Academics
Social Emotional Learning
At Boulder Country Day School, we realize that social-emotional skills are as important as academic achievements. In order to support our students in building character, being positive members of the community, and becoming critical thinkers and proficient problem solvers, we employ age appropriate social-emotional curricula as they progress through their journey at BCD.
Preschool
We believe that social-emotional skills are just as important as the ABCs and 123s and for this reason, social-emotional learning is at the core of our curriculum and everything that transpires in our preschool. The foundation of social and emotional learning begins at home with a child's parents/guardians and extends into our preschool classrooms through caring and supportive interactions with our preschool teachers and BCD's supportive community. Carefully planned learning experiences foster the children's social and emotional growth. Missteps happen and when they do we use Love and Logic to help the child work through the situation and learn from their mistakes using language and consequences that are rooted in dignity and respect. In partnership with parents, teachers serve as positive role models for the children as they interact with our preschool community and demonstrate the value of a growth mindset, perseverance, thoughtfulness, cooperation, and adaptability. We have a shared vision of the person our school is helping to develop. Children are our future and we believe that our preschool program helps the children who are enrolled learn to think about both their learning and how they treat others.
Elementary
During the elementary years, we use both Responsive Classroom and a customized program called Kid Power to support the social-emotional skill building in our students. The Kid Power program, in particular, encompasses a customized curriculum covering current social and emotional challenges that the students work to problem solve together with the use of role play, thought provoking activities, skill acquisition/ building, and guided discussion led by BCD's school counselors. These learned skills are reinforced throughout the week in the classrooms by the classroom teachers. Some examples of the topics covered include: effective communication, navigating friendship challenges, conflict resolution, self advocacy, boundaries, peer pressure, feeling included, empathy, stress management and self regulation. In addition, fifth grade students also participate in activities designed to support their transition to middle school. The goal of Kid Power is to give our elementary age students the tools and foundation to relate to others and build self-esteem creating a culture of empathy, empowerment, and cooperation.
Middle School
As students move into Middle School, social-emotional skill development is integrated throughout the school day as well as during student advisory periods and the Teen Power classes. The Teen Power program is the extension and continuation of the elementary program, covering the same topics and skills, but at a middle school developmental level. In addition to covering executive functioning skills, the Middle School incorporates the characteristics of the International Baccalaureate (IB) learner profile. The Middle School utilizes the Developmental Designs Middle School curriculum as guidance to advisory meetings and activities.
Through the use of the Developmental Designs Middle School Curriculum, students are guided through exercises and discussions that require them to contemplate where they come from, what they believe in, what their goals are, and what to look for in friends and environments that will support them in building a strong sense of self-respect and self-esteem. Some of these activities and discussions look at understanding perceptual differences and how they affect our responses. Other covered topics include: what factors influence our perceptions, empathy, non-verbal communication and cues, how to respond to frustration, and formulating problem-solving strategies.
In addition to the advisory program, all middle school students participate in the Middle School Seminar. This program, which is modeled after the Aspen Institute’s Executive Leadership Seminar, uses readings to guide students through discussions of one’s own morals and ethics so that students learn how to discover their own truths as independent thinkers. Our 6th and 8th-grade students participate in creating a Personal Values Statement while our 7th graders write letters to their future selves.
In the spring, the eighth-grade students turn their focus to the transition to high school as we help to prepare them for both the logistical and social changes that they will encounter in the next stage of their educational career.
Relevant Articles
Connecting SEL to Academic Outcomes - Maurice J. Elias on edutopia.org, December 2020
Raising girls who are includers instead of mean girls - lisamccrohan.com, September 2014
Raising girls who are includers instead of mean girls - lisamccrohan.com, September 2014
Boulder Country Day School 4820 Nautilus Court North • Boulder, Colorado 80301 • Phone - 303.527.4931 • info@bouldercountryday.org
Boulder Country Day School is a proudly independent institution serving students 2 ½ years old - 8th grade. In partnership with our outstanding faculty and committed families, we uphold the highest standard for our balanced educational experience. Through small class sizes and innovative engagement in a supportive environment, students at BCD learn to explore their strengths and apply them to the world. Guided by our values, we believe the empowered minds that graduate from BCD will be the ones to ignite global change.
