Why Belong? 

​

For years I had been working with foster and adoptive families whose children were struggling in school. Parents were stressed by frequent calls to pick up their children from school and were worried about losing their jobs. Children struggled to make use of educational and social opportunities, their behaviour leading to modified days, multiple suspensions and breakdown of relationships. There had to be a different way! Drawing upon my training in DDP and long-ago ropes-course and camp director experiences I wanted a classroom that could provide the emotional safety that these students needed to learn and heal. Belong is that classroom. 

​

The value of DDP for educators and The Belong program is described fully in Belonging; A relationship-Based Approach for Trauma-Informed Education.