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Principle 03 of 07 · Social Needs
Students see themselves — language, history, community — reflected in the work.
Students are fully embraced for who they are and develop a sense of positive identity and belonging.
Students see themselves — language, history, family, community — reflected in the curriculum, the adults, the walls, the work.
Identity is not a unit you teach in March. It's woven through every classroom decision: who's centered in the story, whose name is on the rubric, whose holiday is on the calendar, whose voice gets cited.
Texts that reflect students' identities without tokenizing them. Staff who reflect the student body, or who at least have credibility with the communities they serve. Visible policies against identity-based harm — race, gender, ability, class — that the students themselves can name.
Space for students to bring their full selves into the room. Languages other than English on the walls. Dress, hair, and naming conventions that the school doesn't fight.
Identity is the difference between a student who feels school is happening to them and a student who feels school is happening with them. The Strength-Indicator surfaces this gap directly — adults often think positive identity is solved long before students do.
A curated set of research, articles, books, videos, and talks the MLCN network leans on for this principle. External links — opens in a new tab.
What every student needs in order to be in school and ready to learn.
Resources, student projects, and member schools tagged with this principle.
Lesson designs, planning tools, readings, and templates shared by member schools.
OpenReal work from MLCN classrooms — defended in public, archived for the network.
OpenMinnesota schools doing the work — browse the directory and filter by location, grade band, or principle.
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