Warm student-teacher relationships are strongly correlated with better student performance in thinking, language, and math skills. The quality of these relationships is the most important factor for classroom management and student achievement. However, only 20% of students feel positively about themselves by 5th grade. Building relationships requires understanding students' cultures and circumstances, maintaining authority while showing students your lighter side, and discovering the true intent behind disruptive behaviors in order to offer effective solutions. Relationship building and instilling a sense of hope in students are stronger indicators of academic success than test scores. Maximum results come from focusing on hunger, hope, commitment and actions through the power of positive relationships.

1. Producing Maximum Results, Through the
Power of Relationship Building

2.  Isrelationship
building a natural
process
 What is HOPE
 How do you give
HOPE to a student
who feels hopeless

5. The longitudinal results of the study
indicated that children who experienced
warm student-teacher
relationships performed better on
thinking, language ability, and math
skills when compared to children who
did not experience such a warm
relationship .
Peisner-Feinberg et al., 1999

6.  “A fundamental question for a student is,
“Does my teacher like me?’ Given a
rigorous, aligned curriculum, the answer
to that simple question is our best
predictor of student achievement.”
Alice Terry, More Life Through Management

7. The quality of teacher-student
relationships is the keystone for all other
aspects of classroom management.
Marzano and Marzano, Dimensions of Learning

8.  80% of students entering schools feel
good about themselves. By the end of 5th
grade only 20% do. Only one in five high
school students has a positive self-
esteem.
National Assessment of Educational Progress,
National Parent Teacher Association

9. Birch and Ladd, further concluded that
conflict in Kindergarten children’s
teacher-child relationships was
associated with a decline in children’s
pro-social behavior over time

10. Additionally, a child’s demonstration of
less pro-social behavior may negatively
affect a child’s ability to develop and
maintain positive relationships with
others, including peers, thus
perpetuating a cycle of behavioral and
relational difficulties.

12. The #1 stimuli that
determines the outcome
of your interaction with a
student labeled “at risk”
is?

13. YOU

14. Control your energy
– Control your
outcome

16.  Don’t try to be cooler than you really are
 Project an atmosphere of “Accessible
Control”
 Always be aware that the student knows
where they are (in school) at all times

17.  Do not sacrifice your integrity to try to fit
in with your students. Allow your students
to experience a responsible adult, who
can also relate to their lifestyle.
 Allow student’s to experience your light
side, but always maintain a respectable
authority.
 Remind students in subtle terms where
they are and the responsibilities
associated with that environment.

20. Every student is an individual
with different circumstances,
motivations and needs.

21.  Look for elements of familiarity
 Are there any identifiable cultural icons
 Find a way to create common ground
(for instance, “The Freedom Writers”)
Take time to learn about another culture
 Go the extra yard, walk in your student’s
shoes for a day (Steve Martin, CEO, Blue
Cross/Blue Shield)

22. Every classroom
disruption is not a
blatant act of
disrespect

23.  Ascertain the intent of the disruption.
 Is the disruption a personal attack on
you?
 Is the disruption a act to get attention?
 Is the disruption a cry for help?
 Is the disruption outside of the norm for
that particular student’s character

24. When you discover the intent
of the disruption (utilizing the
relationship) you can now
effectively offer a solution to
the problem.

25. Gallup research has already
proven that “Hope” is a
more powerful indicator of
academic success and
graduation than GPA and
ACT scores.

31.  Show me your HUNGER
 Show me your Hope
 Show me your Focus
 Show me your Commitment
 Show me your Actions
And I’ll show you
your RESULTS

32. Producing maximum results, through the
power of relationship building