What happened
In Cool Cat Teacher’s October 12 interview with Vicki Davis, Sonia Ruiz, the 2026 National Middle Level Principal of the Year, described how Jane Addams Middle School in Bolingbrook, Illinois, combines student belonging with high expectations, targeted interventions and staff development. Ruiz said the school has earned Illinois’s Exemplary designation for three consecutive years.
Why it matters
Ruiz’s account makes belonging a consideration in everyday decisions, not just a survey score. Staff ask whom a decision affects, what its impact is and whether it includes everyone. At dances, opening the library for board games gives students an alternative to the noise without excluding them from social participation. Her school also uses open-ended questions to understand what makes students feel they belong and what they wish adults knew about them. These practices offer concrete areas for educators to examine.
What to do next
Review an upcoming assembly or social event using Ruiz’s three decision questions, including participation and seating arrangements. Consider pairing rating-scale surveys with the two open-ended prompts she describes. Davis also suggests greeting a disconnected student by name, asking about life outside school and following up later. For instructional leaders, Ruiz’s training cycle includes practicing strategies, classroom learning walks and team review. Treat these as practices to examine locally, not proven causes of achievement gains: the supplied account does not establish that belonging measures produced the reported results.
About this briefing
Reviewed by TutorFlow Editorial. We link the primary source, preserve its publication date, and distinguish reported claims from TutorFlow analysis. Our commentary focuses on practical decisions for educators and training teams.
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