Taos Municipal Schools are SEL Champions
There is more to the district-wide curricula in Taos Municipal Schools than the “three Rs” adults recall from their own school years, said Superintendent Valerie Trujillo. Today, TMS is working to ensure students master the interpersonal skills necessary for school, work and life successes.
Social-emotional learning, or SEL, has become an increasingly vital adjunct to traditional education protocols across the country, and is based upon the premise that self-awareness, self-control, effective communication with others and problem solving abilities are the foundation upon which personal empowerment is built.
Mark Richert, District SEL Coordinator for the SEL Champion Program, explained it this way: “Consider subjects like math, science and reading as slices of the educational ‘pie.’ Then, SEL is the plate that holds the slices.”
Richert oversees the designated teacher Champions at each of the district’s five schools: Alejandra Gomez (Arroyos del Norte); Randi Sanchez (Enos Garcia); Christine Martinez (Ranchos); Jackie Graham (Taos Middle School); and Adel Kosanke (Taos High School). Together, they collaborate on and implement a wide range of age-appropriate SEL activities for the classroom. “Our curricula are developed in accordance with the protocols accepted by the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning, the leading research clearinghouse for SEL,” Richert explained.
“There are three SEL signature practices these activities target,” he continued. “We begin with a ‘Warm Welcome,’ which is learning to be present and then getting to the business at hand. ‘Engaging Strategies’ addresses the fact that students have an innate attention span of anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes so we build in activities such as ‘brain breaks’ that promote focus and learning. Finally, we use ‘Optimistic Closure,’ where students can reflect on the accomplishments of the day.’”
Richert meets with his team every two weeks to share ideas and to continue building upon the successes of TMS staff and students and, during which, “We all learn from each other.” He is also monitoring the progress of a calming protocol incorporated into SEL at all three of the elementary schools.
“When a child recognizes that they are not in an emotional or mental space to participate in the learning lesson, they can choose to use a designated resetting space that takes them through a protocol for naming their feeling; breathing and movement exercises; and sensory activities that allow them to manage how they are feeling before returning to the learning setting,” Richert detailed.
This semester, the goal of the SEL Champion Program is to bring parents and students together in partnership and support of what is being built in the classrooms. “Each school will be hosting a family night, where child care and food will be provided and examples of SEL activities will be introduced,” Richert said. If you are a TMS parent, he encourages you to make note of the dates listed below.
And the long term goal of the program is the development of restorative practices, or a shift in defining how infractions may be addressed without the use of traditional punishments, such as suspensions. “Did we give our students the tools to avoid the situation in the first place? Can we change classroom culture?” Richert reflected.
The 2022-2023 school year is the second year of the SEL Champions 2
Program in Taos.
“We have seen a real and positive shift in the classrooms, both in the growth of students’ mindsets and their social and emotional wellbeing,” Superintendent Trujillo said, noting that future district budgets will continue to provide professional development to the TMS staff in support of SEL and the positive learning environment it creates.