Rooted in Relationships Search Institute

Asking for help can be challenging in the best of times, but is often insurmountable for young people from marginalized communities. In this episode of Rooted in Relationships, Dr. Jessica Calarco, a leading researcher at the University of Indiana discusses inequities, why they persist, the role they play in building trust, and how teachers and other adults can turn the tables by offering unsolicited support to young people.

Families are unique and the relationships that form among young people and their family is a rich tapestry of experiences. These relationships are influenced by what Dr. Andrea Hunter describes as a, “complex web of social relationships and networks that fold across multiple contexts and generations.” On this episode of Rooted in Relationships, we hear from Dr. Hunter, a professor of human development and family studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Dr. Hunter is particularly interested in the relationships formed among Black and African-American families and her work is shifting the paradigm in how social capital is perceived and the important role it plays in the development of relationships and wellbeing within the Black and African American community.

The mentor-mentee relationship can be particularly rich for both individuals. Mentors can connect mentees with opportunities and guide them through important educational, professional and personal stages in their lives. In this episode of Rooted in Relationships, former Search Institute CEO, Kent Pekel talks with Dr. Jean Rhodes. Dr. Rhodes is the Frank L. Boyden Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. She will discuss the role that intergenerational relationships and mentorships play in the development of young people.

How do you implement relationships with young people and keep those relationships intact over a long period of time? In this episode of Rooted in Relationships we talk with Clay Cook, John W. and Nancy E. Peyton Faculty Fellow in Child and Adolescent Wellbeing at the University of Minnesota. Clay discusses the Establish, Maintain and Restore system of approaching intentional relationships with young people, and how something as simple as greeting students at the classroom door can have incredible effects on relationship-building.

There’s no question the Covid-19 Pandemic had a negative impact on young people and their relationships, but Karen Pittman, Partner at KP Catalysts, also sees it as an opportunity to prioritize relationships and the positive impact they have on learning and education. In this edition of Rooted in Relationships, Karen Pittman discusses how scaling relationship building among students and educators can lead to increased learning and student success.

Schools and educational institutions rely on big data for information about the students they serve, but what does that data truly tell us about student wellness? More importantly, how can you use data to effectively prioritize wellness and the role educators can play in student wellness to directly influence student success? On this episode of Rooted in Relationships, we talk with Dr. Jeff Duncan-Andrade about the innovative way he is measuring wellness among young people.