Social & Emotional Learning At a Glance Our custom-built SEL program, titled REACH (Raising Emotional Acuity, Cultural Responsiveness, and Healthy Behaviors), provides students with critical skills that prepare them for life far beyond Langley. Examples of these skills include:
At Langley, we know that social-emotional learning furthers students’ academic achievement; builds students’ resilience, adaptability, and authenticity; and prepares students to flourish in a diverse and global environment. Langley offers a comprehensive social-emotional learning (SEL) program that works in tandem with our academic program and core values.
• Managing and resolving conflict effectively • Developing healthy relationships • Understanding one’s own and others’ identities • Collaborating with others with diverse viewpoints and perspectives
• Recognizing and challenging stereotypes, discrimination, and bias
• Making healthy and informed decisions • Learning to confidently self-advocate and stand up for what’s right
Program Highlights Emotional Acuity: As part of our commitment to strengthen the emotional acuity of our community members, we utilize RULER, an evidence-based approach developed out of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. RULER includes a set of age-appropriate tools that teach children and adults how to Recognize, Understand, Label, Express, and Regulate their emotions. Cultural Responsiveness: At Langley, we know that the strongest community is one that is guided by the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We align our faculty/staff professional development, parent education, academic curriculum, and REACH lessons in order to foster cultural awareness and the skills students will need in a diverse and more global world. Healthy Behaviors: Tailored to the developmental needs of our students, Langley’s Counseling Department and school nurse – together with science and physical education teachers – ensure that our students understand the multitude of changes that they undergo physically and emotionally. Our goal is to empower our students so they can make informed and healthy decisions in high school and beyond.
REACH in Action The REACH curriculum is dynamic and tailored to the needs of the grade levels across Langley’s Arc of Development. The following lessons are examples from a sampling of grades showing how we prepare our students to be confident, empathic leaders and citizens who can successfully navigate the complexities of relationships to achieve strong outcomes. Many of the REACH lessons are interwoven with curricular units.
• Preschool: Preschool students learn how to plot their emotions on the Mood
Meter. Lessons center on bolstering students’ emotion vocabulary and identifying strategies that help manage uncomfortable emotions.
• Kindergarten: Kindergarten students learn about diverse types of families and explore a variety of holiday traditions.
• Grade 2: Second-grade students learn about more complex emotions such as anger,
as well as strategies for managing these feelings. In addition, lessons focus on friendship skills such as using “I messages” and differentiating between “lift-ups” and “put-downs.”
• Grade 4: Fourth-graders explore the connections between the brain and the body
in order to understand the experience and management of stress. Mindfulness practices are woven in and students learn to identify unhelpful thoughts.
• Grade 6: Sixth-grade students learn about the components of identity, including how history
shapes identity through the lens of the “Big 8.” Lessons also focus on mental health, stress management, and the changes that their bodies and brains are undergoing during adolescence.
• Grade 8: Eighth-graders dive into conversations about healthy and unhealthy relationships, and
think about the relationship qualities that are most important to them. Conversations about boundaries and consent help prepare students for the complexities of relationships as they transition to high school. Since we believe educational programs should continually evolve to meet the needs of our students, all curricular lessons and schedules referenced here are examples and may change.
REACH Schedule • Primary School and Grades 1-2: Integrated in classwork and during morning meetings • Grades 3-8: Dedicated REACH classes (1x/7-day cycle) ©The Langley School, 2019