The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News - Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties

The pandemic has everyone reassessing what is truly important. The same goes for teachers and faculty faced with instructing students dealing with social and emotional imbalances that can't be ignored.

Clay Central/Everly saw the writing on the wall when schools were promptly shuttered last spring. Due to this change in learning and learning environments coupled with the palpable discord within our nation and everyday lives, it has become more important than ever for faculty to understand what students and staff need both socially and emotionally on a daily basis. Knowing this equips CC/E with the ability to effectively help each child individually, while also caring for their own social and emotional health as staff members.

Local AEA consultants, along with CC/E staff, have come together to focus on the important topic of social and emotional learning (SEL) within the district.

"With the pandemic bringing on so many changes for our students, their families and to us as faculty, we really wanted to focus on their social and emotional needs," said Marlana Tewes, CC/E's counselor. "Making sure that we, as staff, can calmly and emotionally regulate ourselves so that we can handle any situations that arise, allows us to properly facilitate a calm and nurturing educational environment focusing on the children's social and emotional well-being throughout the day."

Tewes reiterated that these transitions have not been easy.

"The students have been through a lot. We have been through a lot," she said. "It's continuously a lot to process, but if we can do so properly with a gentle, nurturing and educated approach, we will have well-rounded and happy students able to face whatever the world brings their way."

SEL focuses on five main steps: Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making. Studies have shown that school is the primary place where students learn social and emotional skills. Making certain that CC/E focuses on properly managing social and emotional skills is critical during any day or age, not to mention during the pandemic.

Benefits of SEL include knowing and understanding oneself, relating to and understanding others, and making proper choices for one's personal and social self.

The district has incorporated 'brain breaks' within each classroom throughout the school day that allow students to take a break from intense-focused brain activity. Sometimes this allows students to get up from their desks and includes movement or fun activities; other times it involves deep-breathing exercises and a pause from the rush of the day.

Taking SEL seriously is critical to the success of students and faculty within the district. CC/E has used portions of several staff development days to gain further knowledge and training on the subject. According to Tewes, staff will continue this training into the foreseeable future.

"We want our students and staff to be successful in not just an educational or professional setting, but in their everyday lives," she said. "Social emotional learning is key to this and we are grateful to instill it and practice it within CC/E."