This interactive session will invite educators and school leaders within Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) to continue building the skills and unifying energy necessary to further the MPS mission which affirms that “Minneapolis Public Schools exist to provide a high quality, anti-racist, culturally responsive education for every Minneapolis student.”

Participants will consider how trust is built or disrupted between adults and students, how students develop agency and self-understanding, how peer culture influences safety and belonging, and how assumptions about, behavior, ability, and cultural difference can interfere with authentic connection.

Rather than treating relationships as a matter of individual personality or goodwill, the session will frame them as a core educational practice that can be examined, strengthened, and supported systematically. Participants will leave with practical questions and strategies for helping every student become known, valued, challenged, and connected to both adults and peers.

The presentation will include some attention to disability, special education, cultural difference, and the possibility that behavior is interpreted differently across identities and institutional settings. These issues will be integrated into the larger discussion of relationships and belonging rather than treated as the session’s central topic.

This is a private event for Minneapolis Public School employees.