It's that time of year again – when we ask our schools that use the Social Emotional Screener to roll it out with every teacher. Teachers get a list of their students and screen them for a variety of concerns, from withdrawn behaviors to conflict with peers, inattention and disruptive behaviors. We use the screener to help us identify trends and needs across the school. It helps us set priorities for group topics, whole school trainings, and even teachers who might benefit from some extra coaching. This year we're using a new program called Tableau Reader to look at the information we gather in an interactive graph. We can highlight specific grades and see what challenges their students are exhibiting, or look at individual teacher ratings, as well as examine individual students. We have found the screener to be especially helpful in pointing out "internalizers" – students who don't act up and get referrals for services but who instead hold it all inside, isolate from their peers, etc. Rolling out this universal screener has not always been smooth, and we have definitely learned lessons each year. This year we'll be focusing on how to share back the Screener data with our partners so they can really understand how we use their feedback to inform our intervention plans.
We invited Kate Kenealy, CIS at Cox Academy, to reflect on what she's noticed about the use of the SES at her school since our first year using it. Kate is one of our earliest users of the SES and has seen the transformation of its use over time.
We invited Kate Kenealy, CIS at Cox Academy, to reflect on what she's noticed about the use of the SES at her school since our first year using it. Kate is one of our earliest users of the SES and has seen the transformation of its use over time.
I don’t admit this to just anyone, but I secretly love data. There is something so simple and satisfying about clear, concreate numbers in our work that is filled with ambiguities, nuance and gray areas. So I have always been a closeted lover of our school-wide social emotional screener. I love how it helps me see patterns by grades, raising questions about developmental needs. I love that it clues me in to teachers with a particularly challenging class who might need some ideas or just a cup of coffee and an ear. I love that it helps me to see the student who has been quietly suffering but may be overlooked by traditional referral systems.
I have never shared this secret with the teachers at my school, Cox Academy, out of loyalty and solidarity. Every minute of the day, they are tirelessly dedicated to educating our children and every spare second is quickly grabbed up by meetings, grading and lesson planning. Over my 4 years as a Clinical Intervention Specialist at Cox, I have always felt huge guilt about asking them to do one more thing, knowing how full their plates already are. During our first round of the social emotional screener, 2 years ago, I sheepishly put hard copies in teachers’ mailboxes and used every form of positive reinforcement that I had in my arsenal to get them completed. 2 years and several iterations later, Cox just completed the most successful SES roll out yet! Teachers, who are all now experts in google docs, were given 15 minutes in an existing PD to fill out the screener for their classes. Student names were input ahead of time so teachers simply had to reflect on their students and enter numbers. There were no technological challenges (!) and teachers were familiar with the process and rationale for the screener. These small successes are always a helpful reminder of the power of practice, patience and persistence.
I have never shared this secret with the teachers at my school, Cox Academy, out of loyalty and solidarity. Every minute of the day, they are tirelessly dedicated to educating our children and every spare second is quickly grabbed up by meetings, grading and lesson planning. Over my 4 years as a Clinical Intervention Specialist at Cox, I have always felt huge guilt about asking them to do one more thing, knowing how full their plates already are. During our first round of the social emotional screener, 2 years ago, I sheepishly put hard copies in teachers’ mailboxes and used every form of positive reinforcement that I had in my arsenal to get them completed. 2 years and several iterations later, Cox just completed the most successful SES roll out yet! Teachers, who are all now experts in google docs, were given 15 minutes in an existing PD to fill out the screener for their classes. Student names were input ahead of time so teachers simply had to reflect on their students and enter numbers. There were no technological challenges (!) and teachers were familiar with the process and rationale for the screener. These small successes are always a helpful reminder of the power of practice, patience and persistence.
 |  | Blog post written by: Emily Marsh, Director of Clinical Intervention Services Kate Kenealy, Clinical Intervention Specialist |
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