Background: I have been an educator since 2001, working as a special education teacher, general education teacher, and intervention teacher. I noticed that many of my students came to me with limited educational or academic resilience. When faced with a challenging, unfamiliar, or seemingly difficult task, they would often "abandon ship"--in whatever way that manifested for them (checking out mentally, tearing up their writing journal, running out of the classroom and building, etc.) As a beginning teacher, I was not very well equipped to deal with these kiddos, and sometimes I even tried to politely ignore them so we could "progress through the curriculum.” However, as I worked in different schools and under different leadership, I learned about SEL (social emotional learning) and growth mindset. I found that, for my students, working on these two things had the potential to create TREMENDOUS change in a student's attitude toward learning and academic performance. I wanted to create a space where this was a focus so that I could help more students to have the basic groundwork in place to be successful in school and life.
Vision: Create a space where students who are experiencing academic and/or behavioral challenges at school can come for research-based instruction, strategies, and support that address the needs of the whole child.
Components:
Academic Coaching/Instruction/Strategies
SEL Component--focus on:
Problem Solving (constructive/ethical)
Relationship Building (Enduring)
Empathy
Goal-Setting (Realistic and Positive)
Emotional Awareness:
Recognize Emotions
Understand Emotions
Label “”
Express “”
Regulate “”
Growth Mindset
Parent Classes/Materials
Teacher Training/Materials
Library/Resources on SEL
Social Skills Groups/Classes
Team will Include:
EC Teacher
General Education Teacher
Intervention Teacher
Parent Liaison/Advocate
Occupational Therapist
Comments