Spring Break Activities

It’s March into Literacy Month! As you head into spring break, click the link to check out the literacy-themed connection activities you can do locally as a family! Besides being fun, these activities help students set positive goals, establish and maintain positive relationships and make responsible decisions.

Reflect and Connect: 52 prompts that inspire thought and conversation is a set of reflection cards that inspire thought and conversation to develop and strengthen the emotional growth of staff, students and leaders. The questions are an effective tool to foster listening, talking, reflecting, building empathy, and discussing difficult topics during regular check-ins and team and staff meetings.

Prompts align with the Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) five-competency framework and the LCPS Profile of a Graduate. Cards are organized by competency and note the related skill areas, 5C and 5C criteria. Each card is intentionally designed to be versatile for use with adults or students and can support Social and Emotional Learning in professional, classroom and personal circumstances.

Social-emotional learning (SEL) is how children and adolescents learn and apply knowledge and skills to develop healthy identities and confidence, set and achieve goals, manage feelings, work and play with others, show empathy, make responsible and caring decisions, and solve problems. Through SEL, students are better able to learn and contribute to a positive school environment. These skills are what build foundational knowledge to support the Profile of an LCPS Graduate and career readiness skills.

Benefits of SEL

What are the benefits of implementing social-emotional learning in schools? Research has found that students participating in evidence-based SEL programs have:

Student Gains 

Social-emotional skills
Improved attitudes about self, others, and school
Positive classroom behavior
Academic performance in reading and math (11 percentile-point gain)

Reduced Risks of Failure

 Conduct problems
 Emotional distress

Source: Durlak, J.A., Weissberg, R.P., Dymnicki, A.B., Taylor, R.D., & Schellinger, K. (2011) The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development: 82 (1), 405-432.

What is Second Step SEL?

Adopted by LCPS in 2019, the Second Step® program is a universal, evidence-based social-emotional learning curriculum taught by classroom teachers of students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Students learn and practice critical social-emotional and executive functioning skills that support student success in school while preparing them for everyday life. Second Step includes four teacher-led units, each with five to eight interactive lessons. Family communications accompany each Second Step lesson, providing lesson summaries and prompts to reinforce the learning at home. 

The following units are covered in the Second Step curriculum:

Elementary (Kindergarten - Grade 5)                               

Growth Mindset and Goal-Setting                                      
Emotion Management
Empathy and Kindness                                                       
Problem-Solving        

Middle School (Grade 6-8)

Mindsets and Goals                                      
Recognizing Bullying and Harassment 
Thoughts, Emotions, and Decisions
Managing Relationships and Social Conflict

Second Step SEL is implemented in all elementary schools and will be fully implemented in middle schools by the 2023-2024 school year. 

To learn more about the Second Step curriculum, view the Scope & Sequence and visit Secondstep.org. 

View Second Step Elementary Sample Lessons and Middle School Sample Lessons

Family Curriculum Access

Families have access to viewing all lessons and family engagement materials in the Second Step Elementary and Second Step Middle School curriculums through their own Second Step account. Create your Second Step account by visiting secondstep.org and entering your school access code. For more information about your school's code, please contact your school administration. (Directions: How to Create a Second Step Account)

High School SEL

LCPS has not adopted Second Step or other curriculums to teach SEL in high schools, yet there are many
ways schools are addressing social-emotional learning and mental wellness through school-wide campaigns
and classroom lessons, including: School Counseling Lessons and Advisory Lessons; Sources of Strength
and other student leadership groups; and Positive Experiences in Educational Relationships (PEER).

Visit the Virginia Department of Education information on SEL: VDOE Social-Emotional Learning

SEL Day 2023

Uplifting Hearts, Connecting Minds