The Belonging Library
Downloadable Tools to Help Every Learner Feel Seen, Valued, and Connected
Your Go-To Resource for Building Belonging — Now Free to Download
Welcome to our new Downloadable Tools page. At Roots ConnectED, we believe every educator and leader should have access to the tools that make belonging and community-building come alive. That’s why we’ve opened up our library of templates, guides, and ready-to-use resources — the very ones we use in our coaching practice — now available to you, free of charge.
Whether you’re looking for a quick reflection prompt, a planning guide, or a visual reminder to keep your practice rooted in inclusion, you’ll find it here.
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A Planning Guide for Community Building
This resource lays out the Roots ConnectED approach to community building, offers a sample plan and a planning template to create more authentic spaces of community with students, staff, or groups of families.
UDL Lesson Planning Guide
This accessible, flexible checklist enables educators to create lesson plans that promote inclusivity for all learners. The implementation of UDL principles enables you to build learning spaces that support student success.
Beyond the Poster: Living Our Norms
Whether you call them norms, guiding principles, or agreements, this reflection tool allows you to assess how often you center, lift up, and practice norms. It can be used regularly to support you in making norms relevant in your day-to-day practice.
Why This Matters
Research shows that belonging isn’t a “nice-to-have” — it’s foundational to learning and thriving. When students feel seen, valued, and confident they belong, they engage more deeply, show fewer behavior challenges, persevere through difficulty, and achieve at higher levels (Mindset Scholars Network, Carissa Romero).
The same is true for educators and staff: a strong sense of belonging fuels connection, purpose, and resilience, leading to greater performance, innovation, and persistence through challenges (Mindset Scholars Network; Beloved Community Research; Deloitte.) Each tool in The Belonging Library is designed to help create these conditions — practical, ready-to-use resources that strengthen engagement and grow the sense of belonging at the heart of every classroom and school community.