Social Emotional Learning

Kelso's Choices is a conflict management curriculum that is taught K-5. It covers the difference between big problems (scary/dangerous) that need a big person to help with, and small problems that students can learn to solve on their own. For Small problems, it provides 8-9 choices (depending on grade level) for students to choose from when they are having a conflict.

A curriculum geared toward helping students gain skills in consciously regulating their actions, which in turn leads to increased control and problem solving abilities. Using a cognitive behavior approach, the curriculum's learning activities are designed to help students recognize when they are in different states called "zones," with each of four zones represented by a different color. In the activities, students also learn how to use strategies or tools to stay in a zone or move from one to another. Students explore calming techniques, cognitive strategies, and sensory supports so they will have a toolbox of methods to use to move between zones. To deepen students' understanding of how to self-regulate, the lessons set out to teach students these skills: how to read others' facial expressions and recognize a broader range of emotions, perspective about how others see and react to their behavior, insight into events that trigger their less regulated states, and when and how to use tools and problem solving skills.

Character Strong aka Purposeful People is a district wide curriculum that focuses on 10 character traits, one a month, for the school year. This curriculum supports students in fostering different skills in each area in the classroom, in the school, and in the home. There will be a lot of information shared with parents and staff from Character Strong this school year!