To celebrate SEL Week, we invited you—students, parents, teachers, counselors, school and district administrators, and community leaders—to share your SEL story. Of the many excellent entries we received, Lori, a student assistance specialist in New Jersey, was voted the winner by our readers. You can view all 10 finalists here.
The social and emotional learning (SEL) explosion at School One wasn’t a hard “sel” for School One Elementary principal Justin Fiory. He has always believed in the academic and overall benefits that come with more SEL at school. Historically, it was hard to find the support and resources to emphasize it more. In 2020, I joined the team as a full-time student assistance specialist, allowing for this need to be strengthened through our collaboration. Now in 2024, SEL is woven into the fabric of being a School One Cardinal.
But how did we get here? To a place where the students all use a common language to understand and promote SEL as a community? Where “today’s students” become “tomorrow’s leaders” with a strong SEL foundation?
Core Values
Like most progress, it started with assessing and identifying the need. It was clear to both of us that the addition of shared core values and emotional language throughout the building could be instrumental in improving behavior, connection, and performance.
Enter the “Soaring with School One P.R.I.D.E.” Program. The acronym “P.R.I.D.E.” stands for Perseverance, Respect, Integrity, Diversity, and Empathy. Now at School One, all students know what these words mean, what it looks like to demonstrate these values in any setting, and how to encourage them in others.
When our students demonstrate these core values, they are publicly celebrated by receiving a “Cardinal Card,” which anyone can nominate them for. Assemblies are held throughout the year to dive deeper into our understanding of these characteristics, and weekly morning meetings are dedicated to our shared core values. Students now leave School One Elementary with a deep understanding and drive to model these values in middle school and beyond. We often hear how alumni feel that Cardinal “P.R.I.D.E” as they navigate home and school life.
Understanding “Big Feelings”
“Big feelings” is another term that many of our students now understand and use appropriately. Through counseling, social skills, and an SEL curriculum (with units on growth mindset and goal-setting, emotion management, empathy and kindness, bullying, and problem-solving) the students are constantly learning that it’s okay to have “big feelings”—and how to appropriately manage them.
Staff
As our principal, Fiory also sought to make School One a community that values and emphasizes SEL by starting with today’s leaders—the teachers. He gave every staff member a book about how to use positive thinking in their professional and private lives to achieve success.
In staff meetings, he models, references, and continues to build upon the skills outlined in the book to help us proceed with a positive and supportive school culture. The teachers are real-life models of how students can use SEL skills now and when they are future educators, politicians, scientists, business owners, or in any career path they choose.
Leaders of Tomorrow
One of my favorite ways we encourage School One students to be SEL leaders of tomorrow is the Kids Care Club. This club meets to brainstorm ways to spread kindness and work on various projects. They sponsor donations and collections such as “Share-a-Sandwich,” “We Care Kits,” and “The Supper Bowl” to give back to the local community and families in need. It brings the children and the community together to show the impact of being caring and kind people. This club gives the students a foundation of charity and giving back that they carry with them well into adulthood.
This brings us to the present—where, in the spirit of International SEL Day 2024’s theme “Today’s Students, Tomorrow’s Leaders,” School One will be hosting an “SEL Day Meets Career Day.” Adults from the community will visit our students and share how they used their social and emotional skills to overcome challenges in their careers and personal lives to achieve success. They will discuss the importance of believing you can always grow, learn, and improve.
School One Elementary is a living and breathing example of all the good that can come from SEL. The evolution of SEL at School One will support our students to soar into all future endeavors with the social and emotional knowledge and skills to thrive.
The views in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of CASEL.
Lori Lidofsky is the student assistance specialist at School One Elementary in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, and a licensed clinical social worker. She has always been passionate about empowering children through social and emotional skill-building. She grew up in New York City and attended University at Albany for her bachelor’s degree and Fordham University for her master’s degree. She currently resides in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, with her husband, daughter, and son.