or create multidisciplinary teams of teachers 

in which a small number of teachers know each student and 

can ensure that every student has an identified advisor.20 

Belonging to a Positive Peer Group 

Students’ health and educational outcomes are influenced 

by the characteristics of their peers, such as how socially 

competent peer group members are or whether the peer 

group supports pro-social behavior (e.g., engaging 

in school activities, completing homework assignments, 

helping others).21 Being part of a stable peer network 

protects students from being victimized or bullied.22 

However, if the norms in the peer group support socially 

irresponsible behavior (e.g., bullying, graffiti), students are 

less likely to be involved in school activities, and their sense 

of connectedness to school, achievement levels, and health 

behaviors can suffer.21,22 

Strong interpersonal skills enable students to maintain 

healthy relationships. Students who report feeling most 

connected to school also report having the most friends 

at school and having friends from several different social 

groups that are integrated by race and gender. Conversely, 

those students who report feeling less connected to school 

have more friends from outside school than inside or are 

socially isolated, reporting few friends either inside 

or outside of school.3 

6 
Commitment to Education 

It is important that both students and adults are committed 

to learning and are involved in school activities. Students’ 

dedication to their own education is associated with the 

degree to which they perceive that their peers and 

important adults in their lives 1) believe school is important 

and 2) act on those beliefs.23 Students who are personally 

invested in school and believe that a good education 

is important for reaching their life goals spend more time on 

homework and in school activities and have an increased 

sense of connectedness to school.3,18,21,24,25 Students who 

are engaged in their own education exhibit behavioral traits 

such as persistence, effort, sustained attention to tasks, and 

a higher level of preference for challenge and mastery.16 

School staff who are dedicated to the education of their 

students build school communities that allow students 

to develop emotionally, socially, and mentally, as well 

as academically. Committed adults engage students 

in learning, foster mutual respect and caring, and meet the 

personal learning needs of each student.3,15,18 

School Environment 

Connectedness is enhanced by a healthy and safe school 

environment and a supportive psychosocial climate. A clean 

and pleasant physical environment (e.g., one free from 

graffiti) raises expectations for safety and sets the stage for 

positive, respectful relationships.26 

The psychosocial climate at school is influenced by such 

factors as policies related to discipline, opportunities for 

meaningful student participation, and teachers’ classroom 

management practices. Research indicates that in schools 

with a harsh and punitive discipline climate, student 

connectedness is lower.3,18 A positive school environment, 

often called school climate, is characterized by caring 

and supportive interpersonal relationships; opportunities 

to participate in school activities and decision-making; and 

shared positive norms, goals, and values.27,28 One study 

found that schools with a higher average sense-of-community 

score (i.e., composite of students’ perception of caring and 

supportive interpersonal relationships and their ability 

to be autonomous and have influence in the classroom) had 

significantly lower average student drug use and delinquency. 

27,28 In addition, schools that have higher rates of participation in extracurricular activities during or after school tend 

to have higher levels of school connectedness.3 

Good classroom management-—including having set 

routines and guidelines, adequate planning, and fair 

consequences for misbehaviors-—is critical to establishing a 

positive school environment and increasing school connectedness. When classrooms are well managed, relationships 

among students and between teachers and students tend 

to be more positive, and students are more engaged 

in learning and in completing homework assignments.3 

Teachers who promote mutual respect in the classroom 

foster a sense of safety and connectedness by reducing the 

threat of being embarrassed or teased.29 

7 
How Can Schools Influence Factors That 

Increase School Connectedness? 

This publication identifies six strategies to increase the 

extent to which students feel connected to school. These 

strategies can enhance each of the four factors that influence 

school connectedness (adult support, belonging to positive 

peer groups, commitment to education, and school environment). This section describes the strategies, and specific 

actions under each strategy, that teachers, administrators, 

other school staff, and parents can implement to enhance 

school connectedness. 

Improving students’ health and education outcomes by 

improving connectedness to school is a large undertaking 

that requires efforts of not only those within school buildings 

but also people and organizations outside of schools. 

