BreakFree Education
The Six Fundamentals of Loving & Just Schools

BreakFree Education

The Six
Fundamentals of
Loving & Just
Schools

What it takes to build durable, trajectory-altering, student-centered school communities.

Fundamental No 1

Love that Nourishes Belonging

A community built on a shared belief in our individual and collective dignity and worth.

A school that nourishes belonging ensures students are known and affirmed in who they are, experience safety and connection in community, and help shape a culture rooted in dignity, healing, and collective responsibility.

What this love looks like in practice

Structures so every student is known, valued, and affirmed

Relationship-building surveys; advisory or small-group structures where every student is known by at least one adult; routines that ensure every voice is heard; texts that reflect students’ identities.

Real chances to lead, contribute, and experience joy

Student leadership and organizing roles; award ceremonies; spoken-word events, athletic tournaments, festivals, and community service.

Restorative practices — not punitive discipline — as the foundation

Welcome and community-building circles; restorative circles; accountability centered on mutual respect and safety, woven into daily routines.

Social-emotional learning taught and woven through the day

Advisories and homerooms ensure SEL is taught, practiced, and valued — never secondary; staff are trained and supported to build belonging every day.

Questions we ask ourselves

  • How do we ensure learning is relevant, active, and connected to students’ interests and goals?
  • How are we holding high expectations while giving every student the support to succeed?
  • Are we truly helping struggling students build foundational skills?

Fundamental No 2

Love that Makes Learning Matter

Learning that is relevant, rigorous, personalized, and engaging for every student.

A school that makes learning matter ensures curriculum is relevant, personalized, engaging, and rigorous — so all students develop the academic and related skills they need to succeed in school, work, and their communities.

What this love looks like in practice

Instruction that addresses students’ interests and needs

Graduation-track classes alongside postsecondary and job-training courses; art and music that develop creative talents; culturally responsive texts; technology that sparks curiosity.

Rigorous instruction that builds the skills and mindsets for what comes next

Active learning that asks students to think, collaborate, create, and apply — not just receive; hands-on projects; high expectations with the support to meet them.

Personalized instruction grounded in students’ strengths, needs, and goals

Tiered entry points; flexible grouping; scaffolded texts; varied modalities; instruction adapted to IEP goals so every student can access and show mastery.

Teaching built on curiosity and inquiry rather than compliance

Essential questions tied to real-world issues; project- and problem-based learning; student voice shaping content and process; co-created classroom norms.

Questions we ask ourselves

  • How are we bringing community resources, partners, and opportunities into our schools?
  • How are we building pathways that support students during transition and beyond release?
  • How are we creating understanding between students and the broader community?

Fundamental No 3

Love that Transcends Barriers

Community engagement that broadens experiences, supports transition, and builds empathy.

A school that transcends barriers embraces community involvement — bringing resources and talent inside juvenile facilities, building partnerships critical to students’ success after release, and creating opportunities that nurture empathy and understanding.

What this love looks like in practice

Community organizations, colleges, and job-training programs are welcomed in

Nonprofits bring art, music, dance, and IT; credit-bearing dual enrollment and postsecondary options; workforce training with certification, built around student interest and local need.

Partners who can support students after release, connected before it

Colleges and job-training programs that offer continuity upon release; tutors and mentors who support students inside and after; links to family literacy, mental health, and wellness care.

Activities that build empathy between students and the community

YJAM activities; letter-writing campaigns; collaborations and competitions with community schools; volunteer work; career and job fairs.

Questions we ask ourselves

  • How are education and secure care teams aligned around shared values and responsibilities?
  • How are we protecting instructional time so students can consistently engage in learning?
  • How do we sustain communication, trust, and mutual accountability across teams?

Fundamental No 4

Love that Acts with One Purpose

Education and secure care, working as one in service of students’ growth.

A school that acts with one purpose ensures education and secure care teams share a common set of values, norms, and expectations — enabling students to trust others, grow academically and personally, and reap the benefits of consistently attending school.

What this love looks like in practice

Shared values that guide how adults treat students and each other

Incentives and accountability — for students and staff — linked to shared values; values woven into restorative and SEL practice; both teams modeling positive behavior.

Education is prioritized and disruption limited during school hours

Students arrive on time at the start of school and after lunch 80%+ of the time; attendance is monitored and celebrated; transitions organized to protect instructional time.

Clear, agreed-upon responsibilities with mutual accountability

Roles and responsibilities are written, posted, and clear; teams train together; an active accountability team problem-solves together.

Practices that strengthen communication, trust, and goodwill

Leadership meets on a consistent schedule; critical information is shared before, during, and after school; teams find ways to celebrate and raise each other up.

Questions we ask ourselves

  • How do families experience our welcome?
  • Where do families see their voice shaping decisions?
  • How do we honor cultural and linguistic identities?

Fundamental No 5

Love that Partners with Families

Authentic partnership built on trust, communication, and shared responsibility.

A school that partners with families treats caregivers as partners, co-educators, and essential members of the learning community.

What this love looks like in practice

Intentional, consistent, strengths-based communication

Welcome calls; parent handbooks (digital or print); progress reports; notes from staff; positive calls, texts, and emails; access to gradebooks.

Flexible ways to engage that honor caregivers’ time, culture, and comfort

Back-to-school events (virtual or in person) several times a year; community celebrations; graduations; career days; family–student activities; family book clubs.

Families supported as advocates and experts on their children

Partnerships with parent advocacy organizations; collaborative conversations about conditions of confinement, transition, and reentry.

Questions we ask ourselves

  • How do students experience belonging, dignity, and care in our community?
  • How are restorative practices and SEL embedded in daily teaching?
  • Where do students have meaningful chances to lead and contribute?

Fundamental No 6

Love that Follows Through

Support that starts on day one and lasts through students’ successful return.

A school that follows through embraces students the day they arrive, ensures they are as prepared as possible for release, and works to create welcoming, durable support for their return to the community.

What this love looks like in practice

Timely, individualized assessment and support toward success after release

Orientation practices; records and transcripts used to place students in the right courses; individualized supports; chances to explore career options.

Active engagement with receiving schools and workplaces

Pre-release visits and planning with community schools; implementation of Lifting the Bar; welcoming circles at receiving schools.

Coordinated release planning with families, students, and teams

Pre-release meetings that center student and parent voice and weigh transportation, housing, safety, and education or workforce training.

System-level work to ease re-entry, address stigma, and promote healing

Lasting connections with district leadership, SPED coordinators, and counselors; advocacy for fair re-entry policies that limit bans on returning to community schools.

Questions we ask ourselves

  • How do we ensure students are welcomed and supported in the community?
  • How do we extend support beyond the walls of our school and facility?
  • What are we doing to advocate for our students and families?

Love binds the team.

These six fundamentals guide our work—and the schools we’re building alongside educators and leaders across the country.

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