Social, emotional learning helps students be productive adults

Apr. 4—Elements of social and emotional learning have been employed in school districts for several years, with each site having a different take.

TPS Superintendent Tanya Jones said she defines SEL as the required soft skills for students, so they can become productive employees and adults.

"It's about being kind and respectful and being able to work cooperatively. Those are the soft skills that are taught at school," Jones said.

The school district has always focused on the concept of social and emotional learning, with SEL being a new "buzzword."

"That's not anything new because ... kindness, respect, cooperation, sharing with others — things you learn in kindergarten, so to speak — those are things we've always focused on as a school," Jones said. "I think it's just gotten more attention nationally with different words, but what it really comes down to are those things that are needed to be good and productive adults and citizens one day."

SEL starts in pre-K, where students learn skills such as cooperation, sharing, participation, responsibility, etc. An example of SEL at TPS would be the calming rooms or spaces that allow students to self-regulate through various breathing and interactive activities. Each school site has a different approach to social and emotional learning. Among them are Heritage Elementary's house system, Greenwood Elementary's work with Great Expectations, and Cherokee Elementary's Conscious Discipline.

Jones said SEL changes as students reach middle school and high school, as they already have a foundation for most soft skills.

TPS Assistant Superintendent DeAnn Mashburn said upper-grade levels also offer areas for self-regulation, as well as the opportunity to reach out to counselors; these activities are always supervised by adults at the site.

"There's just low light or it might be a bean bag, or there might be plants — things that are calming," Jones said. "Just some[place] where you can sit and regroup until you are ready to go back to wherever you are supposed to be, and be more effective."

Since SEL has a lot to do with interacting with other students and groups, isolation from the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted districts to work harder at closing that gap.

"There definitely was a deficit we are probably working harder to overcome than we normally would," Jones said.

Lacie Wilson, federal and state programs and grants director, said TPS has Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, or MTSS, which she described as the "big umbrella" for the district's resources. These include counseling and the Care Teams at each site.

"Teachers can fill out a Care Teams form on a kid for anything they need," Wilson said. "Maybe the kid needs a pair of shoes, or they think [the student] might need to be on the backpack program. Even if they are just struggling in school — like their academics are slipping a little bit or they're having a hard time — they'll fill out a Care Team form and then our team meets and just tries to figure out anything they can do to help the kiddo."

Wilson said each site has the MTSS Positive Behavior Intervention and Support, which helps curtail negative behaviors by incorporating encouragement and positivity.

"In our mind, SEL is more like respect and teaching good behavior and having positive behavior with students," Wilson said.

PBIS is a way for district educators to make sure each student knows the expectations and that each are practiced regularly.

"Something with PBIS is that schools are really clear on their expectations with students, so you might practice walking to the lunch room or practice washing your hands. You practice all those little things," Wilson said. "You assume kids know how to line up; well, when they're 4, they don't really know. You have to teach them."

SEL often stretches to every part of school, since social and emotional learning benefits the students' academics and vice versa.

"I think one is just as important as the other. When you learn some soft skills, you are going to be better prepared academically because it's going to help you if you're working in those group collaborative settings," Mashburn said. "You are going to be able to achieve more when you can self-regulate and remain in the classroom, so I do feel like academics go hand in hand with that."