heir crew is the place at school where they most feel a sense of belonging; for some of them, it’s the place where they most feel a sense of belonging, period.

Turnaround’s coaches eventually persuaded the teachers, after months of professional-development sessions, classroom observations, and one-on-one conversations, that giving students more opportunity to experience autonomy, and to engage more deeply in their own learning, would actually make the climate in the classrooms calmer, not crazier.

Giving students more autonomy in their learning meant giving up control — handing over the reins of the classroom

helping teachers create and communicate clear expectations and rules, and consistent consequences for violating those rules, and providing them with tools to help de-escalate conflicts when they did arise.