Education has always been contentious — K-12 education, particularly so. Few locales of public life are more vulnerable to the imposition (and questioning) of values than are schools: the places where we send our children to be prepared for life as citizens. So, in times of civic distance and discord, it’s not surprising that education, too, has become a political battleground.

And yet, as dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Education, I am hopeful. I see evidence that no matter the election outcome, American educators will continue to connect across differences to deliver better student outcomes, close opportunity gaps and strengthen our communities. Here is what gives me that confidence.

The power of great teachers. Kat Locke-Jones, Maryland’s Teacher of the Year, is a case in point. Motivated by her brother’s death by suicide, this seventh-grade teacher has dedicated herself to supporting the mental health of her students, transforming her classroom into what she calls a “brave space.”

At the start of each academic year, Locke-Jones shares her story with her students at Baltimore’s Hampstead Hill Academy, building a sense of family and trust within the classroom. She encourages them to write and share their own stories, helping them find the courage to be authentic and vulnerable while learning to navigate conflict.

At Hampstead Hill, a public charter school, 39% of the students come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and 18% are immigrants just learning English. Locke-Jones’ students have excelled in English language arts. While the English assessment pass rate for seventh graders was 29% in Baltimore City, and 47% statewide, 82% of Hampstead Hill students passed — and more than a quarter of her students scored at the advanced level.

The impact of schools on neighborhoods. For the majority of American families, schools are important community anchors. It is no accident that a great many of them serve as voting sites. Schools are still among our most trusted public institutions and most valuable connectors.

One of these is our Johns Hopkins neighborhood partner, Margaret Brent Elementary/Middle School. Approximately one-third of Margaret Brent’s students speak English as a second language, and 85% are students of color. The school offers an innovative curriculum that embeds the visual and performing arts into strategies to help students retain academic content — especially those who are struggling with STEM subjects.

When I visit the school each year for its arts celebration, parents reach out to tell me how grateful they are that Margaret Brent and its teachers use the arts to engage and develop their children in culturally relevant ways. One teacher said she counted nine different languages in her first-grade class alone. In such a diverse community, this arts-rich school builds relationships across all kinds of differences.

The potential of proven ideas. At the Johns Hopkins School of Education, we examine interventions and models, new and old, for one basic measure: Does it work? Does distributing eyeglasses to children with vision problems improve learning? (Yes.) Does in-class surveillance technology promote school safety? (Possibly, but likely at the expense of academic performance.) One system model that works in most democracies around the world is educational pluralism — in which the government funds a broad range of schools that are owned and administered by private and public organizations, including churches and other civil society organizations, as well as secular agencies. In our education system, about 83% of K-12 students today attend public schools — 90% if we include public charter schools. That’s a heavy load for one sector — and an unwieldy one, when administered by 50-plus different government entities.

Well-designed educationally pluralist systems support the distinctive character of different schools while holding them accountable for academic quality. The Netherlands funds 36 kinds of schools while requiring students in all of them to take common, knowledge-rich assessments. Belgium, England, South Africa and Indonesia operate in similar fashion.

Importantly, leaders in these systems don’t pit entire school sectors against one another but seek to help all schools serve students well. Faculty and students at our school of education practice this approach by researching public, private, charter and homeschooling models and preparing leaders for all sectors.

There are many more examples of the power of education to connect across divides, and my colleagues at the Johns Hopkins School of Education prove it every day as we work to prepare a new generation of education leaders and scholars to solve common problems together.

We know that no matter what, we will work together to benefit the nation’s students — wherever they attend school.

Christopher C. Morphew is dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Education.