Less than 24 hours before the Valentine’s Day slaughter at a Florida high school, Kyrene School District administrators were rolling out their plan for identifying and reaching troubled grade school and middle school students before they hurt someone or themselves
It aims to instill in them a lifelong sense of responsibility to treat others respect and encourage them to alert a trusted adult when they see a classmate who appears in need of help.
The multi-tiered plan addresses “social-emotional learning” for Kyrene students and is part of Superintendent Jan Vesely’s comprehensive plan for improving students’ chances of success both academically and in later life in the workforce.
Presented to the governing board on Feb. 13, it promotes “an inclusive culture of respect, high expectations, collaboration and shared responsibility for student success.”
When board member John King asked Vesely why a K-8 school district needs to worry at all about that, Vesely replied:
“We really do believe social-emotional wellness is a strong contributing factor to their success academically and in all contexts of job and life.”
The plan includes a data-driven component to help administrators and teachers not just measure academic success but students’ emotional needs and growth as well. That component is slated to be discussed in March with final board action in spring.
Entire story at: http://www.ahwatukee.com/crimeandsafety/article_d5acceac-169d-11e8-b44d-cbf7995c9f3b.html