Caring School Community is an elementary-level intervention that focuses on strengthening students' connectedness to school, respect for all members of the school community, and ownership for one's learning and behavior.
Key components of the intervention include:
Class meetings
Cross-age buddies program
Homeside activities
Schoolwide community-building activities
Through the intervention, teachers learn to:
Cultivate supportive relationships among students
Set positive classroom norms
Build classroom unity
Give students a more meaningful voice in the classroom
Develop students' social skills and commitment to responsibility, helpfulness, and respect
Through the intervention, students learn:
To set class norms and goals
Create plans
Make decisions
Solve problems related to classroom life
How to better understand and empathize with other students
According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), 3 randomized control trials (RCTs) show improved academic performance, increased positive social behavior, reduced conduct problems, and reduced emotional distress. Meanwhile, the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) found potentially positive effects on behavior, but no discernible effects on knowledge, attitudes, values, and academic achievement.
Tier 1, Grades K-8, Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)