How Waddell Elementary dramatically improved its academic performance Last school year, 77 percent of Waddell’s 462 students logged in to Achieve3000 after school, on weekends or during holidays, totaling 3,491 log-ins. On one of the walls in the school, Waddell displays for each grade level each month the average reading level attained and the number of articles the students read and correctly answered at least 75 percent of the comprehension questions.Read More Read More at Ledger-Enquirer
Greenbrier Elementary Piloting Social-Emotional Learning Program Joan Cole Duffell, executive director of Committee for Children, in August issued a statement in response to the Unite the Right rally. She said fostering the social-emotional development of children could help extinguish hatred, violence, and intolerance in future generations. “It is of paramount importance to build children’s social-emotional competencies — so that they might grow up to be adults who start from a place of empathy and kindness, not fear and hate,” Duffell wrote.Read More Read More at Charlottesville Tomorrow
October is Bullying Prevention Month: Stop Bullying on the Spot We use this bulletin board every other October because all our students know the story of Spookley the square pumpkin who was bullied by the round pumpkins. It helps reinforce the Second Step Bullying Unit lessons I teach and the literature based lessons led by our classroom teachers, administrators, and librarian. Read More Read More at Elementary Counseling
Teaching Students How to Cope Socially, Emotionally Eighth-grader Morgan Fritzler is working to improve her self-awareness. “Sometimes, I have anxiety and perfectionist issues and I expect myself to get everything on the first try,” Fritzler, 12, said. “It makes me feel frustrated.”Read More Read More at Golden Transcript
Watertown Schools Hope for Better Academics from Teaching Social-Emotional Skills When a student enters a Watertown classroom, they bring with them much more than their ability to learn–they also bring the effects of their home environment and their varying emotional states. Schools across Massachusetts, including those in Watertown, are recognizing those factors formally in a statewide program.Read More Read More at Wicked Local Watertown
Poway Unified’s Parenting Classes Begin Next Week Poway Unified School District’s parent classes are resuming next week, with many offerings to help those with children of all ages. Some workshops have one session offerings while others have their material divided over several weeks and are tailored to parents of elementary, middle and high school students.Read More Read More at San Diego Union Tribune
How 3 Local Schools Are Using Mindfulness Parents at Seattle’s Evergreen School couldn’t believe it. Their kids were, on their own, asking for “a mindful moment in my room” when things got tense at home. It was an unexpected benefit of the school’s new mindfulness program, says Pamela Atteberry, a licensed social worker and the coordinator of student services at The Evergreen School.Read More Read More at ParentMap
Greenwich’s Western Middle School Students Practice Empathy Left, right, step up. Eighth-graders carefully guided blindfolded classmates through “mine fields” of cardboard, rulers and other items on the classroom floor, learning to navigate complex environments. Upstairs, in another classroom, seventh-graders voted on their favorite quotes about the district’s focus on caring for themselves and others.Read More Read More at Greenwich Time
Measuring Social-Emotional Skills: Designs Show Current State of Assessment One assessment uses puzzles to measure qualities such as persistence and challenge-seeking. An online calendar system tests students’ organizational and time-management skills. And a third program examines the perspectives high school students take after watching a series of videos.Read More Read More at Education Dive
Breathing Exercises Promote Mindfulness and Calmness at Seattle School At TOPS K-8, there is a different kind of academics. Heads are down, eyes are closed — but not out of boredom. Every day, teacher Kristy Herrmann reminds her students to just breathe. “It’s part meditation, part mindfulness, taught through a cute character in the program, Mind Yeti.*” The activities focus on feelings and frustrations. The students are also encouraged to pour those emotions out. * Mind Yeti is not accepting new users at this time. Read More Read More at Q13 Fox News