LYNNFIELD — School Committee members learned firsthand from a panel of nine first-grade teachers what Lynnfield’s two elementary schools are doing to combat student stress through their Social Emotional Learning program.
“We have spoken a lot about Social Emotional Learning the last few years and as you know, Social Emotional Learning is all over our school improvement plans,” said Superintendent Jane Tremblay. “We asked for a couple of teachers, and in first-grade fashion, we got the entire team from both schools. These are the people in the trenches who experience what is being done every day, so I thought it would be great to hear from them.”
Social and emotional learning has to be taught, just like academic subjects, said Summer Street School teacher Jill Juliano.
“Students need to be able to manage their emotions, set goals, have empathy for others so they can make good decisions and develop life skills.”
Kate Mancinelli, who also teaches at Summer Street, talked about Morning Meeting, a key element of the Responsive Classroom program.
“We start each day spending 20-25 minutes with the Morning Meeting to build community,” she said. “We start with a greeting by name with eye contact so we can read body language and see what’s going on. We talk about sharing and have an activity that is designed to encourage cooperation and learning in the classroom. Finally, we have what we call the morning message, which is designed to spark kids’ interest with how the day is going to shape up for them.”
Huckleberry Hill teacher Katie Zampitella explained what goes on in the co-taught classroom she shares with Katelyn Chambers.
“The class includes students with different needs who are included as much as possible,” she said. “All day we celebrate diversity with students accessing as much grade level curriculum as they can. Students learn the way that works best for them.so they all get what they need.”
Huckleberry Hill School teacher Alexander Pesaturo explained how Huckleberry uses personalized learning, an approach that is tailored to each student as a teaching model.
“Students are all equal partners in learning,” she said. “This approach provides choice and flexibility to use different settings to build confidence, responsibility and ownership. We work with each student to get to know them one-on-one to form a profile that tells us how they like to access the curriculum. It helps them develop self-advocacy skills and added motivation.”
One teacher described how Mindfulness is helping kids cope better.
“Seven or eight years ago I noticed how more children were coming to school a little more anxious than in the past and it was something we needed to do something about,” said Jill Quickel. “I had the support of the administration and came across Mindfulness and it has really improved my teaching and is showing so many benefits for families.
Quickel said that Mindfulness is about paying attention without judgment to right now. “These are really life skills that can be applied to a doctor’s visit, things that the children can integrate into their daily lives.”
She went on to use the example of a snow globe.
“The snow is all of our history, all of our baggage and thoughts swirling around so it is hard to see through and solve the problem,” she said. “But when you can sit and really be still, the snow settles and all of those things pass as they always do.”
Assistant Committee Chairman Richard Sjoberg said he was “blown away” with the foundation that the elementary schools are building in SEL and asked the teachers to give an example of how to handle a student having a difficult day.
Juliano said when a student comes into school crying, she gives the child personal space to try to connect and give them what they need.
“Mine is very similar to that,” said Kristen Hager of Summer Street School. “We have a safe space or mindfulness area. They know it’s an area they can use with a weighted blanket, paper and pencil and a thumbs-up signal they can give when they are ready to talk.”
Chairman Jamie Hayman said while he has heard a lot of the complex needs of middle school students, it was good to learn about the younger students.
“But there’s only so much we can do in the schools,” he said.
