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The Social and Emotional Development Program at ClearWater Academy ClearWater Academy has developed a comprehensive, research-based approach to promoting positive social and emotional development for students. The philosophy at ClearWater Academy is that social and emotional development techniques and therapies need to be an integral part of the daily school experience to promote lasting improvement for students. The ClearWater Academy approach is unique; it incorporates the latest research in social development and the social needs of students with various disabilities with an understanding of the neuropsychological correlates of emotional and behavioral challenges. Rather than relying on one published approach or program, ClearWater Academy has developed a comprehensive network of strategies and techniques that is embedded into the school day. At ClearWater Academy the Collaborative Problem-Solving technique developed by Harvard professor, Dr. Ross Greene, serves as the basis for dealing with behavioral, social interaction and emotional issues throughout the school day. Teachers have been trained in the Collaborative Problem-Solving model and promote the shared decision-making technique which fosters intrinsic motivation in students. In addition, there are four major areas of emphasis that are taught and “lived” in the school day for social-emotional development. Students participate in activities to build social vocabulary and social narration skills, expand their emotional vocabulary and learn to recognize and demonstrate non-verbal feelings awareness.
Finally, a Strategic Coaching model is utilized to help students use visual templates and specific methods to deal with emotional or social challenges. With coaching by their teachers, students learn to recognize their emotions in challenging situations and to use agreed-upon methods to change their perspective and to manage their emotions and actions. During the 2011-2012 school year there are two areas of student focus: emotional self-regulation and taking the perspective of others or theory of mind. These focus areas may change from year to year according to student needs. Although these techniques will be used throughout the school day, ClearWater Academy uses the concept of "morning meetings" as a major group instructional vehicle for introducing and practicing techniques daily. Morning meetings also promote community building within the school and the concept of shared responsibility for promoting a positive social and emotional environment for learning. |
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A second major area of emphasis is in using social templates and scripts to meet challenges in various everyday social interactions. The Social Stories method developed by Carol Gray, is one of the techniques utilized as well as the Success Stories method. The use of computer technology is emphasized and incorporated into the entire social and emotional development program to promote reinforcement of techniques and to make concepts individually meaningful to students. Role-playing and practice is an important component for using these techniques. A third major focus area includes problem-solving techniques above and beyond the Collaborative Problem-Solving model. This involves students in practical scenarios and encourages their independent use of problem-solving, thinking strategies.