Investment in the social-emotional well being of our students, staff and families

During this pandemic, both Provincial and Federal governments have freed up funds to support education, allocating dollars for everything from ‘hardware’ – sanitizing supplies, ventilation system upgrades, PPE’s, to ‘software’ – parenting courses, mental health webinars, and virtual counselling.
In the past six months, there has been an increased awareness of the need for investment in the social-emotional wellbeing of our students, staff and families. This kind of ‘software’ response is very new – a 21st-century response and one that our school district is so grateful for.
Twenty-five years ago, these types of supports were not considered part of the education system – they would be left to external agencies whose access to students and families was minimal. Only families and students in crisis would be able to access help.
The introduction of the Core Competencies language into the education lexicon opened the door to embedding the teaching of social-emotional learning into the school day.
We can directly experience the benefits of this learning when we hear children speaking about their feelings and emotions – it is normalized for them. Their capacity for self-reflection and self-awareness is remarkable and an indicator of one of the greatest advancements in education in the past
50 years.
If there was ever a time to focus on social-emotional wellbeing, it is now. During this time, we all struggle, on some level, with elevated anxiety and stress. Having the tools to assess our state of being and the language to express how we are feeling is vital to self-care.
Please visit our districts Health Supports & Resources page on the website to see what’s available: https://sd46.bc.ca/families-and-students/health-supports-resources/