Date:   September 25, 2020

 

 

TO: All Parents and Guardians

 

FROM:  Unity Junior High School 

 

RE:  Screening for Social-Emotional Learning

 

 

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children develop awareness and management of their emotions, set and achieve important personal and academic goals, use social-awareness and interpersonal skills to establish and maintain positive relationships, and demonstrate decision making and responsible behaviors to achieve school and life success. There is a strong research base indicating that these SEL competencies improve students’ social/emotional development, readiness to learn, classroom behavior, and academic performance.  The Illinois State Board of Education has developed and implemented  social and emotional development standards as part of the Illinois Learning Standards for all students.  

 

Universal screening helps school staff to determine which students may be “at risk” of not adequately achieving ISBE’s identified standards.  Your child’s educational team will be completing the Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener (SAEBRS) for all students in the fall semester.  The use of SAEBRS refines and strengthens our efforts to help all of our students be successful by allowing us to take positive and preventative measures as early as possible.  Because this screener is completed by teachers, your child’s learning will not be disrupted.  

 

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the use of SAEBRS at UJHS, or if you do not want your child to be included in this assessment, please contact one of the following team members at (217)485-6735. 

 

Laura Fitzgerald, Principal

Stephanie Grussing, School Counselor

Katrina Freehill,  Title 1 School Social Worker

 

Thank you for your commitment to your child’s education and for helping us achieve UJHS’s mission of “educating, encouraging, and empowering students to reach their full intellectual, social, and emotional potential.”