Committee for Children’s In-Person Training Bolster’s Social-Emotional Education in Chicago Public Schools Published: Program Experts Train Chicago K-8 Schools on the Value and Importance of Social-Emotional Skill Building for Students and How to More Effectively Implement the Second Step Program SEATTLE—September 12, 2023—Committee for Children, a global nonprofit and leading provider of social-emotional learning (SEL) programs, is proud to announce the successful completion of its 2023 training partnership with Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the fourth largest school district in the country. For over a quarter-century, this collaborative effort has empowered educators, students, and parents by providing comprehensive in-person training and customized support for the organization’s acclaimed Second Step SEL programs. This year’s in-person training took place at Chicago schools across the city from August 14 to August 18, 2023, and was offered to over 80 local schools, potentially impacting more than 32,000 Pre-K-8th grade students in the 2023-2024 school year. Participating educators gained insights into what social-emotional learning is and why it’s important to Chicago students, educators, and school communities, as well as details about the Second Step family of programs utilized by the district, lesson demonstrations and activities, and customized work time with program experts dedicated to various grade levels. “We are truly thankful for the incredible partnership with Chicago Public Schools, which stands as a testament to the power of unified efforts and a common commitment to fostering social-emotional growth among students, educators, and the wider community,” said Jessica Russom, Director of Education Partnerships at Committee for Children. “Through our collaborative work in equipping educators with the resources and insights to seamlessly integrate social-emotional learning throughout the district, we are actively cultivating a future generation of resilient, compassionate, and emotionally intelligent leaders.” “Social-emotional learning programs improve students’ classroom experiences and the quality of their relationships with peers,” said Adam Wayne King, Director of Healing-Centered Supports for CPS. “We know that expanding our investment in SEL training and resources to our schools increases educator confidence and fidelity of implementation, which mitigates the impact of stress and trauma for our students and staff and ensures that all students have opportunities to engage in meaningful SEL skill development.” ### Media Contact M’Bilia Meekers Public Relations Manager mmeekers@cfchildren.org About Committee for Children Committee for Children is a global nonprofit on a mission to ensure that children everywhere can thrive emotionally, socially, and academically. The organization has been working in partnership with educators and families for more than 40 years. Visit cfchildren.org to learn more. About Second Step® Programs The research-based Second Step family of programs, developed by Committee for Children, includes social-emotional learning curricula for Early Learning through Grade 8, with additional offerings for out-of-school time and SEL for adults. Second Step programs are used in 45,000 schools across all 50 states and reach 26.9 million children worldwide annually. Visit SecondStep.org to learn more. About Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is dedicated to providing a high-quality pre-K-12 education to all students, beginning with the District’s free full-day preschool programming for four-year-old scholars and continuing through neighborhood, magnet and selective-enrollment elementary schools that specialize in the fine arts, world language and culture, dual language, STEM, International Baccalaureate (IB), classical programs, and more. The rising District-wide freshmen-on-track and high school graduation rates reflect the hard work of the CPS community, including families, staff, and students across 635 schools. CPS celebrates the diversity of its more than 322,000 students who cite 182 home languages. Learn more about CPS at www.cps.edu and connect with CPS on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Committee for Children’s In-Person Training Bolster’s Social-Emotional Education in Chicago Public Schools Published: Program Experts Train Chicago K-8 Schools on the Value and Importance of Social-Emotional Skill Building for Students and How to More Effectively Implement the Second Step Program SEATTLE—September 12, 2023—Committee for Children, a global nonprofit and leading provider of social-emotional learning (SEL) programs, is proud to announce the successful completion of its 2023 training partnership with Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the fourth largest school district in the country. For over a quarter-century, this collaborative effort has empowered educators, students, and parents by providing comprehensive in-person training and customized support for the organization’s acclaimed Second Step SEL programs. This year’s in-person training took place at Chicago schools across the city from August 14 to August 18, 2023, and was offered to over 80 local schools, potentially impacting more than 32,000 Pre-K-8th grade students in the 2023-2024 school year. Participating educators gained insights into what social-emotional learning is and why it’s important to Chicago students, educators, and school communities, as well as details about the Second Step family of programs utilized by the district, lesson demonstrations and activities, and customized work time with program experts dedicated to various grade levels. “We are truly thankful for the incredible partnership with Chicago Public Schools, which stands as a testament to the power of unified efforts and a common commitment to fostering social-emotional growth among students, educators, and the wider community,” said Jessica Russom, Director of Education Partnerships at Committee for Children. “Through our collaborative work in equipping educators with the resources and insights to seamlessly integrate social-emotional learning throughout the district, we are actively cultivating a future generation of resilient, compassionate, and emotionally intelligent leaders.” “Social-emotional learning programs improve students’ classroom experiences and the quality of their relationships with peers,” said Adam Wayne King, Director of Healing-Centered Supports for CPS. “We know that expanding our investment in SEL training and resources to our schools increases educator confidence and fidelity of implementation, which mitigates the impact of stress and trauma for our students and staff and ensures that all students have opportunities to engage in meaningful SEL skill development.” ### Media Contact M’Bilia Meekers Public Relations Manager mmeekers@cfchildren.org About Committee for Children Committee for Children is a global nonprofit on a mission to ensure that children everywhere can thrive emotionally, socially, and academically. The organization has been working in partnership with educators and families for more than 40 years. Visit cfchildren.org to learn more. About Second Step® Programs The research-based Second Step family of programs, developed by Committee for Children, includes social-emotional learning curricula for Early Learning through Grade 8, with additional offerings for out-of-school time and SEL for adults. Second Step programs are used in 45,000 schools across all 50 states and reach 26.9 million children worldwide annually. Visit SecondStep.org to learn more. About Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is dedicated to providing a high-quality pre-K-12 education to all students, beginning with the District’s free full-day preschool programming for four-year-old scholars and continuing through neighborhood, magnet and selective-enrollment elementary schools that specialize in the fine arts, world language and culture, dual language, STEM, International Baccalaureate (IB), classical programs, and more. The rising District-wide freshmen-on-track and high school graduation rates reflect the hard work of the CPS community, including families, staff, and students across 635 schools. CPS celebrates the diversity of its more than 322,000 students who cite 182 home languages. Learn more about CPS at www.cps.edu and connect with CPS on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.