Components of Identity Safety
1) Child-Centered Teaching promotes autonomy, cooperation, and student voice.
Listening for Student Voices to ensure that each student can contribute to and shape classroom life
Teaching for Understanding so students will learn new knowledge and incorporate it into what they know
Focus on Cooperation rather than competition, each student learns from and helps others
Classroom Autonomy to promote responsibility and belonging in each student
2) Cultivating Diversity as a Resource provides challenging curriculum and high expectations for all students in the context of the regular and authentic use of diverse materials, ideas, and teaching activities.
Using Diversity as a Resource for Teaching to include all students’ curiosity and knowledge in the classroom
High Expectations and Academic Rigor to support all students in high level learning
Challenging Curriculum to motivate each student by providing meaningful, purposeful learning
3) Classroom Relationships based on trusting, positive interactions with the teacher and among the students.
Teacher Warmth and Availability to Support Learning to build a trusting, encouraging relationship with each student
Positive Student Relationships to build interpersonal understanding and caring among students
4) Caring Classrooms Environments where social skills are taught and practiced to help students care for one another in an emotional and physically safe classroom.
Teacher Skill to establish an orderly, purposeful classroom that facilitates student learning
Emotional and Physical Comfort so each student feels safe and attached to school and to other students
Attention to Prosocial Development to teach students how to live with one another, solve problems and show respect and caring for others