Social and emotional learning a focus for SDR

There was a time when education was referred to as primarily consisting of reading, writing and arithmetic. While all of those subjects remain integral to preparing a young person for the workforce, and the adult world as a whole, education now includes social and emotional learning (SEL).

The July 17 meeting of the School District of Rhinelander Board of Education, held at the Cedric A. Vig Outdoor Classroom (CAVOC), included a discussion on the district’s efforts to ensure every graduate walks out the door “Hodag Ready” to use the district’s phraseology.

Education consultant Lisa Stein, the meeting’s guest speaker, started the discussion by challenging the group to consider the knowledge, skills and habits students need to acquire while in school in order to be successful in the workplace. 

“Social and emotional learning naturally fits into career readiness,” she said, noting that critical thinking, adaptability, collaboration, empathy, resilience and self-management are essential in the workforce and in life.

Acquiring these competencies is a “lifelong process,” for which  “there’s no mastery,” she added, noting that it’s important for teachers to serve as positive examples so that students can see what social and emotional competency looks like.

“They are the first models that our students see,” she said. “They are able to show what it looks like to make decisions, what went into decisions, how we interact with people, how you can have a conflict and still get the job done.”

When the discussion shifted to the district’s SEL initiative, James Williams Middle School Principal Richard Gretzinger and SDR college and career counselor Lexi Allen shared information gleaned through the administration’s meetings with local industry leaders regarding the “soft skills” and traits local employers are looking for in new hires.

Allen said the industry employers stressed that they are looking for employees who will arrive on time, make and maintain eye contact, listen for instructions, maintain a positive attitude and put their cellphones down. 

The pair also talked about a curricula called CharacterStrong the district has implemented at the elementary, middle school and high school levels.

According to Gretzinger, the goal of the program is to increase students’ sense of belonging and engagement in learning. 

As part of this program, students are dared to do things like open the door for someone or leave a positive note on someone’s locker, he said.

Service learning projects are another component of this initiative, as such projects illustrate for students the benefits of “doing things for the community and for others,” Gretzinger explained.

Allen told the board her goal for the upcoming school year is to meet with every single student in grades 6-12 to assist in ensuring they understand the classes they must take for their particular course of study and future plans. While students’ plans for the future can and do change, she said the district’s mission is to ensure students are ready for the next step post-graduation, whether it be attending college, entering the military or immediate entry into the workforce.

“Every single student that graduated (in 2023) had a plan for what they were doing next,” she noted.

Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].