The fourth and fifth grade Student Leadership team at Santa Cruz Gardens Elementary spent a lunch meeting with school counselor, Sue Robinson and Santa Cruz COE SEL Coach, Suzanne Denham in December, looking at their collective data from a Kelvin Education survey that gathered student perceptions around five dimensions: Safety and Connection, Experiences with Culturally/Linguistically Responsive Environments, Opportunities for Student Voice and Leadership, Resources for Coping, and Emotional Experiences (survey designed by CalHOPE partner, UC Berkeley).
The Student Leadership team discussed what they noticed about the data, and curiosities about the implications, and then determined focus areas where they want to take action to make a change at their school. The first focus area is helping all students to build resources for coping, like having strategies for dealing with difficult people or situations. Their first action will be to introduce Peace Kits in all the classrooms and teach other students how to use the tools and strategies for taking a short break to “reset” when they are feeling challenged by a situation or personal interaction.