S U P P O RT I N G T H E W H O L E C H I L D — O P E N S T H E M U P TO D E E P E R L E A R N I N G At Allen-Stevenson, we have always supported our students' social-emotional growth, recognizing that a boy who understands who he is as a learner and who he is as part of a community makes him open and available to new and deeper learning. Now more than ever, our boys' social-emotional well-being is a priority, and the School has adapted to meet the needs of our students.
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Our goal is to help the boys to function to the best of their ability in their day-to-day life. The teachers are very focused within their subject curriculum on building the skills boys need to maintain a connection to the community and growing the skills that underlie being a socially and emotionally regulated person. We help the boys to develop empathy, so that they can build stronger relationships with peers and teachers, so they are better able to understand themselves as learners.
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“Learning to advocate for themselves and learning to ask clarifying questions helps a boy to focus and to attend to their learning,” said Anne Meyer, Director of the Learning Resource Center. “Once they can do this, it means they can delve into their learning to gain a deeper understanding, on their way to becoming passionate learners and compassionate achievers. It is important that children develop the language they need to ask a question, or to talk about or show what they know, then they can move ahead with their learning.” “We work towards the boys speaking up for themselves, by having them ask good questions and by giving them the skills they need to follow through with—grit, persistence, stamina, attention, and a will about themselves. This helps them experience what comes their way,” said Dr. Michael Schwartzman, Consulting School Psychologist. While social-emotional learning is interwoven throughout the curriculum at Allen-Stevenson, the pandemic has made it especially important for us to focus on the whole child and support those who influence their lives. How we use technology to teach and engage in dialogue has also been a significant consideration. We are taking more moments in the classroom to cultivate social comfort and connectivity. We’ve created smaller homerooms and advisories, called each family before the start of school, incorporated additional time with teachers for the students, rethought content for our Monday Morning Meeting and Lower School community gathering times, offered summer training for our faculty by faculty to give them the tools they need to use best practices, planned extra parent connection meetings, and are building in chat time for parents with the Head of School. To explain how we’re developing these social and emotional skills and content, we’ve used the framework set out by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), a trusted source for knowledge about high-quality, evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL). CASEL suggests that an SEL program should foster the development of five interrelated sets of cognitive, affective and behavioral competencies, which are essential for both school and life success and include: selfawareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decisionmaking. Following are examples of how AllenStevenson incorporates SEL around these five competencies:
FACULTY- & STAFF-LED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SUMMER SERIES These summer workshops followed three threads: Community & Student Well-Being, Technology Tools & Remote Learning Strategies, and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. • Using Emotional Literacy and Student Agency to Build Confidence, Community and Communication • Empowering Student Voice Through the Arts • All Community & Relationship Building Toolkit • Wakelet Resources from Research-Based Strategies for a Calm & Connected Classroom • Make It Interactive: Slides, Videos, and Assessment that Engage Students • Developing Executive Function Skills in LS Students • Developing Executive Function Skills in MS and US Students— in the Classroom and Online—to Promote Student Success • Sample US Advisory Presentation • Multiple Technology Trainings—with a Focus on Canvas • 13th Viewing and Discussion • White Anti-Racist Educator (WARE) Presentations on Anti-Bias, Diversity and Power, Talking About Race with White Children and More.
