Learning thrives in a strong community. Routines and relationships create a safe, predictable classroom, and the partnership extends to families and the broader community as co-owners of student success.
The arc has two movements. Community becomes more shared and student- and family-owned. And ownership shifts, from the teacher running the room to students and families as partners. A practice reaches Sustaining when the classroom, school, and families operate as one learning community.
Evidence base: classroom management and positive behavior research, teacher-student relationship studies, and dual-capacity family engagement.
Start with the goal
Know the routines and expectations of the learning community.
Understand that a strong community, including families, makes learning possible.
Do sustain routines, contribute to the community, and partner with adults and families.
Equity and BelongingFamilies are the most underleveraged learning partner in the system. Treating caregivers as assets, especially in under-resourced communities, is a structural equity commitment.
Technology and AIAI enhances learning only through critical use and evaluation. Each practice names what that looks like. Treat outputs as drafts, check for accuracy, bias, and false agreement, decide when not to use the tool, protect your own thinking, and disclose how you used it.
Paired practices
1Routines and procedures
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Teaches routines as needs arise.
Reminds students of routines.
Reinforces students' use of routines.
Has students run routines with little prompting.
Student
Are unsure of the routine.
Follow routines when reminded.
Follow routines with few prompts.
Run routines independently.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to draft classroom routines, then adapt them to your students.
- Ask AI for transition strategies, then judge their fit.
Student
- Use AI to learn a routine quickly, then follow it.
- Use AI to organize their materials and time.
How to measureNote whether the teacher teaches, reminds, or reinforces routines, and whether students run them; student-run routines are Sustaining.
2Consistent expectations
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
States expectations inconsistently.
Posts expectations.
Teaches and reinforces clear, positive expectations.
Has students uphold shared expectations together.
Student
Guess what is expected.
Read posted expectations.
Meet clear, consistent expectations.
Hold each other to expectations.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to articulate positive expectations, then verify they fit your context.
- Ask AI for proactive behavior supports, then judge them.
Student
- Use AI to clarify an expectation, then meet it.
- Help draft norms with AI organizing the input.
How to measureCheck whether expectations are posted, taught, and upheld; students holding each other to them is Sustaining.
3Safe, predictable environment
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Runs disorderly transitions.
Runs transitions with heavy direction.
Runs smooth transitions with a cue.
Has students manage transitions themselves.
Student
Lose time at transitions.
Transition with direction.
Transition smoothly on a cue.
Manage transitions independently.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to plan a calm, predictable setup, then verify it serves all learners.
- Ask AI for de-escalation approaches, then judge them.
Student
- Use AI to prepare for transitions, then navigate them calmly.
- Turn to trusted adults, not AI, when they feel unsafe.
How to measureTime transitions and note disruption; students managing smooth transitions is Sustaining.
4Teacher-student relationships
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Knows a few students well.
Knows about half of students well.
Knows most students well.
Ensures every student is known by a trusted adult.
Student
Fewer than half are known well.
About half are known well.
Most are known well.
Every student has a trusted adult.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to streamline logistics so you spend time with students, not the screen.
- Never use AI to simulate the relationship itself.
Student
- Seek connection from people, not chatbots.
- Use AI for academic help while relying on real relationships.
How to measureMap which students are known well; every student known by a trusted adult is Sustaining.
5Student voice in community
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Makes community decisions alone.
Gathers student input occasionally.
Has students shape community decisions.
Shares ownership of the community with students.
Student
Follow a community set for them.
Give input sometimes.
Shape community decisions.
Co-own the community.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to gather and synthesize student input, then verify it reflects them.
- Ask AI for student-voice structures, then judge them.
Student
- Use AI to organize ideas for the class, then deliberate together.
- Use AI to draft a proposal, then bring it to peers.
How to measureNote whether students shape community decisions; co-owning the community is Sustaining.
6Responsive to conflict
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Responds to conflict with punishment only.
Uses a restorative response sometimes.
Handles conflict restoratively as a routine.
Has students lead repair of harm.
Student
Are punished without repair.
Repair harm sometimes.
Engage in restorative repair.
Lead repair and restoration.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to prepare restorative prompts, then verify they fit your students.
- Ask AI for conflict-resolution frameworks, then judge them.
Student
- Rehearse a repair conversation with AI, then have it in person.
- Use AI to prepare, then resolve conflict with real people.
How to measureNote whether conflict is met with punishment or repair; students leading restoration is Sustaining.
7Two-way family communication
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Contacts families rarely.
Sends one-way updates periodically.
Communicates two-way on a regular schedule.
Maintains ongoing two-way dialogue with families.
Student
Families hear little.
Families receive updates.
Families exchange information.
Families are active partners in the loop.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to draft family messages, then personalize and verify before sending.
- Use AI to translate communications, then verify the translation carefully.
Student
- Students help shape family updates with AI organizing, then they verify accuracy.
- Never enter family or personal data into AI tools without consent.
How to measureCheck the frequency and direction of family contact; ongoing two-way dialogue is Sustaining.
8Families as learning partners
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Treats families as outsiders.
Informs families of decisions.
Engages families as partners in learning.
Builds on families' knowledge as assets.
Student
Families stay outside.
Families are told the plan.
Families partner in learning.
Families contribute their knowledge.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to design asset-based family workshops, then verify they fit the community.
- Ask AI for dual-capacity strategies, then judge them.
Student
- Students bring family knowledge into class, using AI only to organize it.
- Use AI to prepare to share learning with family, then verify.
How to measureNote how families are positioned; building on families' knowledge as assets is Sustaining.
9Community partnerships
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Uses no outside partnerships.
Arranges a one-off partnership.
Sustains ongoing community partnerships.
Weaves the community into learning regularly.
Student
Learn within the classroom only.
Meet a partner once.
Work with community partners.
Learn with the broader community.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to identify potential community partners, then verify they are real and aligned.
- Ask AI to plan a partnership, then judge its value.
Student
- Use AI to research a community organization, then verify with real contact.
- Use AI to prepare for an expert visit, then engage the person directly.
How to measureNote whether outside partnerships exist and how woven in; community woven into learning is Sustaining.
Planning and setting
Design moves that set up the practices above.
Clarity of the learning goal
Every lesson opens from a clear goal. Emerging: the objective is implicit. Developing: the objective is stated. Embedded: a clear know, understand, and do is shared with success criteria. Sustaining: students can state the goal and criteria in their own words.
Designing the community
Plans routines, expectations, and relationship-building deliberately, not as an afterthought to academics.
Family and community partnership
Plans proactive, two-way, asset-based engagement with families and community partners, protecting privacy.
Evidence and measurement
Each practice above carries its own measure. These are the primary evidence sources for the component as a whole.
Evidence for this component
- Observation of routines and transitions.
- A relationship map of which students are known well.
- Family-contact logs, and student-voice or restorative-practice artifacts.