We’re not talking about big businesses taking over schools or foisting their preferred educational philosophy on teachers and principals. Not at all. Rather, businesses can invest in the great nonprofit partners that have shown they can work with school districts to boost student success, as well as in research that aims to uncover new strategies for dismantling the barriers students face.

A new art exhibit hosted by Communities In Schools (CIS) at Touchstone Gallery in Washington, D.C., will ask audiences to look closer and listen harder to our nation’s students who are thriving in the face of significant challenges ranging from school violence to problems at home to hunger. Showcasing the work of renowned pop artist, Jason Mecier, the display will feature seven powerful mosaic portraits of students from across the country. Each piece is assembled with objects from the student’s life to represent who they are as individuals as well as the supports that helped them succeed.

Monique has found that the practices have helped her and her colleagues navigate repairing relationships between the harmer and the harmed. “With relationships come understanding, and when you really understand each other, bullying stops,” she says.