“Do you want a hug or some space?”
This question exemplifies an important skill students at Purpose Built Schools Atlanta are learning about– handling emotions in different ways. Since its inception, Purpose Built Schools has been on a journey to explicitly teach and reinforce social emotional learning (SEL) competencies and skills.
At PBSA, we use the following definition to guide our SEL work:
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults develop the skills, attitudes, and values necessary to understand and manage life tasks such as cognitive learning, forming relationships, and the flexibility to adapt to challenges and expectations of complex society (Elias et al., 1997).
SEL programs typically incorporate evidence-based practices and activities that aim to cultivate five core competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
“We are on a mission to redefine Social Emotional Learning within our community. Historically, SEL has looked like a block of time at the beginning of the day where students receive direct instruction using a core SEL curriculum, like Second Step. While direct instruction is a critical part of our SEL implementation, the work is much bigger than a curriculum,” said Blake Zimmerman, PBSA Coordinator for Data and Culture. “Through a partnership with Urban Assembly’s Resilient Scholars Program, we have expanded our thinking about High Quality SEL. We believe it should include Direct Instruction, SEL Assessment, SEL Skill Integration, Adult SEL Development, and should be inclusive of partners, caregivers, students and staff.”
To bring this expanded vision and definition to life, PBSA hosted its 2nd Annual SEL Showcase at Price Middle School on April 17, 2024. The theme was “Moving from Intent to Impact: The Role of Student Voice and Academic Integration in SEL growth schoolwide.
“This is a way to hold ourselves accountable for our continued growth in SEL Implementation. It also provides us with an opportunity to elevate members of our community who are leading this work as students, as staff, as caregivers and as partners,” shared Zimmerman.
Attendees heard from students (K-12) sharing around their SEL skill development and how instructional practices are reinforcing SEL competencies that support student growth. Educators presented best practices, provided tangible tools that inform educator work and ensured that attendees can turnkey artifacts to their communities. PBSA caregivers modeled their own SEL skill development and talked about how they practice SEL skills at home with their students.
Additionally, Ms. Toni Jones, our partner from COR, spoke about how our partnership is working to promote and reinforce SEL skill development.
The event featured several Purpose Built Schools teachers and students discussing the classroom integration of SEL. For example, Mrs. Denise Williams and Slater Elementary students, Zuri and Jason, shared more about how they leverage mindfulness as a self-management skill and use affirmations to promote optimistic thinking each day.
Affirmations for the young scholars included, “Today is going to be a good day in class.” And,“Every day is a fresh start and challenges help people.”
Mr. Wallace, Carver STEAM’s visual arts teacher shared that, “My job as an art teacher is to take something abstract and make it concrete, tangible and attainable for my students.” He presented on the instructional resources and strategies he has utilized to build confidence and efficacy in his students.
Zimmerman has been invited to speak on a panel at Urban Assembly’s SEL Symposium in NYC on May 17th where hundreds of educators and SEL thought-leaders will be gathered to explore and exchange innovation and best practices around social emotional learning implementation. He and a teacher from each school will be going to participate in the conference and will also get to attend two showcases at a NYC elementary and high school.
“We were encouraged and honored to receive this praise from our academic colleagues,” said Dr. Nikkita Warfield, Chief Academic Officer at Purpose Built Schools Atlanta. “Our success underscores that the academic integration of an SEL curriculum is imperative to a successful student experience.”