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New Haven Schools outline districtwide SEL, restorative practices and teacher training plan
Summary
Superintendent and district staff presented data-driven culture and climate work — including a tiered fidelity index, PBIS, restorative practices, and a student-led SEL symposium — and invited schools to register for professional-development offerings tied to the district’s budget process.
Superintendent Doctor Negron told the Board of Education on Nov. 24 that the district is expanding its work on culture and climate with a data-driven package of supports, professional development and increased student voice. "We want to make this a very collaborative, transparent process," Negron said as the district opened a public survey tied to the coming budget cycle.
The presentation outlined three core strands: creating district structures and systems, building adult capacity through training and coaching, and increasing student engagement. Instructional coach Bill Scott described the data tools staff use to target supports, including a research-validated tiered fidelity index and a behavioral incident dashboard that disaggregates incidents by location and staff response. "One of the data collection tools that we utilize is the tiered fidelity index," Scott said, explaining how it helps identify whether teams include behavioral expertise, grade-level representation and entrance/exit criteria for interventions.
District leaders emphasized universal strategies such as PBIS and CASEL-based engagement practices, and explained tiered interventions ranging from check-in/check-out to functional behavior assessments and individualized behavior plans. "This supports that we are not being overly exclusionary or punitive in our responses to student behavior," Scott said, pointing to restorative approaches and data that track duration and frequency of behaviors.
The presentation described the district’s professional-development catalog and academies that will be offered districtwide; some trainings are available by registration and others can be scheduled for individual schools. Monica (last name not specified in the transcript), who spoke about capacity building and coaching, said the district offers whole-school sessions, grade-level support and one-on-one coaching to help teachers implement strategies.
Principal Doctor Haka of Truman School described how the district supports family engagement, bilingual outreach and student mentoring programs such as a Future Leader Educators Club. Truman uses PBIS incentives, town-hall meetings and targeted restorative conversations to promote belonging: "When students and families walk into our building, that they are met with a sense of belonging," Haka said.
Student leader Lehi, a senior at Metropolitan Business Academy, told the board that co-facilitating an SEL Symposium was "an eye opening experience" that helped recruit and mentor other students and increase peer-to-peer support.
Board members asked how schools sign up for trainings and what additional resources the district needs. Negron and presenters said the catalog contains both districtwide and school-scheduled options and promised a follow-up report listing priority resource requests for the board’s consideration. The district also invited families and stakeholders to participate in a thought-exchange survey posted on nhps.net as part of the fiscal-year 2027 budget planning.
The board agreed to continue follow-up on implementation, staffing and any resource requests identified in the district’s catalog and upcoming report.
