Troy Schools At The Forefront Of Social Emotional Learning, SEL

SEL, or social and emotional learning, is understood today to be a critical part of a student’s education and is being taken seriously in Troy Community School District 30-C’s seven schools.

Social and emotional learning teaches students the value of understanding and managing their emotions, feeling and showing empathy toward others, and establishing positive relationships. Some call it, “teaching for better humans.”

Learning these skills help kids become good students at school and, eventually, good citizens. The National Education Association says the outcomes of a good SEL background are better adjustment and better academic performance.

Studies also show that incorporating SEL into school curricula leads to improved student behavior and better school attendance. Students also learn how to manage stress, handle mistakes, cooperate with others, resist inappropriate social pressure and seek and offer help when needed.

“We focused this year on continuous improvements in our SEL for students,” Troy Superintendent Dr. Todd Koehl said. “Social and emotional learning aims at providing a safe and joyful environment in our schools, where all the participants understand and respect one another and know how to show and communicate it.”

Troy Executive Director of Teaching and Learning Anne Gmazel said Troy schools are using the SEL standards adopted by the Illinois State Board of Education, and teachers have integrated them into their curricula.

“Our teachers also take advantage of teachable moments as they naturally occur,” Gmazel added. “It is important that we provide opportunities for students to practice the SEL competencies at school.”

Troy Craughwell Elementary School incorporated SEL into its classes by creating, “Craughwell Communities.” The program included a new Kindness Club, which added to the school’s rules of being respectful, responsible and peaceful. Students this year also received coupons for positive behavior.

Troy Cronin Elementary School teachers this year made videos of students behaving in appropriate ways toward each other and showed the videos to the students during their camping-themed events and assemblies. Students also earned s’more tickets for good behavior.

At Troy Heritage Trail Elementary School, students and staff focused on one of the core competencies of SEL each month, including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making. Staff compiled common read-aloud books and activities centered on each month’s SEL topic.

Troy Hofer Elementary School began a “Be Kind Community” project and a Ben’s Bells project, designed to give its students specific ideas on how to be kind to one another. The school also began a “Grand Greeter” program that began students’ days with a smile, a good morning, and a welcome from their school family, which staff said started off the day with encouragement and empathy.

Troy Shorewood Elementary School incorporated SEL into classrooms by focusing each month on a relevant word, such as respect, gratitude, kindness, self-discipline, empathy and perseverance. Students learned the definition of the words and what it looked like to put them into action. During remote learning, staff also created weekly choice boards from which students could choose activities they could do at home to explore various SEL lessons.

William B. Orenic Intermediate School instructed its students on character lessons every six weeks, had an SEL coach who worked with staff to embed SEL into their content areas, and offered fifth graders the class, “Citizenship through Community Service,” which wrapped up each trimester with a community service project.

Troy Middle School built SEL into its classrooms every day, based on lessons their teachers developed during their advisory days. Examples of lessons included executive functioning and resolving conflict peacefully.