A few years ago, we took a close look at our school culture data. We reviewed input from students, families, teachers, administrators, and other members of our school community. One message was very clear: students did not feel like they belonged at school.
We were also seeing concerns in students’ grades, the number of discipline referrals, and counseling referrals. Looking at those patterns alongside the school culture data helped us see how much attention connection and belonging needed. We needed to support individual students, but we also needed to address a schoolwide need.
In the years following COVID, like most schools, our school felt disconnected. Students struggled with behavior, families managed busy schedules or financial strain, and family participation at school was limited. We wanted to create an opportunity for people to spend time together, build trust, and see one another beyond their usual school roles.
That was the thinking behind our Family Game Night.
Why School Belonging Mattered
As school counselors, we can spend much of the day responding to the concerns that bring students to our offices. Looking at school culture data gave us a reason to step back and consider what students were experiencing across the building.
Research supports paying attention to that broader experience. In a review of 82 studies in secondary education, Korpershoek and colleagues (2020) found that school belonging was associated with academic achievement, motivation, and engagement. They reinforced why connection deserved a place in our response. For us, that meant creating an opportunity for students, families, and staff to enjoy being together at school. Family Game Night became one way to put that goal into practice.
Building Family Engagement Through Everyday Connection
We wanted the evening to feel welcoming and relaxed. Games gave people something to do together and a natural starting point for conversation. The purpose was to make room for relationships that can be difficult to build during a busy school day.
That emphasis fits with Mapp and Bergman’s (2019) Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships, which places relational trust at the center of effective family engagement. Getting to know one another is part of developing the relationships that ongoing partnership requires.
It also helps to be thoughtful about what we mean by family involvement. Participation in a school event is only one way families connect with their children’s education. A family’s inability to attend does not tell us how much they care. Our responsibility is to consider what makes participation possible and what other opportunities we can offer.
Keeping Family Game Night Affordable and Welcoming
We made our event free, applied for grant funding to help cover costs, offered food, and recruited staff to help it run smoothly. Those decisions supported the kind of evening we wanted families to experience.
For schools planning a family game night, existing PE equipment and donated board games can help keep costs manageable. A few familiar activities can give people plenty of opportunities to participate without requiring an elaborate setup.
Free admission is a useful starting point. When planning, it is worth taking into consideration the timing of the event, language access, and whether younger siblings can attend. Their answers can help a school make decisions that fit its community.
What I Would Consider for Our Next Family Game Night
The positive feedback makes me want to keep offering Family Game Night, but it also leaves me thinking about how we could make the experience more intentional. For our next event, there are a few things I would consider to strengthen family engagement and help us understand what families take away from the evening.
Making More Time for Staff to Connect
Next time, I would look more closely at how we divide responsibilities, so staff have time to sit down, play, and talk with families. It’s easy to get caught up in keeping an event running. I would want to make sure there is room for the conversations we hoped the evening would create.
Giving Students and Families More Input
I would also consider asking students and families what activities they would enjoy and what would make attending easier. A mix of movement activities and quieter table games could give people different ways to participate. Their input could help us make choices about activities, scheduling, and other details instead of relying on our own assumptions.
Gathering More Specific Feedback
We’ve received encouraging feedback, but next time I would like to ask a few more focused questions: Did families feel welcomed? Did they have an opportunity to connect with a staff member? What would make a future event easier to attend?
Those responses could help us improve the next Family Game Night. To understand whether students feel a stronger sense of belonging at school, I would also want to revisit our school culture data and continue listening to students over time.
Attendance tells us whom an event reached. Feedback tells us how respondents experienced it. Understanding whether students feel more connected to school takes continued listening and follow-up.
Why We Keep Making Room for Connection
Every time we host Family Game Night, the feedback we receive is overwhelmingly positive. That encouragement matters. It gives us a reason to keep offering families, students, and staff a chance to enjoy time together.
There is still work to do after the games are put away. The conversations, invitations, and follow-through are part of making belonging an everyday experience at school.
Sometimes it’s just nice to watch kids be kids. When the school culture data tells you students do not feel like they belong, making room for that kind of joy feels worth the effort.
-Melissa
References
Korpershoek, H., Canrinus, E. T., Fokkens-Bruinsma, M., & de Boer, H. (2020). The relationships between school belonging and students’ motivational, social-emotional, behavioural, and academic outcomes in secondary education: A meta-analytic review. Research Papers in Education, 35(6), 641–680. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2019.1615116
Mapp, K. L., & Bergman, E. (2019). Dual capacity-building framework for family-school partnerships (Version 2).
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