Real Classrooms, Real Results

Students in alternative education and court school settings often need strong social-emotional support more than anyone, yet traditional off-the-shelf programs often miss the mark.

So what happens when programs stop importing boxed curriculum and instead build something with teachers, for students, grounded in relationships? Meaningful learning experiences are created—ones that actually engage both educators and students and strengthen the human skills that matter most.

The Office of the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools (FCSS) Alternative Education/Court Schools, FCSS Arts Education, and Imago came together to design and implement a more inclusive approach, one centered on relationship-building, student voice, and real classroom realities. This process was intentional and purposeful. Teachers were asked to provide their input on areas where they felt students needed support as it relates to the students’ social-emotional needs. After collecting and analyzing the teachers’ suggestions, Imago began creating lessons to pilot with teachers and students.

The first lesson that was introduced to students was Fixed vs. Growth Mindset. The lesson starts by asking students to define mindset in their own words and then explains the difference between fixed and growth mindsets. Students then walked through scenarios and tools to assist them in approaching their lives with a growth mindset. The lesson included group discussions, individual reflection time, and partner shares. Teachers were also encouraged to participate and share their thoughts on the topics. Pieces of the content were adjusted and compiled to create digital lessons.

Having digital content is one step in the process. Another step involved an FCSS Arts Education staff member and Imago’s team building relationships and providing resources to FCSS Alternative Ed teachers. Teachers were provided training during monthly professional learning sessions to start the relationship-building process. Additionally, a resource—a scope and sequence with monthly themes, where each month includes two to four digital lessons to complement the themes—was co-created by FCSS Arts Education department staff and the Imago team. During the professional learning sessions, teachers reviewed and planned the usage of the scope and sequence while experiencing how a lesson could be facilitated. Teachers participated and learned alongside each other ways to deliver the digital lessons in their classes. Multiple training sessions were delivered to staff. Training also happened one-on-one with teachers, with support from FCSS Arts Education department staff. These meaningful and purposeful interactions built relationships and promoted confidence in the teachers.

Through intentional partnership, supplemental funding, and deep teacher collaboration, a sustainable framework emerged, one that strengthens students’ awareness of these human skills. One of the biggest learnings from this process is acknowledging how engagement and practical tools equip staff to build authentic relationships. This work isn’t something you buy. It’s something you build through listening, partnership, iteration, and training.

Connecting the Work to Student Outcomes

Recent data provides promising evidence that this relationship-centered approach may be contributing to improved student behavior and engagement.

For students enrolled at least 70 days, the suspension rate decreased from a baseline of 44% to 7% by Year 2, representing a 37-percentage-point reduction. This trend is also reflected in key student groups, including low-income students (44% to 7%) and foster youth (9% to 0%).

For students enrolled at least 70 days, the chronic absenteeism rate declined from 41% at baseline to 21% by Year 2, a 20-percentage-point reduction in chronic absenteeism.

While multiple factors influence student outcomes, these significant decreases suggest a strong correlation between the implementation of intentional social-emotional supports and improvements in both student behavior and attendance. As relationships are strengthened, students appear more connected to their school environment, more engaged in learning, and less likely to disengage through absence or behavioral incidents.

In summary, the data reinforces what this work set out to accomplish: when schools invest in building relationships, listening to teachers, and creating relevant, student-centered learning experiences, the impact extends beyond the classroom, resulting in measurable improvements in engagement, behavior, and overall student success.