Social Emotional Learning: Benefiting School Culture and Raising Academic Achievement

Dear Nederland Community,

In the Boulder Valley School District, one of our goals is to ensure that each student meets or exceeds appropriate expectations relative to intellectual growth, physical development, and social emotional well-being.  Teaching to the whole child is a priority at Nederland Elementary -- over much of my 20-year career in public education, I have noticed a disproportionate emphasis on academics and rote learning to the point of neglecting student attitudes and relationships.  But recent information indicates that academics and empathy are not mutually exclusive choices.  In fact, recent research suggests that modeling and teaching  social and emotional skills can actually improve academic achievement. 

Bridget Cooper, director of the Centre for Pedagogy at the University of Sunderland, UK, conducted a detailed study on empathy in teacher-student relationships.  She found that caring interactions were positively related to students' personal, social, moral, and academic development.  Another researcher who has studied the relationship between empathy and academic achievement is Stanford Professor Emerita, Nel Noddings.  Noddings has taught at Stanford for nearly 40 years and the preponderance of her work has been focused on how the goal of education is to "create competent, caring citizens." In Noddings' words: "Common sense tells us that care and trust would reduce failure rates... Kids do better in a culture of caring."  Richard Weissbourd, co-director of the Making Caring Common Project at the Harvard School of Education, notes that the absence of caring and empathy can get in the way of achievement in a school community.  In his book, The Parents That We Mean To Be, Weissbourd outlines several strategies for raising moral, happy children.  One parenting strategy Weissbourd cites is helping children develop self-control and manage their feelings effectively -- we aim to support parents in this endeavor at Nederland Elementary.

We have recently received a grant in partnership with Teens Inc. (Thank you Teens Inc.). This grant is funded through the Colorado Department of Human Services Office of Behavioral Health.  As part of this grant, we have hired a coordinator, Ann Sherman. One component of Ann's duties is to plan and guide 30-minute weekly guidance sessions related to the Brainwise framework.  The Brainwise framework teaches children ten "wise ways" to help identify feelings and cope with them effectively.  Please be looking for regular communication from Ann through our weekly school messenger.

Best Regards,
Jeff