For nearly 25 years, Heather van Benthuysen has been focused on a critical question: how do we create the conditions in schools that connect people, ground learning in lived experience, and foster a true sense of belonging? She continues her work as one of the Interactivity Foundation’s 2024/25 Sustained Discussion Fellows, where her project–Imagining an Educational System for All–seeks to address how we can create more inclusive, culturally responsive environments where students feel heard, valued, and empowered.
“My career has been focused singularly on the conditions needed to realize these aspirations we have for education in the States”
Heather’s project doesn’t just focus on students but on the broader educational systems—teachers, principals, and communities—that must shift in order to foster this sense of belonging. “We need to start seeing young people as fundamental stakeholders in our schools,” Heather says. She emphasizes that creating a culture of belonging requires a shift in mindset: seeing students not as empty vessels waiting to be filled but as active participants whose experiences and voices matter.
“Young people are fundamental and core stakeholders in our schools, who have lived experiences that are valuable and should be driving our decisions.”
She highlights that there are barriers faced when it comes to designing belonging in schools. “In many parts of the world, relational leadership in education is well established, including thinking about indigenous and integrative education,” she notes. “But in the U.S., that’s not a cultural norm. There are still too many barriers—cultural, systemic, and interpersonal—that prevent us from realizing these aspirations.” This in turn has implications for civic education and democracy.
“The issues we face as a country—around race, gender, and civic life—aren’t going to change unless we start asking these questions and making these shifts.”
Heather’s fellowship is about asking what needs to change—at the individual, systemic, and cultural levels—so that schools can become places of true belonging for all students. Her Fellowship project will see her facilitating a thinking group in envisaging futures where educators and leaders can be trained and supported to create inclusive, culturally responsive environments for students.
“How can we learn from a sustained discussion on the topic, and develop tools to help continue the conversation about the shifts we need to make to realize the outcomes we’re seeking?”
By engaging in sustained discussions about belonging in education, Heather hopes her fellowship will spark new conversations and lead to practical, systemic changes that can be scaled across schools and districts. “Ultimately, this is about creating the conditions for belonging and the civic engagement we need to foster and sustain a healthy democracy.”
About the Sustained Discussion Fellowship
The Interactivity Foundation’s Sustained Discussion Fellowship is designed to support independent, exploratory discussion projects that focus on under-examined areas of public concern. The Fellowship, running from September 2024 to June 2025, invites a select group of Visiting Fellows to lead discussions that aim to expand thinking and understanding around emerging issues.
Each project not only produces new insights but also aims to inspire positive social change by encouraging meaningful conversations that might otherwise remain taboo. Fellows therefore help to expand the boundaries of public imagination, while creating publicly-available tools and plans that can support discussions elsewhere.
Make sure you connect with us on social media for insights and reflections throughout the Fellowship, and learn more about the work of our Fellows here.
Follow along:
