Strategies for Building and Maintaining Student Relationships
Explore insights on maintaining relationships with students, the importance of relationships in fostering resiliency, and your role in nurturing healthy connections. Engage in self-reflection activities to understand challenges and enhance communication with students. Learn how to overcome feeling stuck and empower transformative conversations.
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Getting unstuck: Maintaining relationships with students Washington Passport Network Conference, Wednesday, October 28, 2020 Sara Spiers, MPA Amy Salazar, LMSW, PHD
Raise your virtual hand if: You have ever felt stuck with a student? You have ever struggled to maintain a relationship with a student? You have ever built a great, transformative relationship with a student? Welcome!
My Social Network How might a social network for a youth in foster care look different? What are some consequences? On a piece of paper write down the names of the 6 people you are closest to. Next, put a mark next down to any of the individuals that you could go to if you were in crisis.
Why Relationships Matter Provide support and community Help develop resiliency The single most common factor for children who develop resilience is at least one stable and committed relationship with a supportive parent, caregiver, or other adult. (Harvard Center on the Developing Child) Modeling healthy relationships
Your role in building the relationship You are responsible for forming the relationship Discuss with the student everyone s expectations and responsibilities in the relationship Model healthy relationship behavior
Am I stuck? What are the conversations like? Transformative Feeling like a Q&A What is the student communication level? What is the energy level like during the meeting?
Breakout Room Activity #1 You will have five minutes in your breakroom to share: Describe a time you felt stuck with a student? How did it feel to you? Do you know how it felt to the student, if so how?
o Self-Reflection o Youth and You Strategies to getting unstuck
Getting unstuck: Self-Reflection Think about: When does the youth seem engaged? When does the youth disengage or stop communicating? Is there a blind-spot? Space you all meet in Big change/ event in student s life
Getting unstuck: Youth and You Acknowledge to the youth you feel stuck, wondering how you can help them Try meeting somewhere new Shift priorities to something fun, or more aligned with the student s interests (non-academic related) Go back to basics, re-establish your roles and goals
Getting unstuck: Youth and You Ask the student, I noticed your communication has gone down since we first started to meet, have I overlooked something or done something that upset you? Include the student in planning your meetings and meeting goals, Where do you want to start this meeting today? During the meeting ask, What is one thing you need to do but have been putting off? Do that task with them at the meeting
Breakout Room Activity #2 In the next five minutes discuss with your breakout room: Which of the Getting Unstuck recommendations have you tried to help get a relationship unstuck? How did those work for you? What other activities or strategies have you used that helped get a relationship unstuck?
Breakout Room Activity #3 Here are two student scenarios. In your group, select a scenario and discuss what strategies you would use to try and get unstuck. #1: You notice that your student, Jessica, recently stopped responding to your emails as quickly as before. Her engagement has shifted from consistent to sporadic. When she does respond to you, she doesn t say much and you are starting feel like all you do is ask questions. You worry the relationship is stuck. The list Zoom meeting she yelled, All adults do is ask me about my future job, my future education. It s a broken record and I DON T KNOW! You hope to meet with Jessica again soon. How will you start your meeting? #2: Leon only reaches out right before he needs help, often the deadline for the task is under a week away. On the other hand, when you initiate a conversation or check-in, he does not respond. It seems like he is not interested in receiving any help. You want to do more, help out in other ways, but you feel stuck. Why does he not respond when I reach out? You wonder, if I could reach him where he is, then maybe he will engage more. What are some questions, conversations you can have with Leon to learn about what he needs and how you can help so he does not always reach out last minute?
Sara Spiers, MPA sara.spiers@wsu.edu Contact Information Amy Salazar, LMSW, PHD amy.Salazar@wsu.edu
