Student Leadership
School-Connect has also been used effectively in student leadership classes. In many cases, the leadership students go through the lessons themselves and then teach select lessons to younger grade levels at the high school or middle school. School-Connect covers many of the topics essential to leadership skills - effective communication, problem solving, perspective taking, and conflict resolution - responsible decision making - and encourages a student-driven classroom environment in which student voice is valued and nurtured.
School-Connect’s user-friendly lessons make it easy for leadership students to teach the lessons to others. If the leadership students demonstrate ability to reliably model and communicate the School-Connect skills, they can be a powerful tool in creating a supportive school climate and inspiring other students to adopt prosocial skills.
SEL from a Student’s Perspective
Hear from Daniel McCutchen, a student who went from “at-risk” to Harvard after starting high school in S-C Co-Author Keeth Matheny’s freshman seminar class.
CLICK for Daniel’s Key to Success: SEL
CLICK for Tch Talks: A Student’s Perspective on SEL in the Classroom Podcast
CLICK to watch Daniel in TEDxYouth Talk: It’s Okay to not be Okay
Tips for Successful Integration with Student Leadership:
- Provide School-Connect training for the leadership coordinator, who in-turn trains the student leaders.
- Create a master plan of lessons and activities for the year.
- Pair 2-3 student leaders with groups of 10-20 freshmen.
- Plan special activities for Freshman Transition day or week.
- Schedule times for student leaders to teach School-Connect lessons to their freshman groups throughout the year.
- Schedule regular meetings with student leaders to discuss their experiences teaching the lessons and working with their freshman groups.
- Keep the parents of freshmen and student leaders informed about School-Connect skills and strategies.
