School-Connect: Optimizing the High School Experience

<body> <p class="style1">School-Connect®: Optimizing the High School Experience is a 40-lesson curriculum (grades 9-12) designed to improve students’ social and emotional skills, boost academic achievement, and facilitate supportive relationships among students and teachers. </p> <p class="style1">School-Connect can be implemented in freshmen seminar,<a href="curriculum.htm"> life skills</a>, health, English, advisory, psychology, or leadership courses. </p> <p class="style1">The curriculum consists of four modules:<img src="S-C%20Site%20tester%20graphics611/binderfinal.png" width="221" height="219" hspace="10" align="right"></p> <ol class="style3"> <li class="style1"> Creating a Supportive Learning Community<br> <br> </li> <li class="style1">Developing Self-Awareness and Self-Management<br> <br> </li> <li class="style1">Building Academic Strengths<br> <br> </li> <li class="style1">Resolving Conflicts and Making Decisions </li> </ol> <p class="style1">The <em>School-Connect</em> curriculum works especially well in preparing incoming freshmen for the demands of high school. Lessons focus on bolstering protective factors – such as supportive relationships, <a href="curriculum.htm">social skills</a>, emotional management, and effective study habits – and reducing risk factors associated with school violence and <a href="mainframe-qanda.htm">high school drop out</a> rates (e.g., <a href="curriculum.htm">bullying</a>, social isolation, and poor academic attitudes and habits). </p> <p class="style1"><em>School-Connect </em>lesson plans apply the latest research in emotional intelligence, positive psychology, prevention, and character education.  The lessons are designed to create a positive school climate while giving students opportunities to explore, discuss, and practice skills crucial to success in school and the workplace. Particular attention is given to the needs of at-risk youth.  As students’ sense of competency grows, so does their self-esteem and attachment to school. </p> <p class="style1">Lead author Kathy Beland, M.Ed., is the original author of the award-winning <em><a href="aboutus.htm">Second Step, A Violence Prevention Curriculum</a></em>, which is implemented in over 20,000 classrooms in the U.S. and Canada and in 21 other countries. <em>Second Step</em> has been recognized as a model school safety program by the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice and has received the highest ratings (straight A’s across all categories) by a national panel of prevention experts.  <em>School-Connect</em> builds upon the same skills introduced in <em>Second Step</em> with an added emphasis on academic readiness. </p> <p class="style1">Great for <a href="mainframe-qanda.htm">Smaller Learning Communities</a>! </p> <p class="style1">Below is a summary of the five other pages connected to www.school-connect.net/index</p> <p class="style1"><a href="aboutus.htm">www.school-connect.net/aboutus.htm</a> </p> <p class="style1">Mission Statement: School-Connect is dedicated to fostering academic engagement, enhancing social and emotional competencies, reducing risk behaviors, and facilitating supportive relationships within high school communities. Our ultimate goal is to prepare adolescents for adulthood both personally and professionally</p> <p class="style1">School-Connect?s lead author, Kathy Beland, is the original author of Second Step: A Violence Prevention Curriculum and lead author of Eleven Principles Sourcebook, How to Achieve Quality Character Education in K-12 Schools. Kathy Beland and Julea Douglass worked together at the Character Education Partnership before co-founding School-Connect. Barbara Luther works with School-Connect as a trainer and consultant.</p> <p class="style1"><a href="curriculum.htm">www.school-connect.net/curriculum.htm</a> </p> <p class="style1">The School-Connect curriculum focuses on the CASEL Competencies: self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) identified these skill sets as fundamental to emotional intelligence and a positive school climate. The curriculum is research-based, easy to use, and addresses many states? school standards (standards-based).</p> <p class="style1">The table of contents lists 40 lesson titles, which address topics such as emotional intelligence, classroom guidelines, empathy, labeling and stereotyping, appreciating diversity, preventing bullying, adolescent development, anger management, stress management, inducing positive emotions, underlying beliefs, multiple intelligence, study skills, setting and achieving goals, preparing for tests, maintaining friendships, problem solving, conflict resolution, responsible decision making, and apologizing and forgiving. Several free sample lessons are available at www.school-connect.net/curriculum.htm </p> <p class="style1">The Questions and Answers section discusses recent reform efforts to reduce drop out rates, abate rates of high risk behavior, and help adolescents, particularly ninth grade students, successfully transition through high school and into adulthood. Many major organizations, such as the U.S. Department of Education, the National Governors Association, and the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation are working together to reform high schools by reducing school size, implementing smaller learning communities (SLC), encouraging advisory classes, and designing intervention methods to boost students? academic skills and knowledge. School-Connect meets the needs of high school students by creating learning environments that foster autonomy, belonging, and competence, and offering fundamental training in social skills, emotional management, study strategies, and relationship skills. It also helps teachers develop strategies for connecting with students and appealing to students? multiple learning styles and strengths. </p> <p class="style1"><a href="implementation.htm">www.school-connect.net/implementation.htm </a></p> <p class="style1">School-Connect: Optimizing the High School Experience can be implemented in a freshman seminar, English course, health class, advisory classes, ROTC, student government, student leadership, a psychology class, or after-school program. </p> <p class="style1">www.school-connect.net/training.htm </p> <p class="style1">School-Connect offers on-site training and regional-training. Professional development classes can be for staff training or trainer training. </p> <p class="style1"><a href="research.htm">www.school-connect.net/research.htm</a> </p> <p class="style1">School-Connect conducted a pilot study in 2004-05 and is currently seeking schools to participate in an outcome evaluation. Schools interested in participating in the School-Connect evaluation should contact Julea Douglass.</p> <p class="style1">School-Connect is research-based, building off much of the research in positive psychology, prevention education, violence prevention, social and emotional learning, and character education. The curriculum utilizes cognitive-behavioral strategies, role plays, social learning, and self-assessments to help students gain empathy, self-awareness, self-management, and academic skills while also learning to dispute negative thought patterns and underlying beliefs that may be hindering their ability to succeed. School-Connect teaching strategies are designed to increase students? sense of autonomy and school-connectedness. Research citations include Albert Bandura, Aaron Beck, Edward Deci, Carol Dweck, and Roger Weissberg. </p> <p class="style1"><a href="purchase.htm">www.school-connect.net/purchase.htm </a></p> <p class="style1">School-Connect offers three products: 1) School-Connect: Optimizing the High School Experience Teachers Manual (Modules 1-4), 2) School-Connect: Building a Supportive Learning Community (Module 1), and 3) School-Connect Student Workbooks.</p> <p class="style1"><a href="contact.htm">www.school-connect.net/contact.htm</a> </p> <p class="style1">This page includes the School-Connect phone, fax, and address as well as e-mail addresses for Kathy Beland and Julea Douglass.</p> </body>