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Southeast teachers describe decade-long CASEL cross-curricular program, cite gains in engagement and behavior
Summary
Southeast Middle School staff described the CASEL program’s cross‑curricular structure, growth from a single 90‑student cohort to multiple cohorts, and emphasis on collaborative projects, soft skills and community partnerships during the Iowa City Community School District education committee meeting.
Southeast Middle School teachers presented the school’s CASEL (cross‑curricular approach to student‑driven learning) program and described how the model uses teacher teams and extended blocks of time to support project‑based learning and student collaboration.
The presenters told the Iowa City Community School District Education Committee that CASEL began with one seventh‑grade cohort of about 90 students and has expanded to two seventh‑grade cohorts and one eighth‑grade cohort. The model keeps cohorts of roughly 30 students together across three teachers, allowing longer blocks for hands‑on projects and reducing transitions between classes.
The program pairs science, global studies and language arts in recurring projects. Presenters highlighted a “survival” project in which student teams design a high‑energy nutrition bar tied to lessons on metabolism, migration and persuasive writing. Teachers said the projects combine content standards, inquiry work and soft‑skills practice — communication, collaboration and open‑mindedness — and involve local partners such as Table to Table, Grow Johnson County and Porter Farm for spring service‑learning components.
Teachers credited the program’s structure with stronger community building among students and with lower behavioral referrals. One presenter said behavior referrals fell significantly compared with the program’s first year. Staff also described built‑in collaboration time for teacher teams and work with an innovation specialist and teacher librarian to design assessments and assign clear team roles so group work can be graded for individual learning evidence.
Presenters emphasized that the program requires sustained teacher commitment. They said early years drew parents who actively sought the pilot; district staff and building leaders also visited other schools to adapt the model to Southeast’s needs. Teachers cautioned that scale brings logistical challenges — larger cohorts require more community partners and coordination — but said the program has adapted over about a decade and continues to evolve.
Board members asked about demographic parity and academic outcomes compared with non‑CASEL students. Presenters said the program’s composition more closely matches school demographics now than in its first year and that they have not completed a formal, apples‑to‑apples comparison of statewide assessment scores; they noted a measurable drop in behavioral referrals. A district official thanked staff for sustaining and expanding the program and said the district remains interested in replication at other middle schools.
The presentation closed with examples of student work (a video shown to the committee) and a description of service projects that culminate the year. Teachers said students build websites documenting their service‑learning hours and often partner with local groups for hands‑on projects such as invasive species removal or food‑pantry work.
