Greenville Leader

Greenville County School District issued the following announcement on August 10.

What is Social Emotional Learning?

Social Emotional Learning is a term used to describe traits students need to be prepared for opportunities in life, education, and employment. GCS has committed to building a better graduate, which includes social and emotional skills like perseverance, integrity, work ethic, and interpersonal skills. These are all skills that the business community has emphasized are needed for our students to become healthy and effective employees.

There are five main components to a strong social emotional learning curriculum:

1. Self-Awareness
2. Self-Managment
3. Relationship Skills
4. Social Awareness
5. Responsible Decision Making

COVID-19 has made the past year hard for us all, especially our children. We understand from local and national mental health experts that our children are experiencing a mental health crisis. Over the past several years, both nationally and in the Greenville community, we have seen consistent increases in mental health needs and in the number of suicide deaths among children. These increases were even more significant in the last 12 months. Nothing is more important than the safety and wellness of our children, and we must all work together to address their needs.

Greenville County Schools already supports our students and their familiies in many ways:

• Our partnership with Greater Greenville Mental Health Center ensures that all schools offer mental health services, (counseling), on site.
• Each school uses an OnTrack Team to identify and support student needs to keep students on track to graduation.
• School counselors provide counseling and lead lessons on skills needed for healthy emotions and relationships.
• GCS has chosen to add curriculum to help children strengthen skills for emotions and relationships. These skills are needed for successful careers and relationships in the future. Schools call this Social Emotional Learning (SEL).

Schools that include social emotional learning (SEL) lessons frequently have a healthier climate and reduced rates of bullying and behavior problems. SEL can also lead to improved student mental health. Students who receive instruction in social and emotional skills typically show:

• Decreased emotional stress and anxiety
• More mental health awareness
• Increased confidence
• Healthier relationships

Families are the primary teachers of social and emotional skills. We need your partnership. Through the Parent Backpack, you will have access to the social and emotional lesson content taught to your child throughout the year. We invite you to discuss the lessons and practice the skills with your children alongside the many ways you teach and support them now. We want to be sure you have all the

resources you need to support your child’s mental health.

The following is our plan for teaching and assessing these skills through a program called Rethink Ed:

• Students will receive 1-2 lessons per month and participate in activities to strengthen social and emotional skills.
• Both counselors and teachers will provide the lessons in order for the entire school family to work on skills together.
• Children will complete a 30-minute questionnaire in the Fall and in the Spring.
  • This questionnaire will ask students questions such as how they handle emotions and how they feel their skills are developing

    in respect to relationships or decision-making on a given scale.

  • Questions are all multiple choice.
  • Information from this questionnaire will be kept confidential and only seen by relevant staff members (e.g. counselor, teachers).
  • The information gained from this questionnaire will help each school know what social or emotional skills most

    need to be taught and practiced.

Original source can be found here.