Belonging doesn't start once a student has settled in, made a friend, or figured out the schedule. It starts the moment they walk through the door on day one, in whether a classroom was built to expect them.

Since 1988, MCIE has worked alongside schools to make sure every classroom is built to expect every student, not just the ones in schools with the resources to get it right on their own.

From September 8 to 10, we're asking 88 people to give $25 each and stand behind that work.

Because the schools doing this well didn't get there by accident. They got there because people showed up early, said yes, and kept showing up. This is that moment.

Every $25 gift moves us closer to 88. That's what this week is about, 88 people standing behind belonging.

Parent Perspective

For years, the first days of school brought the same uncertainty for Kim Kredich's son, Ben. Some years, other parents asked that their children not be placed in his class. By fourth grade, that had changed. Inclusion had worked, not as a philosophy, but in how his classmates treated him and how his teachers planned for him.

·Belonging starts on day one, and with the words an adult chooses to use. Just ask Diana Pastora Carson. An MCIE board member and former educator, her belief is simple: every child belongs, and a teacher's words, energy, and attitude are what make that real for students and families.

Thank you for being one of the 88. Inclusion always works, and it starts with people like you.

Every learner belongs, from day one.

88 people. 3 days. One truth: inclusion always works.