Project EXSEL--About the project

District Two was the fortunate recipient of a federal grant designed to integrate social-emotional understandings and skills into existing literature and social studies curriculum, for six schools in District Two. What is unique about EXSEL is that we identified the school counselor as the agent of change. EXSEL is designed to be a demonstration project. Project EXSEL is the first of its kind - giving the responsibility to two project counselors to be in the lead role of the project, and to get it going in all schools. These counselors worked with the school counselors in participant schools, with an SEL curriculum consultant, and with K-5 teachers to develop and deliver SEL lessons. The project counselors, along with all District Two counselors, received education and training in SEL competency building during the course of the grant.

100 lessons were created by District Two teachers, with the guidance of our project counselors - these 100 K-5 curriculum based SEL lessons will be gateway to further SEL programming in the coming years. We are confident that EXSEL will be a model for other districts - using both our successes and challenges to inform the dissemination and development of our work.

Results, using pre-test and post-test measures for each of three years of the project, have been very positive in the direction of increased emotional intelligence in all classrooms (as measured by observable behaviors). As well as some increases in academic performance, there were additional benefits for some children in improved ability to form relationships, heightened ability to manage stress, improved goal setting ability, increased self-awareness, and improved communication skills. Ultimately, EXSEL is a comprehensive project, designed to have an "emotionally intelligent" impact on school climate as well as educational extensions to the home.

EXSEL's primary objectives can be outlined as follows,
1- to develop the capacity of District Two elementary schools to infuse a standards-based approach to social and emotional literacy (SEL) into literacy and social studies instruction in grades K-5
2- to enhance the skills of District Two guidance counselors in order to design, implement, and assess a developmental, proactive, and preventive approach to school counseling and guidance, and act as leaders and mentors for this approach for this approach with school staff and parents
3- to expand the repertoire of District Two parents so that the SEL skills and competencies we are promoting in our schools can be reinforced in our students' homes
4- to capture the learnings of this project and assist other interested educational communities in replicating its most effective aspects in their own schools and districts EXSEL is only the beginning. The lessons, which provide awareness and opportunities for skill development, as well as the relationships with our counselors and teachers, are first steps in the necessary "practice, practice, practice" program needed to effectively incorporate new social-emotional skills into everyday life.
We look forward to working together with all school counselors, administrators, teachers, students, and parents in our continued effort to build a caring community for our children.