By: Elizabeth DeKonty, NC Resilience & Learning Project Director
Like many schools, McGee’s Crossroads Elementary School, located in Johnston County, began this year working hard to find new and creative ways to connect with students and meet not only their academic needs but also their social and emotional learning (SEL) needs. Virtual and hybrid learning models presented new challenges and barriers that all educators have experienced in some form since March, and it took their administrative and student services team really digging in to put their heads together and brainstorm new and innovative ways of reaching their students.
What adjustments to relationship-building and SEL did McGee’s Crossroads make? What new initiatives did they put in place? Their district began the school year with everyone in virtual learning. Back in August, their two school counselors kicked-off the year with a short presentation to share specific ideas on how teachers could still build relationships with their new students — even through a screen — and how their entire staff could still infuse SEL skills and lessons into their regular routines. Some of the ideas shared included really simple but effective things such as:
- Virtual mindfulness moments: These are facilitated by either using a video for students to watch or doing a read-a-loud of a mindfulness script with students to help with focus at the beginning of new lessons or to be used as a small brain break in the middle of the virtual learning day.
- Emotion check-in tool: At the start of the day, even virtually, teachers can ask students how they are feeling using a feelings chart with different emoji faces or check-in tool like a feelings thermometer, an analogy to something like weather (feeling sunny, cloudy, or stormy), or the Zones of Regulation. Students then share how they are feeling out loud or share in the chat if they feel more comfortable.
- Using the Panorama Student Surveys: McGee’s Crossroads established their school SEL theme for the year as “Belonging” and uses the Panorama surveys with students to measure how well kids feel safe and connected at school.
- “I Wish My Teacher Knew” Activity: This could be done in-person or virtually with students. Ask them to complete the one phrase, “I wish my teacher knew…” This could be done with a simple Google Form for virtual students or on a hand-written index card for in-person students. The things students share in an activity like this can help so much in creating those positive relationships at the beginning of a year.
- Morning Meetings: McGee’s Crossroads began using Morning Meetings throughout the school in the 2019-2020 school year as a way to infuse more SEL and build classroom community — and they offered some ways these Morning Meetings could continue in a modified version with the circumstances of this year. Many teachers use the Sanford Harmony curriculum and conversation cards for their daily meetings.
- Digital “breathing boards” and digital calm-down rooms: There are several examples of virtual tools like these available on Pinterest and similar sites that can be used with students to help teach self-regulation skills even virtually.
While many of these ideas were being put into place throughout the school, teachers were also starting to feel more overwhelmed a month into the year while they were teaching remotely. Technology issues, students not joining Zoom classes or turning in work, difficulties connecting with the families no matter how many different communication outlets they tried, and feeling like they were working harder than they ever had before yet still feeling like they were not being effective was taking its toll. The core group of staff that works closely with our NC Resilience and Learning Project, their ‘Resilience Team,’ met early in the fall with me and expressed these challenges and feelings. I walked away feeling the heaviness of it all – for both staff and for students. Despite all on their plate, the team was still eager to keep meeting regularly. At the second Resilience Team meeting of the fall, we began with a staff community circle giving staff time and space to share some of their own emotions and feelings as well as some positive stories of hope they’ve seen in such a difficult year. We then held a specific brainstorming session with the team on SEL supports they’d like to have for themselves and for their students. At this point in the year, students had just started coming back to in-person learning and it was going well with a new energy and buzz in the building even with all of the new restrictions in place.
The team created their own SEL vision statement and then came up with three ideas to begin implementing right away:
- An added focus on staff self-care by setting up a small table in their lounge where staff can enter into a competition for doing their own self-care activities and then have the opportunity to win a prize.
- Creating small calm-down kits for each individual student using a Ziplock bag that includes pipe cleaners, rubberbands, and a small stress ball that every student in the school will receive. This is a tool that will be used in place of their calm-down spaces they created in each classroom last year since those are harder to continue using safely with Covid.
- Getting every teacher in the building the same emotion check-in and feelings chart tool using the Zones of Regulation colors and images of kids with different feelings faces so a common language and tool is created throughout the whole school that is consistent and helps kids across all grade levels and classes learn to use the same language.
Their Resilience Team continues to meet with me once a month and while the challenges they still face are great, the staff continue to work hard each day to meet the needs of their students, to show them they love them, to support their whole well-being – both in terms of academics as well as social and emotional needs. There are good days and hard days, but their team is truly committed to resilience for every adult and every child who is in their building or who is learning through a screen from home.