Sandburg understands the value of listening to students — social-emotional learning update

Social-emotional learning occurs in a variety of contexts. Growing social-emotional skills in our students are essential to their school and life success. The Board of Education is committed to providing students with social-emotional learning that their abilities in school, careers, and life and has identified this topic as an area of focus this school year. A social-emotional learning feature will be reported at meetings.

The Social-Emotional Learning Team at Sandburg developed a student survey to gather input directly from students about the social-emotional culture in their school. The survey focused on skills and competencies such as problem-solving, self-management, goal setting, respect and collaboration. Students in 2nd-5th grade took this survey in the fall and will take the survey again this spring. Students were asked to rate if they agree or don’t agree with some of the following statements:

• I set goals for my own learning
• I am a valued person in my classroom and school
• I am respectful to other students
• Other students are respectful to me
• I am able to solve problems I have with other students
• I can calm myself down easily

Upon analyzing the responses, Sandburg staff have created times for students to learn more about empathy, respect and problem-solving with others. This process has not only better-informed members of the Sandburg team, but it has also served as another opportunity for students to have a voice at their school.

Asking students for their feedback is a valuable practice in our schools. Listening to our students can be especially beneficial when we ask questions about school connectedness and experiences at school. This example at Sandburg also led to further programming in the area of empathy, which is a key component of the learning strand in our Social-Emotional Learning Framework.