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Second‑grader who testified at statehouse urges schools to keep social‑emotional learning
Summary
At its March 3 meeting the Concord School District board heard Abbot Downing second‑grader Cordelia Dubois describe how social‑emotional learning (SEL) helped her and why she testified against proposed restrictions; the board and staff responded with questions and praise.
Cordelia Dubois, a second‑grader at Abbot Downing School, told the Concord School District School Board on March 3 that social‑emotional learning helped her at school and at home and that she had testified at the statehouse and at a national convening to oppose a proposed ban on SEL instruction.
Dubois said she received the CELI (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) Timothy P. Shriver Award for outstanding youth leadership after speaking in Chicago and at the state capitol. “I got this award in November at CASEL’s SEL Exchange in Chicago,” she told the board. “I got this because I testified at the statehouse to stop a new rule banning SEL and also going to Capitol Hill to talk about SEL more and give a speech.”
The superintendent introduced Cordelia and noted Fern Seiden, the district’s director of student and staff wellness, accompanied the student. Board members asked follow‑up questions about specific SEL strategies Cordelia uses. In response to a question from board member Miss Robinson, Cordelia described techniques taught in her classes: “One thing they can trust is to use the five‑finger breathing when you get mad. That means you trace up when you breathe in on your finger and trace down when you breathe back.”
Board members and staff praised Cordelia’s presentation and noted the district’s SEL work at multiple grade levels. Fern Seiden referenced classroom programs such as Choose Love and Playworks that Cordelia named and said staff and teachers had incorporated social‑emotional practices across some elementary grades.
The board did not take any formal action on SEL at the March 3 meeting; the presentation was an informational item and public recognition of Cordelia’s award and advocacy. Board members thanked Cordelia for speaking and invited further student participation in board meetings.
The presentation occurred during the “learning celebration” portion of the agenda and was followed by other school recognitions and reports.
