How do we create a school community that is welcoming to all students?

Students often come to school with external challenges, whether it be troubles at home, feeling unsafe in their neighborhood, or simply the feeling of being too aggressive or not smart enough. Without support in place to help them manage these challenges, students struggle to feel a sense of belonging or connection.

For Dr. William Haith, ensuring his students’ safety and sense of belonging—along with empathy and understanding—is key to building a more positive, engaged, and successful school community with improved attendance and promotion rates, and higher graduation rates. In this insightful and important webinar, Dr. Haith will share how his own leadership style has evolved to focus on a whole child approach that provides a multi-tiered system to support his students’ needs.

Based on his own experience working with teachers, staff, and students, Dr. Haith will share strategies to empower educators and staff to focus on their students’ needs, which include:

• Ensuring collective teacher efficacy, where every staff member in the building believes that students can learn.
• Building teachers' mindsets to assume positive intent.
• Giving educators the skills to be able to interact with students in a way in which they relay a sense of belonging versus being punitive.

Attendees will learn about Dr. Haith’s own growth as a school leader as well as gain a better understanding of the whole child approach and how it can transform the entire school community.

About the Presenter: Dr. William Haith is the Principal of Frank Ballou High School in District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). Dr. William “Roc” Haith is a proud native of Ward 8 who has devoted his career to educating the students of the District of Columbia for 19 years in a range of roles, including IT director, assistant principal, administrator, and principal. His innovative efforts have profoundly impacted his school community and earned him an Emmy award, Two Standing Ovation awards for his outstanding contributions as a school leader for exceptional Leadership and the Whole Child Approach to education.