Social Emotional Skills have come to the forefront in education during this pandemic. Social Emotional Learning is taking place in a variety of ways at school. Skykomish has incredible administration, teachers, and staff who work with your child(ren) throughout each day to ensure they are learning to be the best version of themselves. The entire school utilizes the Leader in Me curriculum as well; it is based on 7 Habits: 1. Be proactive, 2. Begin with the end in mind, 3. Put first things first, 4. Think win-win, 5. Seek first to understand, then be understood, 6. Synergize, and 7. Sharpen the Saw.

Skykomish students, staff, and families are also able to interact and work closely with the school Intervention Specialist, Mrs. Rosemary Mitchell. She works on creating the necessary resiliency skills all students need as they mature. She is a valuable resource for students and parents who need assistance of any kind and helps organize events at school and in the community.

In addition, Mrs. Sonia Bartosek, school counselor, works with grades K-3 using the Second Step curriculum. The Second Step curriculum is divided by grade level and covers 1. Skills for Learning (focusing attention, listening, using self-talk, and being assertive), 2. Empathy (identifying and understanding their feelings along with the feelings of others, looking at another’s point of view, and showing compassion), 3. Emotion Management (calming down strong feelings), and 4. Problem solving (for themselves and with others). Mrs. Allison Luker also uses this program with our pre-school students, too.

The 4^th and 5^th grade students begin with a refresher of the Second Step concepts with the school counselor and then move on to the Purposeful People curriculum. This curriculum is also divided into grade level groups. It is based on activities surrounding 10 core values: Courage, Respect, Perseverance, Gratitude, Honesty, Kindness, Empathy, Responsibility, Cooperation, & Creativity.

Middle school students move into Character Strong. Character Strong has both Middle & High School curricula based on the 8 values of Commitment, Forgiveness, Honesty, Humility, Kindness, Patience, Respect, and Selflessness. In middle school, students learn and discuss the qualities of community building, exploring values, perspective, empathy, emotional regulation, conflict resolution, personal well-being, self-acceptance, teamwork, and school leadership skills. In addition, middle school students work on career readiness skills with both the school counselor and their teacher by exploring the requirements of the High School and Beyond plan utilizing Career Guidance Washington.

High school students work with their advisor who intertwines the 8 principles of Character Strong along with college and career readiness skills by working on the requirements for the High School & Beyond Plan. They also utilize the Career Guidance Washington curriculum. The school counselor works with the advisors and students to assist with the transition to and from high school.