Without social emotional development, our educators and leaders realize it is impossible to achieve academic growth. That’s why we are committed to making sure all students understand their learning environment is a safe, caring and equitable place where they always have an opportunity to participate and prosper. Our teachers and school administrators complete professional development yearly to deeply understand the impact of social emotional learning and how to implement successful strategies in the classroom.
Professional Learning and Development
All MSCS employees who support students must receive training to ensure their vision aligns with the mindset and mission of social emotional learning and restorative practices. We must build awareness, commitment and ownership in a process for continuous improvement.
Professional development sessions are held regularly to equip school and District-level staff with the tools, methods and resources required to address the diverse academic, behavioral and social needs of students. Sessions are targeted, in-depth and specific to the role of the stakeholder in the SEL process. The sessions help staff broaden their scope and build capacity with trauma-informed practices, progressive and restorative discipline and cultivating a culturally responsive learning environment.
Available Social Emotional Learning PD Courses in PLZ:
- Basic Classroom Management: This course for new and novice teachers will provide clarity regarding discipline processes, policies and expectations when dealing with student behavioral challenges. Teachers will discuss strategies and learn how to implement general classroom management techniques that serve to reduce misbehavior in the instructional environment.
- Classroom Management – Introduction to Restorative Practices: Restorative practices have proven effective in reducing misbehavior, bullying, violence and crime among students while improving the overall climate for learning in schools. This session covers the basics of restorative practices, including how to use classroom circles as a restorative practice.
- Restorative Circles: In this session, participants will understand how implementation of Restorative Circles can reduce unwanted student behaviors while meeting RTI2-A, RTI2-B and SEL benchmarks.
- Creating Safe Spaces in the Classroom: Children learn best when they are comfortable, safe and relaxed. Mindfulness is a practice that can help students be less reactive and compulsive and instead act from a place of greater ease and stability. When students practice mindfulness, they are creating a space to think, breathe and separate themselves from their reactions. Peace corners allow students to practice mindfulness strategies that help them process their feelings and take care of themselves in a way that is right for them. In this session, participants will explore the strategies and skills cultivated by mindfulness and learn how to implement and effectively use peace corners as a form of student and adult self-care in the classroom.
- Introduction to Social Emotional Learning (SEL): Schools play an important role in addressing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and preventing other cognitive and emotional challenges among students. Social emotional learning creates a culturally responsive and supportive learning environment that can act as a buffer to the effects of trauma and help empower students to be successful in life. In this session, administrators will understand the role that SEL plays in creating safe, engaging and personalized learning experiences for students and gain insight into the implementation of SEL in MSCS.
- Social and Emotional Learnings (SEL) Foundations (with TEM Crosswalk): In this session, teachers and administrators will understand the role that social emotional learning plays in creating safe, engaging and personalized learning experiences for students and adults. Participants will explore the social and emotional core competencies and social teaching practices that increase student engagement, learn to develop their social and emotional skills and foster caring and identify strategies for effective discipline. Participants will also gain insight into how these practices align to the Teacher Evaluation Measure (TEM) rubric.
- Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Awareness Training: This session will increase participants' understanding of how exposure to multiple and severe stressors can profoundly affect how children interpret their world. The more ACEs a child has been exposed to, the greater the likelihood that he or she will experience developmental delays and health problems in the future. Increasing the awareness of ACEs in children and looking at students through a trauma-sensitive lens opens an opportunity to approach teaching and learning in new ways.
- Culturally Responsive Teaching & Learning: How do you reach students who are culturally and racially different from you? To be effective in multicultural classrooms, teachers must relate teaching content to the cultural backgrounds of their students. In this session, participants will explore the importance of culturally responsive teaching and learning (CRLT) and receive practical strategies to help them address the needs of diverse student populations.
