Along Named a 2022 'Best Tool for Back to School' by Common Sense Education

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Aug. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Along, a first-of-its-kind teacher-student connection builder, has been listed as a 2022 "Best Tool for Back to School" by Common Sense Education. Along is among five tools for emotional wellbeing highlighted for 2022 by Common Sense Education, an independent and trusted source that educators turn to for support and advice about technology, apps, and websites to use in the classroom.

"As educators prepare for the 2022-23 back-to-school season, Along offers a fast, easy, and free way to prioritize and consistently build teacher-student relationships within their school communities," said Samia Zaidi, Along's program director. "We know that when these strong connections are established at the start of the year, students show up to the classroom more primed to learn. Long-term, these connections are also critical to the establishment of students' sense of belonging and wellbeing."

Along was created by a team of educators who understand the complexities of today's classrooms: teachers have little time to devote to non-academic activities; it's difficult to connect in-person with every student in the classroom; and there are few resources available to help create teacher-student connections. Along was purpose-built to overcome these specific barriers and to easily integrate into a teacher's day. The research-informed reflection questions, classroom activities, and educator practice resources are designed to start fostering authentic teacher-student relationships on day one—for free— with minimal prep time, and can be used to meaningfully reach students.

Educators can go to Along.org to sign up. From there, they may start by choosing a reflection question to get to know their students. Educators simply record their own response, send it to their students, and then their students can answer back using text, audio, or video. This reflection loop is direct from teacher to student.

To sign up for free, please visit https://www.along.org/.

For more information about Along:

• Along overview
• Research overview
• Additional resources

Along is a first-of-its-kind teacher-student connect builder provided at no cost by Gradient Learning, a nonprofit organization founded and led by educators who are driven to bring communities, schools, and families together in pursuit of meeting the needs of every student. Using simple, yet powerful, reflection questions, Along helps to solve the connection gap between teachers and their students by fostering authentic conversations. With the support of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Gradient Learning partners with communities, schools, and educators to create solutions—such as the Summit Learning program and Along—to meet the holistic needs of every student while fostering success for all.

SOURCE Along