| dc.description.abstract | Trinity Christian School (TCS) is a K-12 private school in the Northern Virginia suburb of Fairfax. Over the last four years at Trinity, increased student enrollment combined with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, contributed to student social, emotional, and academic challenges that levied additional demands on administrators’ and teachers' time to address them. In the 2022-2023 school year, TCS implemented a house system, dividing the school into four separate houses, each with their own unique identity. The school anticipated that the house system would foster a greater sense of belonging within the school community, develop relationships between students and faculty, and provide more leadership opportunities for students and faculty. This research focused on how the house system implementation impacted students’ perception of belonging aligned to three indicators: supportive adult, belonging to a positive peer group, and school environment, and the degree to which the school met the expected one-year, short-term outcomes identified in the logic model. Through my research, I determined that the house system fostered students’ sense of belonging aligned to the three indicators of belonging, and the school successfully achieved each of the shop short term outcomes identified in their logic model. | |
