Principle 01 of 07 · Social Needs
Positive Relationships.
Every student is known well by at least one adult who walks alongside them.
Students have relationships with adults and peers who care about, believe in, and hold them to high expectations.
What it asks of a school
Every student is known well by at least one adult who walks alongside them. Not assigned — chosen, by both sides, and built over time.
Relationships aren't the bonus that comes after the academics work. They're the precondition. Students learn from people they trust; trust takes deliberate structure to build.
What it looks like
Advisory time on the schedule, not just on the brochure. Small enough caseloads that an adult can actually keep track of how a student is doing. Repair routines (not just punishment) when conflict happens.
Adults who know the names of the people inside a student's life — siblings, caregivers, the coach, the friend they came in mad about. That kind of knowing is what students cite when they talk about why they kept going.
Why it matters
Identity, agency, real-world work — all of it rests on the floor that relationships build. None of the other principles hold without this one underneath.
Resources for going deeper.
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.
Building positive relationships with students: What brain science says
Getting to Know Students Deeply How to get to know students through “Street Data”.
Street Data: A Next-Generation Model for Equity, Pedagogy, and School Transformation
Student-teacher relationships (3:44)
Carlos' Story
Equity in Student Centered Learning Guide
The Social Needs cluster.
What every student needs in order to be in school and ready to learn.
Explore further.
Resources, student projects, and member schools tagged with this principle.
Resources tagged with this principle
Lesson designs, planning tools, readings, and templates shared by member schools.
OpenProjects in this principle
Real work from MLCN classrooms — defended in public, archived for the network.
OpenMember schools
Minnesota schools doing the work — browse the directory and filter by location, grade band, or principle.
Open