In Care of Students (ICS) is a training, development, and research group dedicated to turning existing schools into Schools of Belonging. A School of Belonging is a place where staff and students feel safe both emotionally and physically, where they feel supported, and where students feel enthusiastic about the discoveries each new school day will bring. It is a place where everyone is honored and where a sense of interdependence is built into the culture. ICS achieves this result through in-school training programs. ICS representatives work directly with students and staff in host schools, offering workshops and training sessions aimed at developing caring classroom communities. The emphasis is on positive youth development. Training is offered in social skills, bullying prevention, leadership skills, community-building techniques, and curriculum design. Empathy training is central to the school of belonging concept. Pedagogical approaches are varied so as to accommodate different students' learning styles. One of our most successful approaches to bullying prevention, for example, involves musical expression: students are encouraged to study existing songs and to create new songs of their own.

ICS offers residencies, student workshops, and staff workshops, as well as a selection of educational materials, including handbooks, curriculum guides, musical recordings, and lesson plans.

To learn more about our Director, David A. Levine, click here.