Overview

Creating a Culture of Belonging in Schools with Strategies for Connection, Student Support, and Schoolwide ImpactWhat does it mean when a student is surrounded by people every moment of the day -- yet feels completely alone? In today's schools, the most at-risk students are often the most likely to be overlooked. They sit in full classrooms, move through crowded hallways, and blend seamlessly into the background -- present everywhere, connected nowhere. Their disconnection isn't loud. It doesn't trigger referrals or disrupt instruction. It simply accumulates, quietly reshaping their brains, their behavior, and their sense of who they are. 15-Minute Focus: Relationships and Belonging gives school counselors, educators, and administrators the neuroscience framework and practical tools to see these students and bring them back into connection before disconnection becomes damage. Written by Dr. Amy Baltimore, this research-rich, immediately applicable guide is part of the acclaimed 15-Minute Focus series -- designed to deliver high-impact professional learning in a format that respects educators' time and expertise. What makes this book different? This isn't a feel-good call to ""be nicer."" It is a neurologically grounded, evidence-based case for why belonging is not a soft skill; it is the prerequisite for learning, behavior, and long-term success. Every strategy in this book is designed to be implemented now, by educators who are already stretched thin. WHAT YOU'LL FIND INSIDE: How to recognize the students whose disconnection is quiet, polite, and easy to miss The neuroscience behind why belonging is not a soft skill -- it is the prerequisite for learning Why five seconds of attuned connection can literally change a student's brain state A practical framework for weaving belonging into every daily interaction -- without adding to your workload How to build schoolwide systems that ensure no student falls through the relational cracks What to say and do when rupture happens -- and how to restore dignity, trust, and belonging after conflict ...and more! WHO THIS BOOK IS FOR: School counselors identifying and supporting isolated and at-risk students Classroom teachers seeking to strengthen student connection and reduce behavioral escalation Building administrators designing connection-focused school culture Instructional coaches and support staff committed to belonging as a schoolwide practice Anyone who wants the brain science and the practical tools -- in one accessible resource

Full Product Details

9781965066393

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Dr. Amy Baltimore is a former missionary kid who grew up experiencing first hand what it is like to serve the needs of children with deep developmental trauma. With an undergraduate degree in musical theater and a masters degree in school counseling, she began her career by leaning into her passion for supporting the positive growth and development of students primarily in grades K-8 through musical theater programming and school counseling. After 12 years of serving in schools as a school counselor, she realized the adults need just as much support as the students. So, after obtaining a specialist degree in Education Leadership, she stepped into the role of serving as a school counseling district leader and completed her personal educational journey by completing doctoral programming at Lipscomb University focused on the development of learning organizations, and strategic change. Her professional experiences also include serving as Chair of the Board of Directors and legislative liaison for the Tennessee School Counselor Association, adjunct professor and frequent speaker at various higher ed events and state conferences, and advisory council for the Tennessee Department of Education school counseling department. She is a Nationally Board Certified Counselor and a certified trainer for Restorative Practices, Building Strong Brains (ACEs/PCEs), The 6 Pillars of Trauma-Informed Schools, and Youth Mental Health First Aid. Amy is the author of multiple books, including 30-Minute Groups: Relationships and Belonging and 15-Minute Focus: Relationships and Belonging. Amy Baltimore has been happily married for 26 years and has two amazing children who have grown and flown. She loves any activity involving sunshine and warm weather. On any given sunny day you can find her at the lake on her paddleboard, or on a bicycle riding the greenway, or hiking with her husband toward one of the many waterfalls found in middle Tennessee.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available