Dr. Max Weinberg, the founder of Belonging LLC, is an experienced educator with a 25-year career spanning various educational roles, including classroom teacher, instructional coach, Assistant Principal, and School Principal. Max’s passion for creating Belonging stems from personal experiences as a student and a parent advocating for marginalized children within the school system. In his personal life and as a researcher, Max has studied and written about effective teacher practices and inclusive learning environments for adopted, foster, and looked after children. In his personal life, Max advocates for students with IEPs and historically underrepresented and systemically undereducated children, including Black and BIPOC students learning in primarily white institutions.

Max holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Concordia University - Chicago. He has a bachelor’s degree in English/American Literature from Brandeis University, a master’s degree in Elementary Education from Bank Street College of Education, and a master’s degree in School Administration and Supervision from Fordham University.

Max created Belonging as an educational advising practice dedicated to strengthening school belongingness for all members of a school community, starting with the children.

At Belonging, Dr. Max Weinberg works to empower educational institutions to cultivate inclusive and supportive communities, particularly for historically vulnerable groups, by understanding influential systems and implementing targeted improvements.

Belonging uses a research-based approach to analyze and understand school belongingness. Education and advocacy occur through coaching, individual and group support, advocacy within school systems, curricular planning with educators, and strategic planning for school leadership, teachers, students, and families.

Through reflecting on his own experiences, Max has come to understand how systems that can work for a majority can create significant obstacles and challenges for children or learners of all ages who are underrepresented and misunderstood within a school system.

This work is both personal and professional for Max. As a parent, he advocates for his own children to be seen and understood in their school systems. As a professional, he has made efforts to advocate for misunderstood children in my schools.

Max’s research on school belongingness for adopted/looked after children resulted in significant findings that apply to many individuals and subpopulations. All too often, the least understood children are asked to do the most work to comply with the ways that the system is evaluating them. This is different from how humans should operate in spaces where they are asked to take many risks.

Belonging’s mission is to empower members of school communities to cultivate inclusive and supportive communities. By understanding the influential systems at play, Dr. Weinberg at Belonging strives to identify and implement targeted shifts and improvements that best support all community members, particularly children who may be most vulnerable to continued harm.

Belonging aims to nurture school communities where students feel a profound sense of belonging and are motivated to thrive academically.

Strengthened school belongingness can be achieved first through developing understanding and respectful relationships. This happens through dedicated coaching and support, advocacy within educational institutions, and strategic short-term and long-term planning.