OKCPS STAFF CREATED ROUTES TO RESOURCES TO PROVIDE SUPPORT AND MATERIAL GOODS DIRECTLY TO STUDENTS’ NEIGHBORHOODS AND HOMES.
Social emotional learning in action
When preparing for the 2020-2021 school year, Dr. Marsha Herron, chief of equity and student supports for Oklahoma City Public Schools, says a few powerful words by Deputy Superintendent Jason Brown have directed their efforts: We need to know every student by name and by need. “Whether a child has a problem at home with their family or even if financial resources aren’t there, they lead to the same thing — insecurity,” said Herron. “Worrying about things can cause thoughts to manifest into unproductive academic decisions or problematic behaviors.” Even for kids who aren’t experiencing instability, living through a pandemic has increased the need for SEL and relationship- building. For elementary-age students, SEL in the classroom often looks like discussions about feelings, mental health checks or get-to- know-you games in a morning meeting. In Lounsbery’s second grade classroom, she spends 30 minutes each morning focused on SEL. Some days the students play silly “would you rather” games and sometimes they go around the circle and rate how they are feeling on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 really low and 4 great. When Lounsbery wraps up circle time, she reminds students to celebrate with friends who shared exciting news and consider how to be a good friend to
those who are hurting. “This year there have been a lot of ones,” said Lounsbery. “It’s been heavy — things like parents splitting up, a grandpa dying. I teach my children to listen to those things and then I model validating their feelings, for the highs and the lows.” Whittle says when a child has the opportunity to share their story, it helps that child understand their own experience a little more. For the child whose parents were getting a divorce, Lounsbery watched with admiration as another student approached her to share his similar experience. Lounsbery also looks for organic opportunities to build SEL skills. If she notices a classmate being left out, she’ll read a book about friendships or have students circle up to share about a time they felt left out. “I introduce vocabulary like inclusion and talk about what that looks like,” said Lounsbery. “Then I watch to find kids who are practicing it. Celebrating kids is equally important.” For older kids, like Lounsbery’s children who are in middle and high school, SEL looks like celebrating a child for good character and teaching coping strategies for students who are feeling stressed, and then noting and encouraging when students could benefit from employing those strategies.
“In my role as a school counselor, I tried to help teachers understand that SEL doesn’t have to be another ‘thing,’” said Kirk, a finalist for the 2019 national school counselor of the year. “When it’s done at the highest level, it’s ingrained and implemented throughout everything. Whether you start the day with a morning meeting or journaling or implement brain or breathing breaks, it’s stronger when normalized in everything in the school.” In discipline, SEL looks like a student in in- school suspension working with a counselor to process better behaviors that lead to better outcomes. “We have to look at the language we use,” said Whittle. “Why not call [in-school suspension] in-school placement and give kids more tools and resources to help in their development, not feel even more disconnected?” Giving students voice and choice in activities and assignments builds resiliency, hope and relationships and gives students ownership, particularly important when they have been through trauma or chronic stress, including living through a pandemic. “We use tough situations to skill build and build replacement behaviors when something isn’t working,” said Kirk. “We’re creating more resilient people.”
30 METROFAMILYMAGAZINE.COM / MAR-APR 2021
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