Charters
March: CCSA and Charter Presentation on SEL, Student Mental Health and Wellbeing Data Collection and Analyses
In March, the California Charter School Association (CCSA), ICEF Public Schools, and Excelsior Charter Schools presented together on how California’s charter schools and systems are understanding and responding to the current mental health crisis.
CCSA shared their report, Are the Kids Okay?, examining how schools are meeting the mental health needs of students during the pandemic. In the report, they identified core areas of need: anxiety, depression, trauma, and suicide; and laid out the universal preventions and targeted interventions to address each of those needs.
ICEF then shared their use of data to inform SMART goals through data dialogue protocols, the use of graphs and data visualization, and regular and consistent analysis (minimum school-wide analysis twice a year and minimum student / group specific analysis four times per year). ICEF shared three key reflections: that SEL is not a one-size-fits-all approach; that schools deserve autonomy in responding to the needs of their students and school communities; and that all partners (students, families, and communities) should have a voice if California adopts a scaled metric for SEL.
Shelby Pealer
ICEF Managing Director of Students Services and Special Education
Parker Hudnut
ICEF Chief Executive Officer
Insights from the Field
What do you predict will be the most impactful aspect of SEL on student mental health and well-being?
We predict that the most impactful aspect of an SEL approach to student mental health and well-being is liberating ourselves from an isolated approach of teaching the five core competencies* to an integrated approach that inherently values SEL, mental health, and well-being at the school-wide, partnership, and community level. *Five core competencies: Self-management, self-awareness, responsible decision-making, social-awareness, and relationship skills.
What is one important thing to consider when it comes to measuring the impact of SEL and other whole child initiatives in California?
One important thing to consider when it comes to measuring the impact of SEL and other whole child initiatives is to identify the "why" behind gathering the data at a state-wide level. For example, are we looking to gather data to better inform families when selecting schools or are we looking to gather data to identify what additional supports and services our students need across the state to be successful? Once we identify our why, in order to inform our "what," it is vital to engage key stakeholders, hold focus groups, and work collectively to design the KPI's at the state level.
Finally, Excelsior Charter Schools described the student well-being experiences and outcomes they are seeing since the pandemic, including depression, anxiety, stress, trauma; uptick in suspensions; and encouraging empathy and positive behaviors. Through this data collection process, they created a series of responses, including partnering with Care Solace & Tiny Eye Counseling, hiring new counselors, utilizing multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), creating green spaces and a zen garden, applying CharacterStrong SEL curriculum, and forming an SEL committee.
Derek King
Excelsior Charter Schools Superintendent
Jamie Lowe
Excelsior Charter Schools Assistant Superintendent of School Administrative Services
Insights from the Field
What do you predict will be the most impactful aspect of SEL on student mental health and well-being?
Our students arrive at school with individual strengths and a unique set of circumstances and challenges. Schools must be a haven for students and provide multiple opportunities and resources if we are to address the many challenges they are facing. SEL is not a one-size fits all, it needs to be addressed with multiple resources and interventions which the core aspects of SEL allow. We can’t forget the importance of all components, or we risk not reaching out to all students and their needs.
What is one important thing to consider when it comes to measuring the impact of SEL and other whole child initiatives in California?
One important thing to consider when it comes to measuring the impact of SEL is purpose. Are we measuring our SEL initiatives to inform our academic benchmarks and dashboard, to determine if our teachers and staff are using the resources consistently, or to improve the climate and culture of the campus? Our SEL data should be measured purposefully to improve overall school performance and individual student achievement.
Resource: Session Objectives, Presentation, Report