For example, parents and community organizations can 

provide support outside of school to enhance activities done 

within the school, and teacher preparation programs and 

professional organizations can provide teachers and school 

administrators with the awareness, knowledge, and skills 

needed to implement the recommended actions. These 

efforts to enhance student connectedness to school align 

well with the Coordinated School Health approach promoted by CDC as well as educational reform efforts, which 

in part aim to improve the psychosocial environment of 

schools. 

The strategies and action steps that follow are not listed in 

order of priority and are not intended to be exhaustive lists. 

Some of the actions are small changes in school processes 

that can be done in the short term with relative ease, 

whereas others might be much broader, longer-term goals 

that require administrative or budgetary changes. Individual 

schools and school districts should determine which actions 

are most feasible and appropriate, based on the needs 

of the school and available resources. Implementation will 

require a team effort that involves school administrators, 

teachers, other staff, students, families, and communities. 

It is important to secure buy-in from these groups and to 

teach them about the importance of school connectedness in 

improving students’ health and education outcomes. It also 

is important to evaluate efforts to increase school connectedness to learn which actions have the greatest impact. 

8 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Promoting School Connectedness 

1. Create decision-making processes that facilitate student, family, and community 

engagement; academic achievement; and staff empowerment. 

2. Provide education and opportunities to enable families to be actively involved 

in their children’s academic and school life. 

3. Provide students with the academic, emotional, and social skills necessary 

to be actively engaged in school. 

4. Use effective classroom management and teaching methods to foster 

a positive learning environment. 

5. Provide professional development and support for teachers and other school 

staff to enable them to meet the diverse cognitive, emotional, and social needs 

of children and adolescents. 

6. Create trusting and caring relationships that promote open communication 

among administrators, teachers, staff, students, families, and communities. 

Strategies to Increase School Connectedness 

Adult Support 

Belonging 

to a 

Positive Peer 

Group 

School 

Environment 

Commitment 

to Education 

Positive 

Educational 

Outcomes 

Positive 

Health 

Outcomes 

School 

Connectedness 

9 
Six Strategies to Promote School Connectedness 

School administrators, teachers, and other school staff can use the following six strategies and the supporting action 

steps to increase school connectedness: 

1. Create decision-making processes that facilitate student, family, and community engagement; 

academic achievement; and staff empowerment. 

a.	 Lead the school community in a process to develop 

a shared vision of high standards for learning and 

behavior.30,31 

b.	 Solicit teacher and staff input and involvement in all 

efforts to improve the school climate and students’ 

sense of connectedness to school.32 

c.	 Engage students, parents, school staff, and community members in teams to develop school policies 

and plan school-wide activities. These teams can 

also assist in writing proposals for grants and solicit 

support and supplies from local businesses.33 

d.	 Give teachers and principals appropriate decisionmaking authority over how school resources are 

used, including people, time, facilities, and funds.34 

e.	 Work with students, faculty, staff, and parents 

to identify simple changes or modifications that 

would make the school’s physical environment more 

pleasant.3 

f.	 Assign students developmentally appropriate levels 

of responsibility for classroom decision-making and 

management.35,36 

g.	 Empower students to communicate openly with 

school staff and parents by providing a mechanism 

for students to give in-depth evaluations of their 

teachers, and hold student-led parent-teacher 

conferences to actively involve students in the 

discussions.34 

h.	 Engage community partners to provide a range 

of services at the school that students and their 

families need (e.g., dental services, health 

screenings, child care, substance abuse 

treatment).37 

10 
2. Provide education and opportunities to enable families to be actively involved in their 

children’s academic and school life. 

a.	 Provide opportunities for parents to increase their 

own skills and competence in areas that will help 

them be more involved in their children’s school life. 

