Dear School Leader,
Thank you for your interest in the Making Caring Common Project (MCCP) at the Harvard Graduate School
of Education. We have recently embarked on a school-based data driven improvement effort that will
allow school leaders to better understand whether students feel safe, respected, and included in school and
will guide leaders in developing supports and interventions that prevent bullying and cruelty and promote
caring, responsibility for others, and empathy. This fall, we have an exciting opportunity to work with a
limited number of schools to pilot our recently developed Student Survey tool. Schools who participate in
our pilot will receive access to our Student Survey, will receive a report of results, and will have access to a
set of resources and strategies based in research and in the wisdom of practitioners. School leaders will
also be invited to participate in a series of optional phone conferences throughout the fall with members of
the MCCP team and other partner schools to discuss data and common challenges and to brainstorm
solutions. Below you will find a brief overview of the pilot opportunity and information on how your
school can participate.
What does the Student Survey assess and how will this information be useful to my school?
 The goal of the Student Survey is to better understand how students experience their school-whether students feel safe and respected, whether they are fearful about bullying and cruelty,
whether they are connected to school adults and other students, and whether they are impacted by
their school’s values. It is also designed to elicit students’ ideas for how their school could be made
into a more caring and respectful place and how they might better contribute to the school
community.
 School leaders will receive preliminary reports of aggregated student response data. School leaders
will learn how students perceive their school environment and will have an opportunity to discuss
the results, identify strength and challenge areas, learn about research and best practices, and
brainstorm effective responses with members of the MCCP team and other school leaders during
group conference calls held throughout the fall.
 School leaders will also receive access to a set of strategies developed by the MCCP team and other
organizations. School leaders will be invited to pilot these strategies as they respond to school
challenge areas.
What does student participation involve?
 Students in participating schools will complete the anonymous Student Survey between October
1st and November 29th (specific dates to be chosen by school).
 Students in grades 6-12 may participate in the Student Survey.
 The Student Survey is available online.
 The Student Survey takes approximately thirty minutes for students to complete.
What does school leader participation involve?
 School leaders who participate in this pilot will distribute the Student Survey online link to
students. The school will choose the day, time, and location for distributing the Student Survey.
 School leaders will review a summary report of survey data (provided by MCCP team) and will use
this information to identify areas of strength and concern.
 School leaders will have access to a set of resources/tools developed by the MCCP team and other
organizations. School leaders will be encouraged to implement one or more of the available
strategies in order to respond to identified school challenge areas.

School leaders will have the option of participating in group conference calls to discuss their
school’s results and to brainstorm solutions to school challenge areas.
What will MCCP provide to me and my school?
 MCCP will provide the online Student Survey tool, instructions, and administrative support to
schools.
 MCCP will generate an initial report of aggregated survey results to share with school leaders.
 MCC will provide a set of resources/tools to schools that are useful to schools.
 MCCP will provide opportunities to participate in a series of group conference calls with members
of the MCCP team and other school leaders to discuss results and brainstorm solutions.
How can we learn more about the pilot?
We will be hosting a series of conference calls to provide additional information about our survey pilot and
to answer questions for interested school leaders. If you are interested in learning more about our
initiative, please email Jennifer Kahn, School Site Coordinator, at Jennifer_Kahn@gse.harvard.edu to let us
know which of the following times you will join us by phone:
☐ Monday September 9th at 2pm EST
☐ Tuesday September 10th at 10am EST
☐ Thursday September 12th at 12pm EST
☐ Friday September 13th at 4pm EST
Conference call information will be mailed out to all registered participants.
I want to participate! What is my next step?
Schools that are interested in participating in this pilot will fill out a brief online application form (click
here). The application must be submitted by September 18th, 2013. Schools will be notified of the status
of their application by September 25th.
Please email Jennifer Kahn (Jennifer_Kahn@gse.harvard.edu) with any questions. We look forward to
collaborating with you!
Thank you,
Richard Weissbourd and Stephanie Jones
Making Caring Common Co-Directors
The Making Caring Common Project seeks to place moral and social development at the center of conversations
about raising and educating children, and seeks to strengthen the ability of schools, parents, and communities to
support the development of children’s ethical and social capacities, including the ability to take responsibility for
others, to think clearly about and pursue justice, and to treat people well day to day. For more information, visit:
www.gse.harvard.edu/makingcaringcommon/.