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Horizon elementary introduces 'Purposeful People' lessons to anchor character and SEL instruction
Summary
Horizon Schools staff described using the 'Purposeful People' elementary curriculum to provide a shared SEL language across classrooms; the program aligns to CASEL competencies, organizes lessons into five components and will be measured locally through a CARE survey repeated midyear and year‑end.
Horizon Schools staff presented 'Purposeful People,' an elementary social‑emotional learning curriculum the school adopted this year to create a shared framework for character instruction.
Chrissy Johnson and Lexi Horvath explained that Purposeful People is the elementary version of a character program used at the district middle school and that it organizes work around three outcomes — be well, be kind and be strong — and nine character traits. The presenters described lesson structure in five parts: start, connect, grow, respond and exit, and said the curriculum is in classrooms districtwide and used in assemblies, morning announcements and small‑group lunch sessions.
The presentation referenced CASEL research about the academic benefits of SEL, including language that addressing social and emotional competencies "increased their academic performance by up to 11 percentile points." Presenters told trustees the school deployed a CARE baseline survey aligned to the district graduate profile and intends to re‑administer it midyear and at the end of the year to measure change in student perceptions of school connectedness and well‑being.
Horizon staff also described an in‑class '2 by 10' teacher connection strategy intended to improve students' sense that they have a trusted adult: teachers will spend two minutes a day with a targeted student for 10 days and then rotate to other students. Board members asked whether surveys and behavioral referrals could be used as evidence of impact; presenters said the CARE survey and discipline data will be monitored for signals of change.
Board members thanked Horizon staff for the presentation and requested a year‑end report on how Purposeful People affected student outcomes.
