Times Chronicle & Public Spirit
Programs give students a step up
Second Step shows positive results in social & emotional learning
NORRISTOWN >> A program designed to teach social and emotional learning skills for children in Montgomery County appears to be paying lasting dividends to build a strong foundation to set themselves up for success later in life.
After implementing the Second Step into the curriculum of a number of elementary schools across Montgomery County, Katie Kucz, prevention coordinator for the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services’ office of drug and alcohol, said organizers are beginning to track the data and see quantified results.
“So what we’ve learned is the students who have received the Second Step lessons have increased their social emotional capacity because of receiving the Second Step lessons, and that’s the statistically significant part,” she said. “It’s not by error, or by chance, that their social and emotional capacity has increased.”
For the 2019-20 academic year, 6,452 students in 41 schools in 16 school districts participated in the Second Step program, according to data obtained from the county’s health and human services department.
The initiative was designed for kindergarten through fifth graders, and Kucz estimated that support is being provided for more than 20,000 students across Montgomery County.
“We know that social emotional learning is totally worth the return on investment. It has so many long term outcomes like better health outcomes, better attendance and GPA, lifetime earning,” she said. “So it’s really such an awesome program that has long term benefits in addition to short term in the classroom benefits.”
The county’s drug and alcohol office first introduced the Second Step program in 2015 as a way to educate students about a number of “soft skills” including self awareness, empathy, conflict resolution, and problem solving, which Kucz said were deemed necessary in order “to be successful in life.”
Between 22 and 25 lessons are taught over a period of time by teachers and contracted providers, according to Kucz. The practices aim to reinforce development through several exercises including brain builder games and weekly theme activities, according to a county spokesperson.
Despite obstacles associated with in-person learning amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, instructors have been able to have the lessons customized so they can teach the Second Step lessons virtually, synchronously, asynchronously or in-person.
“We’ve really pivoted to meet each district where they’re at so that these lessons can continue through the pandemic,” Kucz said.
While officials are still compiling information from the 2020-21 school year, Kucz said she expects to have a better sense of the findings by this fall. However, she remains optimistic about the program’s popularity, positive results and the opportunity for teachable moments.
“I think it comes down to the problem solving skills, and the coping skills, and just that social awareness, and empathy piece,” she said. “If students are taught those types of skills, then they can better relate or deal with situations that might come up like the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Second Step is funded by a combination of federal and state grants including the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s STOP Violence and Mental Health Training Program as well as Pennsylvania’s Department of Drug and Alcohol programs and Health and Human Services.
In its sixth year, Kucz expressed the desire to continue implementing the program to help more children in Montgomery County.
“I’m always looking to expand because we’re not reaching every kid, and every kid deserves these types of lessons, and really, the opportunity to learn the skills,” she said.
For more information about social and emotional learning initiatives in Montgomery County, visit www. montcopa.org/3672/SocialEmotional-Learning-inMontcoPA.