Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Midwest is looking for school districts in the Midwest to join the Data-Informed Leadership for Equity (DILE) partnership, which strives to build school leader capacity to use data to reduce disparities in sense of belonging, disciplinary actions, and absenteeism among student groups in middle school.

The DILE approach

The DILE approach provides free, ongoing professional development for school leaders and staff on how to use data to identify student groups who are showing signs of disengagement and use student-focused practices to improve student sense of belonging to school. This professional development includes:

• Action-based monitoring (ABM) alerts to help schools monitor student sense of belonging and engagement, such as attendance and discipline. The alerts update school teams regularly on their progress by comparing their current year to past trajectories, and forecasting whether the school is on track to achieve their desired outcomes.
• Protocol guides for school leaders and staff to identify and address the policies, practices, and initiatives that might be leading to differences among student groups in sense of belonging and engagement. 
• Training and coaching for school leaders and staff in student-focused practices that foster belonging and in the use of ABM and the protocol. 

Why is sense of belonging important?

Students with a stronger sense of belonging are less likely to be absent, less likely to engage in disruptive or risky behavior, and more likely to perform well academically.ⁱ Working to improve sense of belonging could help reduce student disciplinary actions and improve attendance.

Benefits of participating

The DILE approach is designed to support school leaders and classroom teachers to:

• Integrate student-focused practices into school learning experiences.
• Use data to identify disparities in sense of belonging and engagement.
• Develop efforts to act on disparities in student experiences in middle school.

Who can participate?

All public school districts in the Midwest are eligible to join the DILE partnership. Some districts may choose to implement the DILE approach; others may choose to join the partnership to learn more about the work and consider opportunities for implementation in the future.

Districts that choose to implement the DILE approach should have one or more middle schools willing to participate in student-focused practices training, DILE protocol training, and periodic coaching.

Other resources

• DILE Expansion Flyer
• Infographic: The Importance of Student Sense of Belonging
• Blog: Introducing the Data-Informed Leadership for Equity Partnership: Using data to improve student sense of belonging
• Blog: It takes time and trust: An expert discussion on student sense of belonging
• Blog: Training school leaders in action-based monitoring to reduce disparities in student sense of belonging, absenteeism, and discipline
• Blog: Practical strategies to engage caregivers in school climate surveys
• Blog: How to Build Positive Relationships with Students | REL Northwest
• Blog: Advancing Equity: Five Districts Focus on Improving Outcomes of Black and Latinx Students | REL West