Advisory & Homeroom SEL

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Why it works

Many secondary schools build in an advisory or homeroom period meant to ensure that, in a big school where students move between many teachers, every student is known well by at least one adult and belongs to a small, stable community. The research on school connectedness is strong: a student who has a trusted adult and a sense of belonging does better academically and is more resilient, and advisory is the structure designed to guarantee that rather than leave it to chance. Yet advisory is also one of the most commonly wasted periods in schools, because without purpose and support it degenerates into an unsupervised study hall, a block for announcements, or a slot teachers dread because they were given the time but no plan. The difference between a transformative advisory and a wasted one is design and relationship. A strong advisory has a clear purpose the whole staff understands, a consistent small group that stays together over time so relationships deepen, an advisor who genuinely knows each advisee, and a rhythm of activities, community-building, check-ins, SEL skill work, goal-setting and reflection, academic monitoring, that actually serve students, rather than filler. It is held, protected, and valued as real teaching time, not treated as the throwaway period. For teachers handed an advisory with little guidance, the practical need is concrete: a sense of what advisory is for, a repertoire of worthwhile things to do in it, and above all the relational commitment to use the time to know their advisees. The workshop helps teachers turn an advisory or homeroom from a slot into a support structure, with a clear purpose, a bank of meaningful activities, and a plan to know every student in the group.

The research: Research on advisory programs, school connectedness, and belonging.

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

The core activity: turn advisory into a support structure

The heart of the session is giving advisory a clear purpose, worthwhile activities, and a commitment to know every student.

Name advisory's real purpose: every student known by at least one adult, in a small, stable community.
Keep the group consistent over time so relationships deepen.
Build a bank of worthwhile activities, community-building, check-ins, SEL skill work, goal-setting, reflection, academic monitoring, rather than filler.
Commit to genuinely knowing every advisee, and protect advisory as real time, not a throwaway period.

Known by an adult, part of a communityAdvisory exists so no student is anonymous: every one known well by an adult and belonging to a small group. It works with a clear purpose, a consistent group, worthwhile activities, and relationship, and fails as an unplanned study hall.

Facilitator notes

The purpose is relational; if students leave advisory no better known, it has failed regardless of activities.
Keep the group consistent; relationships need time, so reshuffling every term undercuts the point.
Protect and value the time; treating advisory as throwaway is how it becomes throwaway.

An unplanned advisory becomes a study hallGiven the time but no purpose or support, advisory drifts into filler that teachers and students dislike. Design and relationship are what make it the support structure it is meant to be.

Adapt it

Elementary: the homeroom teacher already knows students well; use the time for community and check-ins.
Secondary: this is where advisory matters most; protect the consistent group and the relationship.
Any setting: align the purpose across staff so advisory means the same thing school-wide.

Participant handout

One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

K12 Academics · Professional Learning

Advisory & Homeroom SEL: a structure, not a slot

Known and belonging: a clear purpose, a consistent group, worthwhile activities, and a commitment to know every advisee.

My advisory's clear purpose:
How I keep the group consistent:
My bank of worthwhile activities:
How I genuinely know every advisee:
How I protect the time as real:

Make it stick

Advisory earns its place through relationship over time. Close by setting the follow-up:

Name a check-in: is every advisee genuinely known?
Bring one activity that built community.
Protect the time; advisory becomes filler the moment it is treated as filler.

Common questions

Our advisory feels like a wasted period. How do we fix it?

Give it a clear, shared purpose and a plan. Advisory fails when staff are handed the time but no guidance, so it drifts into a study hall. Fix it by naming the purpose, every student known by an adult and belonging to a small group, keeping the group consistent, building a bank of worthwhile activities, and protecting the time as real. The relationship is the point; the activities serve it.

What should we actually do in advisory?

A rhythm of things that serve students: community-building so the group becomes a real community, regular check-ins so you know how advisees are doing, SEL skill work, goal-setting and reflection, and light academic monitoring. The specific activities matter less than that they are purposeful and consistent, and that they deepen your knowledge of each student rather than just filling the block.

Why does the group need to stay together over time?

Because the entire value is relational, and relationships need time to deepen. An advisory reshuffled every term never becomes the small, stable community that lets an advisor truly know each student and students trust each other. Keeping the same group together across years is what turns advisory from a scheduled period into the one place in a big school where every student is genuinely known.