An Overview of CRCSD Social / Emotional/ Behavioral Components March, 2007

Basic Human Needs from William Glasser’s Control Theory Survival Love and belonging Power Freedom Fun

Start with a Purpose in Mind Glenn: Raising Self-Reliant Children in a Self-Indulgent World “People with an internal locus of control have the following perceptions of themselves: ‘What happens to me is largely a result of the decisions I make and the effort I put forth. I believe I can usually find a way to work out problems or improve relationships, often by talking to people. I believe that a correlation exists between what I do and what happens to me, between the effort I put forth and the rewards I reap from life. And when I can’t influence what happens, I can still decide how I will let circumstances affect me’.”

Rothstein: Class and Schools “Those personal qualities that we hold dear - resilience and courage in the face of stress, a sense of craft in our work, a commitment to justice and caring in our social relationships, a dedication to advancing the public good in our communal life - are exceedingly difficult to assess.”

“It used to be thought that the brain was hard-wired and that it didn’t change….(but) positive environments can actually produce physical changes in the developing brain”. Frederick Goodwin- (Kotulak 1996, p. 46)

During the early years, children’s brains are undergoing a massive reorganization: Building millions of new connections Unused connections are pruned away “Which synapses are kept and which ones are pruned depends largely on whether they are reinforced by experience.” “Building the Reading Brain, PreK-3” Pat Wolfe and Pamela Nevills, 2004

Neuroplasticity….the ability of the human brain to sculpt itself based on its experiences. Teachers provide these experiences through structured social, academic, interactive work and play.

Today….consensus tells us that anywhere from 40-70% of our brain’s wiring is provided by environmental impact depending on what trait or behavior is being considered…. “Teaching With the Brain in Mind”, Eric Jensen, 1998

Enhancing social, emotional, and academic skills (capacities) Social / Emotional / Behavioral (SEB) Learning links academic achievement with skills necessary for succeeding in school and in life through….. Enhancing social, emotional, and academic skills (capacities) Teaching skills and providing for application in supportive, caring learning environments Providing opportunities and practice CASEL (Collaborative for Social and Emotional Learning) website

STEP 1 Assess the current status: Do we have a system? Are all the components present in all classrooms/learning environments? Are the components fully deployed? How would we know?

STEP 2 What do the data tell us are the most in need of improvement? Satisfaction and enthusiasm survey SWIS aggregate data Building surveys Staff observation Report card SEB ratings Other

STEP 3 Select an improvement theory What component would we as a staff want to get fully deployed, with fidelity and integrity, in order to get better results?

STEP 4 Implement the improvement theory Training through summer workshops, modules, collegial leadership and coaching, supports Keep implementation data

STEP 5 Check the results After time for the strategy to work, what do we see in results? What do new data tell us?

STEP 6 Institutionalize the strategy Expect its use in every learning setting Help new staff implement the strategy and understand the rationale for it

STEP 7 Determine appropriate interventions for students who demonstrate the need for more intense supports

Procedures Building-wide expectations Direct teaching of procedures COMPONENT LEVEL I LEVEL II LEVEL III LEVEL IV PROCEDURES 4.D- Standardize key processes in the classroom using flow charts or other tools to communicate to stakeholders (displayed in the classroom) 2.E- Collect data that measures progress toward classroom SMART goals (displayed in the classroom) Student feedback tools (plus/delta, quality Quadrant) Procedures are developed by the classroom teacher and communicated to students Procedures are developed by the classroom teacher with student involvement, written for all students to have, and are reinforced regularly Procedures are developed collaboratively with students. A menu of classroom-designed options is used by teachers in response to violations. Reteaching and support strategies replace punishment and rewards as interventions. Procedures are practiced and reinforced regularly, and daily or weekly monitoring checks completed by students and staff. Charting of success is evident at classroom and building levels. Building-wide expectations Direct teaching of procedures Student input regarding procedures Menu of choices SWIS system and office referrals

Agenda AGENDA Verbal outlines of the school day are shared with children. Written agendas are displayed on the board or via video screen. Teacher walks through agenda at start of day. Written agenda is referred to throughout the day, with alterations noted. Written agenda is regularly visited through the day, and students participate with the teacher in creating the daily/weekly agenda.

Class Meetings / Community Circle 3.E- Implement classroom meetings on a regular basis. Students lead the meeting and facilitate the discussion around the progress toward class goals, measures and mission. Student feedback is used to drive the class meetings. Class meetings are held at the teacher’s discretion. Class meetings are conducted on a daily basis, with a purpose clearly stated each day. Class meetings occur daily, as well as on as-needed basis to problem solve, to review curriculum, and to enhance a positive climate for all. Students participate in the agenda design for class meetings and assist with the actual management of the meetings. Structured opportunity for all students to be included Goal setting Teaching procedures Problem solving Conducting class business meetings Reflection

