MENDON – Superintendent Maureen Cohen is pleased to share that a recent survey of Mendon-Upton Regional School District students shows strong support for social and emotional learning, in support of the whole child.
About 1,500 students in Grades 3-12 took the annual survey created by Panorama Education. The District uses the data to assess students’ perceptions of their learning and emotional well-being.
Students are asked to evaluate themselves in a number of areas connected to the CASEL framework: how well they are managing their emotions and thoughts; their belief in the ability to change; amount and frequency of challenging emotions; and whether they have supportive relationships in their life.
For example, students were asked questions such as, “During the past week, how often did you feel worried?” as well as “During the past week, how often did you feel happy?” to gauge a sense of well-being. Additionally, questions such as, “During the past 30 days, how often did you get your work done right away, instead of waiting until the last minute?” help to measure skills such as self-management.
Assistant Superintendent Cheryl Kirkpatrick and Director of Instructional Technology, Dr. David Quinn, presented the results of the survey to the School Committee on Dec. 5. The full presentation may be viewed here, with slides here, where both leaders highlighted the positive trends over the last few years.
“The kids here have strong, supportive relationships, It’s truly something to celebrate,” Assistant Superintendent Kirkpatrick said.
“We were really encouraged to learn that our students are very focused on their work,” Director Quinn said.
Assistant Superintendent Kirkpatrick and Director Quinn also shared data comparing the District’s results to those collected from more than 3.5 million students nationally:
- In Grades 3-5 the District scored in at least the 80th percentile nationally in six of seven survey categories. The District scored between the 40th and 59th percentile in self-efficacy.
- In Grades 6-12 the District scored in at least the 80th percentile nationally in six of seven categories. The District scored between the 40th and 59th percentile nationally in self-efficacy and growth mindset.
Assistant Superintendent Kirkpatrick also highlighted daily practices supporting social-emotional learning and identified numerous supporting programs: Well-Being Wednesday, morning school community meetings, a WIN (“What I Need”) Block, High School Wellness Week programming and Miscoe Hill Middle School “Recognition Days.”
“Caring for the whole child means delivering quality instruction while ensuring each student has the social and emotional support in place to succeed,” Superintendent Cohen said. “The data shows that the District has strong programs in place, but that we also have some areas that we can work to improve upon.”