The Daily Starter
The Daily Starter is a digital tool that provides an opportunity for teachers to connect with and support their students.
Norfolk Public School uses the Daily Starter (Grade 1-6) to track student’s emotional wellness. The daily starter is an emotional wellness platform that captures how kids feel and allows educators to identify and respond to a student in the moment. The goal is to look more closely at social-emotional health and how we, as a school and district, can keep track of our students and offer the right support at the right time.
While teachers always greet their students and ask about their wellbeing, the Daily Starter helps teachers identify which of their students might need a more focused, immediate check-in. Many students often simply need a quick, caring connection with a trusted adult who knows them well. Some students may need more intensive support that may not be feasible after a classroom teacher follows up with them. When this is the case, a referral to someone on the wellness team is made. If there are significant concerns, a protocol is in place for teachers to communicate/collaborate with school staff and to follow-up with students and families.
This emotional check in is not a diagnostic tool but rather a valuable resource which enables each teacher to check the climate of their classroom. The Daily Starter asks two questions: 'How are you today?' and 'Anything you want to share? (optional)'. The students are asked to rate themselves on a Smiley Face Likert scale ranging from 1 = awful to 5 = fantastic.
While students fill out the Daily Starter to capture how they are feeling in the moment, we remind students that feelings are temporary and they can move from one feeling to another feeling, all day long and, most importantly, all feelings are OK.