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How Do We Build Social-Emotional Life Skills?
How Do We Build Social-Emotional Life Skills?
While academic learning remains a core priority for our CFAUSD students, our schools also support the development of life skills. These life skills are developed through social-emotional skill building and help our adults and children develop the skills to:
Set goals and work toward achieving them
Approach challenges in a positive, optimistic way
Believe in themselves and their abilities
Navigate social situations
Respond ethically
Understand, express, and control their emotions
Empathize with the feelings of others
Stand up for people of different backgrounds
Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL)
SELF-AWARENESS
SELF-AWARENESS
"I know who I am."
Students are aware of how they feel, and know how to name the feeling. They know their strengths, what makes them unique, and ways they can continue to grow. They know what is important to them, and the kind of person they want to be.
SELF-MANAGEMENT
SELF-MANAGEMENT
"I take care of myself."
Students have strategies to handle strong emotions. They are able to identify their goals, make a plan, and take action to reach them. When things get hard, they know who to ask for help or what steps to take to get the help that is needed. Students strive to make good choices.
RESPONSIBLE DECISION MAKING
RESPONSIBLE DECISION MAKING
"I am a problem solver."
Students can identify multiple strategies to solve problems. They think about consequences before they act. They analyzing information, consider the sources, and reflect on their choices before making a decision.
SOCIAL AWARENESS
SOCIAL AWARENESS
"I care about others."
Students appreciate how people are both different and similar. They work hard to show respect, and consider the interests, feelings, and perspectives of others. They pay attention to how their words and actions affect those around them.
RELATIONSHIP SKILLS
RELATIONSHIP SKILLS
"I am a good friend."
Students learn to be freinds with people who are good friends in return. They understand and value healthy relationships. They know how to communicate with others in a way that is respectful so that all parties can get work done together. They help others, and ask friends or caring adults for help when it is needed.
CFAUSD School Counseling Departments
CFAUSD School Counseling Departments
The ultimate goal CFAUSD's School Counseling Program is student success. Our school counselors serve as leaders, advocates, and collaborators working to support students to achieve their personal best. Their programs are designed to address three domains of student development: academic, personal/social, and careeer.
Program Spotlight:
Program Spotlight:
Conscious Discipline
Conscious Discipline
The Chippewa Falls 4K Cardinals' classrooms began their Conscious Discipline journey in 2021. 4K staff have been provided professional development and a sustainable program implementation plan to best meet the needs of our youngest learners.
Conscious Discipline™ is an evidence-based, trauma-informed social and emotional learning program. Using the latest brain research, Conscious Discipline helps support a foundation of safety and caring where children will begin learning how to solve conflicts, manage their emotions, and take responsibility for their actions. It consists of three components:
Safety: Controlling and changing ourselves is possible and it has a profound impact on others
Connection: Connectedness governs behavior
Problem-Solving: Conflict is an opportunity to teach
The "conscious" part of Conscious Discipline is based on consciousness and mindfulness research, and consists of seven adult-led powers, seven discipline skills, and creation of an interconnected School Family. The emphasis is always on transforming everyday discipline issues into teaching moments.
For More Information:
Book: "Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline: 7 Basic Skills to Turn Confict into Cooperation" by Becky Bailey, Ph.D.
Program Spotlight:
Program Spotlight:
Second Step
Second Step
CFAUSD students in grades K-8 participate in the Second Step® curriculum, a research-based social-emotional learning program designed to improve children’s social-emotional skills. Second Step skills and concepts are designed to help children both in and out of school.
The program is aligned around four units that cover the following concepts based on what is developmentally appropriate for each grade level.
Growth Mindset & Goal-Setting:
Grades K-8: Students learn how to pay attention and manage distractions, develop a growth mindset, and apply goal-setting strategies to their social and academic lives.
Emotion Management:
Grades K-5: Students learn how to identify and label emotions and use emotion management strategies to calm strong feelings.
Grades 6-8: Students learn how to recognize strong emotions and unhelpful thoughts, and learn to apply strategies for managing their emotions and reducing stress.
Empathy, Kindness, and Recognizing Bullying & Harassment:
Grades K-5: Students learn how to recognize kindness and act kindly, have empathy for others and take others’ perspectives, and recognize kind acts and empathy as important elements of building and maintaining relationships.
Grades 6-8: Students also learn how to recognize bullying and harassment, stand up safely to bullying, and respond appropriately to harassment.
Managing Relationships & Social Conflict:
Grades K-5: Students learn how to identify and state a problem, recognize if a problem is an accident, and use the STEP problem-solving process: S: Say the problem T: Think of solutions E: Explore the outcomes P: Pick a solution
Grades 6-8: Students learn strategies for developing and maintaining healthy relationships, perspective-taking, and dealing with conflict.
For More Information:
Restorative Practices
Restorative Practices
Restorative approaches are based on the idea that when we feel part of a supportive community, we respect others in that community and become accountable to it. When things go wrong or are not working well, restorative practices provides a framework to repair the harm caused, make things right, and rebuild the relationships that have been harmed.
Restorative practices offer a positive alternative to more traditional punitive forms of discipline. High expectations and accountability are vitally part of the restorative process.
Restorative Principles
Restorative practice is a way of thinking and being based on caring, collaborative, and respectful relationships
Focus is on building and strengthening healthy relationships and community
Provide a supportive framework to prevent, respond to, and repair harm.
PBIS
PBIS
PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) helps our schools establish clear expectations for students and take active steps toward teaching, modeling, and reinforcing appropriate behaviors.
The emphasize is on the creation of behavior supports for all students that are preventative in nature. In addition, more interventions can be added for students to help them master the necessary skills to be successful learners.
PBIS also helps build positive culture in our school buildings by celebrating the work that students do by following the school-wide expectations. Be on the lookout for updates throughout the year from your child(ren)'s school about PBIS in action!
Key Elements of PBIS:
Data - What information is needed to improve decision making?
Outcomes - What do students need to do for academic and behavioral success?
Practices - What do students need to support their academic and behavioral skills and increase their overall success (e.g., teaching, prompting)?
Systems - What do educators need to support their use of evidence-based academic and behavior practices (e.g., school leadership teams, continuous professional development)?
Looking for ways to boost social, emotional, or behavioral skills at home?
Looking for ways to boost social, emotional, or behavioral skills at home?
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