Teaching and Learning Issue

 Teaching and Learning Issue

The importance of our students' social-emotional well-being has been highlighted in the time of the Coronavirus pandemic. My team came together and discussed CASEL's social-emotional learning competencies then collaborated on an informational journal. An excerpt containing my thoughts is below:

SEL and Cultural Competence in Ware County School District

District-wide Plan 

Like many school districts throughout the country, Ware County School District, located in

southeastern Georgia, needed to reflect and regroup before reopening in August 2020. In response,

Ware County School District formed a Reopening Committee consisting of principals, Board of

Education members, and select additional staff. The Reopening Plan for the 2020-2021 school year

that was created included a Social-Emotional Learning section. 

 The Social-Emotional Learning section included five action items. Ware County School District

hired additional mental health staff. They also provided information to access resources for teachers,

staff, students, and their families. Ware County School District also provided targeted assistance for

“at-risk” or identified staff and students that would benefit from mental health counseling support.

They were also implementing digital student surveys in order to gauge the students’ social-emotional

well-being from grades K through 12. And lastly, Ware County School District was adding more

professional development focusing on social-emotional learning for staff (Ware County, 2020). 

Inside the classroom, many of the social-emotional learning activities fall under the Positive behavior

Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework. For example, a house system licensed and modeled

after the Ron Clark Academy House System was rolled out in various schools to create a feeling of

belonging and camaraderie among students and staff. Houses have staff mentors as well as older,

more senior students taking on leadership roles.  Four-year-old kindergarten uses the Second Step

program in the classroom. The digital Kelvin Survey was given to the students periodically in the

form of a brown dog who pops up on their screen after log in who would then ask social-emotional

questions and check-in with the students.  The results are basically anonymous. Feedback is

categorized and returned to mental health staff. However, any alarming responses were noted, and

then the company would provide that user’s information so the School District could reach out to

offer assistance.

To read this journal in its entirety: click here