Principal’s Corner by Nick Sofio

Social emotional learning at our elementary buildings has been long supported through the responsive classroom approach of creating a safe and engaging learning environment for all students. As a district Albert Lea Area Schools is committed to developing the whole child in order to ensure life-long success as a citizen of our community.

This school year, a new program — second step — has been added at the elementary schools to enhance our current social and emotional learning opportunities. Second step provides a variety of activities and games that engage our students in high levels of learning. Through second step, all students engage in learning activities that focus on the following: skills for learning, empathy, emotion management, problem-solving and bullying prevention.  School counselors provide instruction within the classroom, while also collaborating with classroom teachers to provide opportunities to practice these newly learned skills.

While the units of study from grade to grade are similar, second step builds upon the skills and concepts learned in previous years. For example, within the unit on emotion management students in kindergarten through fifth grade share a common concept — calming down anger/managing anger. Kindergarten students learn about identifying signs of anger within themselves and steps to follow to calm down anger. Building on this foundation, a first-grade student will learn belly breathing techniques and a three-step process to calm down— say “stop,” name their feeling and do belly breathing techniques.   

The overarching purpose of second step is to teach children how to understand and manage their emotions, be in control of their reactions, understand others’ feelings and problem-solve in order to make responsible decisions. This core goal blends seamlessly with the very first unit our students were introduced to — bullying. 

The lessons within the bullying unit teaches students about specific skills to help stop bullying. Students learn and practice the 3 R’s of bullying prevention: recognize when bullying is happening, report bullying to a caring adult and refuse to let bullying happen to themselves or others. In addition, students learn about the power of a bystander who stands up for others and reports bullying when they see it happening. Through powerful learning experiences and opportunity to safely practice these skills, students are empowered to be a proactive role in bullying prevention.   

We are very excited to share this new program with our students at our elementary buildings.  We welcome you to contact the school counselor or principal if you would like to learn more about the second step program and how the skills and strategies your child learns at school can be reinforced at home. 

Nick Sofio is the principal of Lakeview Elementary School.