Second Step
A big shoutout to Illinois Electric Cooperative for their donation to WGS for a Social Emotion program called Second Step. We cannot thank IEC enough for their continued support of WGS! This program will positively impact most of our students as we continue to navigate through this pandemic. Below is a description of this program and how we are using it in our classes. Also a picture of Mrs. Lashmett’s second grade class with our school social worker Ms. Pinkerton. A big thank you to Mrs. Lashmett for writing the grant to IEC and to Ms. Pinkerton for implementing it in our K-5 classrooms!
Second Step is a curriculum program designed to teach students social and emotional skills. The program helps build a foundation for a positive, inclusive culture through developing social-emotional competencies, which include perspective-taking, empathy, processing emotions, understanding and resolving conflicts, and building positive relationships. The program is flexible, web-based, and uses up-to-date research to help teachers engage children with age-appropriate, culturally relevant content. The lessons are easy to teach and fun to learn. Social-emotional learning can boost attendance and graduation rates and lead to better academic performance.
Our district social worker is pushing into all K-5 classes bi-weekly to use this program with our students. We are working on a schedule to push this program into our JH as well.