Common Language / Social Skills Instruction 2.C- Involve students in the creation of classroom ground rules/expectations (displayed in the classroom) Teacher uses common language of Building Guidelines. Social skills are taught as concerns arise. Teachers use and reinforce common language and social skills through direct teaching. Interventions are documented for major offenses. Common language and social skills are taught and reinforced on a regular basis as an integral part of classroom instruction. Use of the language is prevalent. Interventions are documented. Evidence of the common language is heard coming from students, parents and teacher. Reteaching takes many forms. Supplemental and intensive plans are kept to a manageable, but effective number. 5 Report card guidelines Teach through: target talk, posters, literature, community circle, multiple attributes, assemblies, Tribes® strategies and energizers, modeling Social Skills: Skills for Growing, Boys Town, Lifeling Guidelines / Lifeskills, Character Counts, Tribes® agreements, Skillstreaming, Second Step

Problem Solving / Conflict Resolution COMPONENT LEVEL I LEVEL II LEVEL III LEVEL IV PROBLEM SOLVING / CONFLICT RESOLUTION 3.G- Utilize PDSA to improve a process in the classroom (displayed in the classroom) 3.E- Implement classroom meetings on a regular basis. Students lead the meeting and facilitate the discussion around the progress toward class goals, measures and mission. Student feedback is used to drive the class meetings. Students are encouraged to resolve their own concerns with words. Problem solving strategies are taught in the classroom. Classrooms engage in regular “how are we doing?” checks. Conflicts are openly discussed and resolved using community circle and individual mediation techniques. A menu of building-designed intervention options is used by teachers to model conflict resolution for students, and to guide students in the use of strategies. Students with more frequent conflict issues are provided additional support through adults and/or peers. As needed, teachers and students use the PDSA cycle to improve behaviors identified as interfering with learning. Teachers collaborate with the building ART to monitor student rates of bullying and harassment, responding through the PDSA process to minimize conflict. Direct teaching of skills Community circle / class meetings Re-teaching Teacher intervention Administrative intervention

Data Driven Decisions Class data centers Student data folders 4B- Monitor student and stakeholder satisfaction and use data to drive classroom improvements (displayed in the classroom) 3B and 2F Class data center and student data folders. Instructional decisions are based on the teacher’s knowledge of the child and the teacher’s past experiences. Teachers maintain anecdotal records of student S/E/B skills exhibited on a daily basis. Classroom and individual programming are adjusted according to these records. The teacher submits recorded classroom data to the building ART and participates in building-wide implementation strategies. Parent, student, and staff satisfaction data are used to determine improvement theories for S/E/B. Classroom data centers publicly display evidence of continuous improvement. Class data centers Student data folders Student input Office referrals Suspensions

Quality Tools Continuous PDSA in relationships, climate 3I- Use at least 9 quality tools (brainstorming, affinity diagram, nominal group technique, run chart, flow chart, cause and effect diagram, force field analysis, pareto diagram, relations diagram) 2F- Implement student data folders in the classroom Teachers use basic tools such as histograms, brainstorming, and plus/delta to engage students in the classroom operations. Teachers use quality tools to identify areas for improvement, to select strategies, and to monitor progress. Student involvement in the data collection is used as a motivation strategy. Tools, goal setting, and data folders help replace the use of punishment and reward. Teachers and students demonstrate the use of quality tools to coordinate with the building ART mission and goals. Implementation of building improvement strategies is evident. Continuous PDSA in relationships, climate Action Research Team work

Differentiation Strategies DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGIES (INCLUDING SUPPLEMENTAL AND INTENSIVE PLANS) 3B- Create a Classroom Data Center ( May include: District Strategic Plan, SIP goals, classroom ground rules, classroom mission statement, SMART classroom goals, graphic displays of progress toward SMART goals) 2F- Implement student data folders in the classroom Classroom practices allow for adequate time, choices, and meaningful curriculum that fit individual learners. Teachers plan for differentiated strategies that fit students’ S/E/B skill levels. Individualized social skill instruction is made available to students who demonstrate the need. Students are involved in the design of classroom interactions and in learning methodologies. Students monitor and chart their own behavior and satisfaction on a daily or weekly basis. Class meetings focus on the data from student reporting and adjustments are made to improve results. Teachers collaborate in the design of building improvement efforts. Supplemental and intensive programming choices are applied for students who demonstrate the need for S/E/B supports. Core instruction IDM process Grouping strategies Adjustments for individual needs Interventions

Where did those 8 components come from? …and numerous other research-based sources...

…all based on the following…

CASEL (The Collaborative for Social and Emotional Learning) website: www.casel.org University of Illinois at Chicago Has compiled hundreds of research studies in this area Reviewed 80 SEB programs Makes recommendations for schools based on findings from research TRIBES® was one of the SEB programs chosen as a CASEL Select program based on its components

Some of their findings include: Multi-year initiatives had more enduring benefits School climate should be central focus Should be infused into regular academic curriculum Stand alone programs not as effective Students should be engaged actively and experientially in learning process

TRIBES® is a group process that develops a positive environment to help promote human growth and learning. It is all about building community through 3 stages of group development, using a set of agreements. This process is based on 30 years of human development and resiliency research.

Common language has been adopted by elementary schools and has been aligned with the report form.

From Class and Schools, by John Rothstein, p.96 In a 1994 study by Johnson and Immerwahr: “over 2/3 of Americans said that teaching values was a role of public schools more important than teaching academic subjects” In a recent survey, the highest ranked school purpose was “preparing responsible citizens” An Illinois focus group study concluded “preparing good citizens, not academic achievement, was the most important goal of public schools