The Road to Recovery Is Paved With Relationships

Measuring Access to Networks

All students already possess social capital. They arrive at school with networks, and in the course of learning and serving students, schools and institutions contribute to those networks.

However, slim but troubling data suggest that students’ access to relationships is not equally distributed and that not all relationships are supporting development and opportunity at an equal rate. A wide range of factors, including race, family income and parental education level, can impact the size and scope of students’ networks and the resources those net-works can offer.

By taking a purposeful approach to measurement, schools and institutions can ensure all students feel supported and engaged on their education journey and graduate with the skills and networks that drive success.

Schools and institutions that are starting to prioritize students’ social capital rarely use a single metric to gauge how students access and experience relationships. Instead, these K–12 and postsecondary programs are capturing data across four interrelated dimensions.

Each design step of the Clayton Christensen Institute’s playbook offers meaningful metrics that a school or district can adapt to ensure all students receive support and resources in the way they need.