We are excited to share the release of the new National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) Classroom Management Framework. Our current Executive Director, Dr. Rebecca Baelen, and former Executive Director, Dr. Nancy Markowitz, both served on the Advisory Committee to help shape this important Framework for the field of teacher preparation and development.
The Framework offers foundations for proactive and respectful practices in elementary age classrooms, using research-informed guidance for creating supportive, engaging, and inclusive learning environments that help all students thrive. Importantly, it recognizes that effective classroom management is not simply about rules and routines — it is deeply connected to relationships, belonging, responsiveness, and the ways educators foster safe and inclusive classroom communities.
More specifically, the Framework calls out the importance of developing educators’ own social, emotional, and cultural competencies for creating inclusive, engaging, and supportive learning environments. Drs. Baelen and Markowitz influenced thinking within this Advisory Committee to ensure that teacher preparation provides space for educators to explore their own behaviors, emotions, and culture – central components of CRTWC’s Anchor Competencies Framework. At the Center for Reaching & Teaching the Whole Child, we believe that educators’ self-awareness, relationship skills, cultural responsiveness, and ability to foster connection are essential components of creating classrooms where students feel seen, supported, and ready to learn.
In close alignment with our Anchor Competencies Framework, this new Framework from NCTQ shifts the paradigm of classroom management away from managing students and behaviors to creating the conditions and environments where students can thrive and learn. For example, it begs us to move away from approaching challenging behaviors from a deficit lens, instead, “challenging behaviors often serve a purpose for the student—such as escaping difficult tasks or gaining attention. Rather than reflecting a fixed trait or intentional misconduct, these behaviors reflect studentsʼ unmet needs and underdeveloped skills” (p. 10). When we approach these behaviors with a social, emotional, and cultural lens and set up classrooms with the whole child in mind, we can create the right conditions to meet these needs.
We work to support educators in developing the SEC competencies needed to reach and teach the whole child, and we are grateful to see growing national recognition that supportive classroom environments begin with supporting educators themselves. We appreciate the collaborative effort that brought this important Framework to life.