Opportunities could include educational courses 

such as General Education Development (GED), 

English as a second language, and effective 

communication and leadership skills.38 

b.	 Implement training workshops that provide parents 

with skills to better manage their children’s behavior. Skills can include identifying desirable and 

undesirable behaviors, communication strategies, 

conflict resolution, listening skills, setting expectations for behaviors, and appropriate praise. Parents 

also can learn about how to teach their children 

self-restraint and problem-solving.25,39–42 

c.	 Provide parent workshops that teach academic 

support skills, such as how to talk with teachers 

about ways parents can help their children develop 

academic skills.25,39,40,43,44 

d.	 Seek alternative ways to provide hard-to-reach 

parents with skills training, such as by using 

a telephone-based parent education program.45 

e.	 Communicate the school’s behavioral and academic 

expectations to families, and encourage them to 

reinforce those expectations at home. Expectations 

can be communicated through newsletters, parent– 

teacher–student conferences, and school Web 

sites.44,46 

f.	 Encourage parents to create a supportive learning 

environment in the home. This includes providing 

homework guidance, ensuring adequate educational 

supplies such as computers or books, and assisting 

their children with time management.25,39,43,44 

g.	 Create a mechanism to strengthen family involvement in student achievement. This could include 

creating a full-time staff position to coordinate 

school-wide activities and parent involvement 

or assigning school staff members to be liaisons 

to specific students and their families. The school– 

family liaison can work with the family to identify 

ways to be involved in the classroom and school; 

organize meetings with the family and relevant staff 

to discuss student progress and other issues; ensure 

that the student and family feel welcome in the 

school; help set academic and behavioral goals; 

and connect the student and family with community 

resources.39,46,47 

h.	 Establish regular meetings with parents to discuss 

their children’s behavior, grades, and accomplishments. These could include home visits, which are 

especially beneficial during key transition times 

(i.e., elementary to middle school, middle to high 

school, and high school to college/career).42,46 

i.	 Have the first communication from the teacher 

to the parent be about a positive experience the 

student has had, not a negative one.48 

j.	 Offer multiple opportunities for parents to be 

involved in meaningful school and classroom 

activities that can fit diverse schedules, skills, 

and abilities. Examples include assisting in the 

classroom, attending after-school events, 

collaborating on homework activities, participating 

in a school health team or parent organization, 

and assisting with linking community resources 

to the school.27,41, 49–54 

k.	 Reduce barriers to parent involvement by providing 

services such as babysitting, transportation, and 

alternate meeting locations.55 

l.	 Create opportunities and mechanisms for parents 

to share important aspects of their culture, needs, 

and expectations for their children.56 

m.	 Translate materials into languages spoken most 

commonly in students’ homes. Provide bilingual 

interpreters to assist non-English-speaking families 

at school events.56 

11 
3. Provide students with the academic, emotional, and social skills necessary to be actively 

engaged in school. 

a.	 Implement tutoring programs to provide one-on-one 

assistance to students. Tutors can provide weekly 

academic help in reading and math, help students 

with decision-making, and work with students to 

develop specific academic and social goals.16,42,51,52 

b.	 Support positive academic competition within and 

among schools.57 For example, schools can establish interscholastic team competitions in academic 

subjects and offer activities such as debate and 

physics projects. 

c.	 Offer extended learning opportunities for all 

students, such as summer and vacation camps, 

to improve academic and social skills.39,43,51 

d.	 Provide opportunities for students to improve their 

interpersonal skills, such as problem-solving, conflict 

resolution, self-control, communication, negotiation, 

sharing, and good manners. Other skills that could 

be taught include listening, stress management, and 

decision making.25,39,41,44,58,59 

e.	 Foster pro-social behavior by engaging students 

in helping activities such as service learning, 

peer tutoring, classroom chores, and teacher 

assistance.60 Use classroom activities and lessons 

to explore and discuss empathy, personal strengths, 

fairness, kindness, and social responsibility.40,49 

f.	 Teach refusal and resistance skills, including how 

to recognize social influences to engage in problem 

behaviors, identify consequences of problem behaviors, generate and suggest alternatives, and invite 

peers to join in those alternative activities.39,43,59,61 

g.	 Correct inaccurate perceptions about what are 

normal behaviors among students (e.g., how many 

students smoke or drink alcohol).44 

h.	 Use incidents in the classroom as “teachable 

moments” to educate students on self-control, empathy, cooperation, and conflict resolution skills.35 

i.	 Provide opportunities throughout the school day 

that allow students to identify and label their feelings, express their feelings, and assess the intensity 

of their feelings.36,49 

j.	 Engage students in planning for their future, 

including career and personal goals. Assist them 

in mapping out steps to take to meet their goals.40,62 

k.	 Use school sporting events and physical education 

classes to promote teamwork and sportsmanship 

and emphasize fair play and nonviolence.26,63 

12 
4. Use effective classroom management and teaching methods to foster a positive learning 

environment. 

a.	 Communicate clear expectations for learning 

and behavior.39,43,64 Ensure that expectations are 

developmentally appropriate and that all students 

are held to the same expectations. 

b.	 Ensure that lessons are linked to standards and are 

sequential to ensure that students’ learning builds 

upon prior lessons.34,46,65 

c.	 Clearly describe lesson goals and how the information relates to students and the real world.9,35,66 

d.	 Assess students continuously and use the results 

to guide the direction of the class and teaching 

methods used.16,34,46 

e.	 Use interactive and experiential activities, such 

as group discussions, problem solving, and role 

playing, to engage students in learning and help 

them personalize the information.9,35,36,66,67 

f.	 Be flexible with instructional strategies to allow 

for teachable moments and personalization of the 

academic lessons.30 

g.	 Use a variety of teaching methods such as discussion questions, extra readings, and group projects 

to foster critical and reflective thinking, problemsolving skills, and the capacity to work effectively 

with others.67 

h.	 Apply a variety of classroom management strategies and teaching methods that are conducive 

to the diverse needs and learning styles of students. 

Examples of strategies include assessing student 

knowledge before teaching, teaching to explicit 

learning objectives, involving students in small 

cooperative learning groups, and organizing and 

structuring the classroom in ways that prevent 

discipline problems from occurring.16,39,43,44,60,68 

i.	 Engage students in appropriate leadership positions 

in the classroom and provide avenues for their 

voices and opinions to be heard. For example, 

include students in the decision-making process for 

setting classroom rules and consequences for breaking the rules.44,49,67,69 

j.	 Establish a reward system for both academic and 

extracurricular achievements, such as written 

praise or coupons to purchase items in the school 

store.39,43,44 In addition, encourage the intrinsic 

rewards of learning by displaying student work 

and accomplishments to parents, other students and 

teachers, and members of the community.67 

k.	 Provide diverse opportunities for students to be 

meaningfully involved, learn, and be recognized. 

These opportunities could include service learning, 

extracurricular activities, and creative projects.9,30,46 

For example, integrate academic programs with 

community service (e.g., developing writing skills 

by working on a community newspaper, reinforcing 

math skills by tutoring younger students).16,52 

l.	 Encourage open, respectful communication about 

differing viewpoints. Creating opportunities for 

students to challenge and debate can teach respect 

for diverse opinions and perspectives.49,67 

m.	 Reduce class size to ensure more time for individualized assistance.34,70 

13 
5. Provide professional development and support for teachers and other school staff to enable 

them to meet the diverse cognitive, emotional, and social needs of children and adolescents. 

a.	 Employ teachers who have been trained in child 

development, and demonstrate effective implementation of student-centered pedagogy, a variety 

of classroom management techniques, and teaching 

methods (e.g., cooperative learning).16 

b.	 Offer professional development on ways to 

organize and structure the classroom to promote 

a positive environment. Developmentally appropriate discipline strategies emphasize positive behaviors and values and assist students in developing 

self-control.49 

c.	 Educate school staff on strategies to effectively 

involve parents in their children’s school life. Important skills include how to establish regular communication, communicate effectively with parents from 

diverse cultures, conduct effective parent–teacher– 

student conferences, involve parents in homework 

assignments, and organize classroom events that 

engage parents.46 

d.	 Provide training on all curricula the school plans 

to use, as well as effective teaching methods (e.g., 

cooperative learning, active learning), to maximize 

the curricula’s effectiveness. Ensure that teachers 

have the necessary materials, time, resources, and 

support to effectively use the skills learned in training.36,40,44,49 

e.	 Enable teachers to learn from each other by building 

learning teams to observe experienced teachers 

applying effective classroom management techniques and facilitating group work in a way that 

values students’ thoughts and opinions.46 

f.	 Develop a coaching or mentoring program for 

teachers. Pairing teachers in this manner allows 

them to solve problems at school, share teaching 

techniques and classroom management strategies, 

and create a supportive work environment.39,43,44,49 

14 
6. Create trusting and caring relationships that promote open communication among 

administrators, teachers, staff, students, families, and communities. 

