As school leaders enter the summer months, there is a sacred opportunity to pause, exhale, and reflect on the culture they hope to build and maintain for the 2026-27 school year.
I am grateful to share that Sharing the Good with Dr. Denise Ball will launch a three-part summer series on July 1st focused on Belonging, School Culture, and the Joy of the Work.
This series will feature Dr. Anita Harkins-Mehsling, Associate Superintendent for the Archdiocese of Omaha. Dr. Harkins-Mehsling brings more than 30 years of experience serving in education, and her recent research has focused on helping school leaders create a stronger sense of belonging within their school communities. She earned her doctorate from Doane University and continues to support Catholic school leaders in building healthy, mission-centered, and joy-filled school cultures.
The purpose of this series is to invite school leaders to reflect on belonging as a foundation for strong school culture. When people feel they belong, they are more likely to feel seen, known, valued, connected, and committed to the shared mission of the school.
Belonging is not an extra. It is part of the daily work of building a school community where students, teachers, staff, families, and leaders can flourish.
In Part 1, Dr. Harkins-Mehsling and I will discuss why belonging matters and why summer is such a meaningful time for school leaders to reflect on the culture they hope to create. We will explore what belonging means, how it is experienced by adults and students, and why feeling seen, known, and valued matters so deeply in the life of a school community.
In Part 2, we will focus on the leader’s role in creating belonging. Belonging is shaped through intentional relationships, communication, trust, presence, and the daily choices leaders make. We will talk about how school leaders can help faculty and staff feel seen and valued, how a leader’s presence shapes culture, and how belonging can be woven into the rhythm of the school year without becoming “one more program.”
In Part 3, we will connect belonging, joy, and the 2026-27 school year. This final conversation will invite leaders to consider how belonging can become part of the language, rhythm, and lived experience of the school. We will also reflect on how belonging contributes to joy, teacher retention, school stability, and the overall health of a school community.
Joy is not meant to be held alone. Joy is synergistic! When joy is shared among a school team, it strengthens culture, builds connection, and reminds us that the work we do matters. A joyful school community does not mean a perfect school community. It means a community where people are willing to see the good, name the good, and carry the good forward together.
For decades, I have found great joy in encouraging my family, teachers, students, schools, and school communities to notice and share the good. I have seen how transformative it can be when we pause long enough to name what is good, celebrate one another, and remind people that their work and their presence matter.
The Thankful Thursday shout-out this week is for the joy distributors… You know who you are!
Summer gives us space to breathe. It gives us space to ask important questions:
Who in our school community needs to feel more seen?
How do we help new faculty, staff, students, and families feel welcomed?
What practices help people feel connected to the mission?
Where did we see joy this year?
How can we carry that joy forward?
My hope is that this series offers school leaders a gentle but meaningful invitation to pause, exhale, and reflect before the next school year begins. Belonging matter, joy matters, and developing and maintaining a positive school culture matters.
The faculty, staff, students, and school communities we serve matter, and they deserve nothing less than our best!
I invite you to join us beginning July 1st for this three-part summer series on Sharing the Good with Dr. Denise Ball YouTube channel.
When we train our eyes to see the good, amazing things happen.
May we continue to seek knowledge in all things,
Denise
Unlock the Teacher 