Frontier district presents social-emotional learning data, outlines supports and grants

The Frontier Central School District on Tuesday presented results from a Panorama social-emotional learning (SEL) survey and described ongoing and planned supports including staffing patterns, community partnerships and recently awarded grants.

"We are happy to present to you tonight on social emotional wellness initiatives in the district," said Mrs. Dugan, who led the presentation with Miss Schafer and Miss Otwell. The presenters said Panorama surveys were administered to roughly 800 students in grades 3–5 and about 1,700 students at the secondary level and that the district has run the instrument twice so far.

The presentation showed a gap between individual supportive relationships (high scores) and a lower reported sense of belonging districtwide. "Although that's 41 percent, I thought it was that, 87% of them say that they're in a supportive relationship at school," a board member observed during the meeting; presenters explained supportive-relationship items capture one-to-one connections (for example, a teacher or friend) while sense of belonging measures membership in the whole school community.

District staff described how they are using Panorama data to target interventions and professional development. Mental-health response teams at each building combine school psychologists, social workers and counselors; counselors also provide classroom SEL lessons tied to Panorama-identified needs. The presenters said counselors, psychologists and social workers meet monthly to review trends and coordinate follow-up.

Presenters described partnerships with regional organizations, citing the Institute on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care at the University at Buffalo and work with Erie County prevention and restorative-practices groups. Staff said the district recently received a $26,000 grant to fund the Second Step curriculum and has obtained a substance-abuse prevention grant to bring the Erie County Prevention Council into district outreach and student programming. They also named Title grants (Title II, and Title IV) and other federal funding streams as funding sources for professional development and health-and-safety activities.

District staff said SEL screening via Panorama is a universal screener that identifies population-level themes rather than naming individual students, and emphasized the need for additional data structures to track students into and out of interventions. They said the district is working with Dr. Lisa Kalinowski and with Erie 1 BOCES on data reporting systems to better measure outcomes.

Board members asked about sample administration and participation. A student reported the survey was administered in social studies classes, took only a few minutes and was taken seriously by classmates. Board members also discussed how SEL indicators relate to chronic absenteeism, suspensions and referrals; presenters said those operational metrics are monitored alongside Panorama results.

Presenters highlighted follow-up steps including expanded family outreach (Parent University), targeted SEL lessons based on survey results, continued professional development for staff and collaboration with outside partners. "Family engagement and relationship with the buildings is a huge, huge indicator of success," Miss Schafer said.

The board did not take formal action on the presentation; trustees thanked staff for the report and asked that related data and next steps be brought back to committees for further planning.