a.	 Consider structuring the school so that teachers stay 

with the same students for 3 years in elementary 

and middle school and 2 or more years in high 

school.34 This can provide better continuity in learning and might allow the development of stronger 

teacher–student relationships.16 

b.	 Allow students and their parents to use the school 

building and property outside of school hours 

for recreational or health promotion programs.71 

This can increase their feeling of being part of the 

school community. 

c.	 Apply reasonable and consistent disciplinary 

policies that are collectively agreed upon by 

students and staff and are fairly enforced.67,72 

d.	 Hold school-wide activities that give students 

opportunities to learn about different cultures, 

people with disabilities, and topics such as arts 

or sports. This will increase students’ respect for 

diversity and form connections among students.35 

Increasing understanding of similarities and differences can engender respect. 

e.	 Provide opportunities for students of all achievement 

levels to interact with one another and develop 

friendships, promote teamwork, and lessen 

hierarchical divisions between older and younger 

students.9,16,35 

f.	 Create opportunities for students to work in partnership with adults in helping roles. For example, service learning opportunities enable students to connect with adults in the community (e.g., field trips, 

community volunteer events, internships).60 Involve 

students in activities that traditionally involved only 

adults (e.g., parent–teacher conferences, curriculum 

selection committees, school health teams).33,40,67 

g.	 Have principals, teachers, and other school staff 

commit to and model respectful behavior toward 

each other.36,58,59 

h.	 Challenge staff to greet each student by name.46 

i.	 Encourage school staff to make a concerted effort 

to reach out to students who may be experiencing 

academic or social issues and get to know them, 

opening up the possibility for stronger relationships 

with those students.32 

j.	 Ensure that school staff members have an expert 

(e.g., school counselor, school psychologist) they 

can consult with about student issues they feel are 

beyond their expertise, and to whom they can refer 

students who need assistance they are not qualified 

to provide.16,34 

k.	 Use a variety of methods to communicate and promote expectations, values, and group norms that 

support positive health and academic behaviors. 

Communications can be addressed to students, 

school staff, families, and members of the community through a variety of channels such as school 

assemblies, newsletters, or a school Web site.49,60 

15 
Conclusion 

Children and adolescents are establishing patterns of 

behavior and making lifestyle choices that affect both their 

current and future health. Families, schools, and communities all need to work together to create an environment that 

facilitates healthy development of children and adolescents. 

Research has shown that students who feel more connected 

to school are more likely to have positive health and education outcomes. The six strategies outlined in this publication 

provide a framework for increasing students’ connectedness 

to school. In combination with evidence-based health 

promotion programs, strategies such as these can help 

schools have the greatest impact on the health and 

education outcomes of their students. 

16 
Acknowledgments 

This publication was developed by the Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Adolescent and 

School Health (DASH) with consultation from Robert Blum 

MD, PhD, the William H. Gates Sr. Professor and Chair, 

Department of Population and Family Health Sciences, Johns 

Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Dana Carr 

MPH, at the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Safe 

and Drug-Free Schools. 

“American teens can have stronger 

health and educational outcomes. 

Increasing school connectedness 

can make it happen.” 

Robert Blum MD, PhD 

17 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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20 

For more information, please contact the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
 

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
 

Division of Adolescent and School Health
 

4770 Buford Highway NE
 

Mail Stop K-29
 

Atlanta, GA 30341-3717
 

Telephone: 800-CDC-INFO (232-4636) • TTY: 888-232-6348
­

Email: cdcinfo@cdc.gov • Web: http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth
­

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