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| Standards Implemented at Churchill Junior High Getting Results |
FIRST REPORTED 3:00pm 1/12/10 The implementation of Social and Emotional Learning Standards in the Galesburg School District is breaking down the barriers that hold students back from academic achievement.
Members of the SEL Committee from Churchill Junior High School gave an in-depth presentation to the District 205 School Board during Monday night's meeting. The standards focus on self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship skills and responsible decision making.
The chairperson of the SEL Committee at Churchill is Carole Allert. She says emotions and relationships affect how and what students learn. "Our schools are social places," Allert said. "This is where students build relationships. Research does show to us that in order for us to teach our students best, we need to build relationships with them."
Allert says complying with No Child Left Behind can be accomplished if schools implement Social and Emotional Learning Standards.
Committee member and Churchill Dean of Students Tara Bahnks says test scores are going up because of SEL. "The achievement gap is actually...it is closing," Bahnks said. "We are following the No Child Left Behind requirements. We are continuously meeting the goals, and those achievement gaps are getting shorter and shorter. 6th Grade -- phenomenal year. And then take into account we have mobility and things like that as well. The 8th graders in 2009 -- that achievement gap is still closing, and will continue to close, as long as we remain proactive in what we do."
Bahnks says student days lost to instruction has also dropped dramatically because of the implementation of SEL - from 1,023 days prior to implementation in the 2006-07 school year to 410 last school year.
Churchill Principal Bart Arthur says SEL is grant-funded, and the program is in its third year of implementation. Assistant Superintendent for Instruction and Curriculum Joel Estes says academic achievement at Churchill and Lombard, where SEL is also in place, has been "exploding." |
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| 01 13 10 by Newsroom |
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