We know from decades of research and evidence that students learn more when they are members of a school community that fosters a safe and healthy learning environment, which includes caring and supportive relationships both with and among the adults. The fundamental premise of this session is that to create and develop a school culture that supports this kind of learning environment, both in the classroom and in the school, educators need to commit to a process (not another program) that continuously strengthens adult and student interpersonal skills (sometimes referred to as SEL).
In this session we will:
1. Explore strategies that the teacher can do to foster a healthy classroom environment and culture (behavior).
2. Examine the essential interpersonal skills (behaviors) of a healthy and functional collaborative team.
3. Understand how to create and develop school-wide collective commitments (behaviors) among the adults that reinforce the work at the team and classroom level.