CUSD 200's social-emotional learning (SEL) leadership presented an annual update Dec. 10 describing the district's SEL framework, measures and student experience outcomes.

The presentation framed SEL around five pillars—relationships, mindset, learning, emotional wellness and behavioral wellness—and reported that in May nearly 97% of students said they had an adult who cared about their learning (a connectedness measure). The district emphasized that connectedness supports attendance improvements and academic outcomes; staff highlighted a 4.4 percentage-point improvement in the district's not-chronically-absent metric compared with prior years.

Administrators said participation in cocurriculars has grown and that the district now offers more than 400 clubs and activities across grade levels; they credited elementary-level investments for increases in participation. Behavioral data for grades 6'12 showed the majority of students have no referrals (about 94%), with a small percentage responsible for the majority of infractions.

The presentation covered crisis preparedness (PREPaRE model), a district crisis team with social work and psychology staff, and referral partnerships for outside care navigation. District leaders closed with anonymous student vignettes from the high schools illustrating how extracurriculars and adult connections supported language acquisition, confidence and postsecondary opportunities.

Board members praised the combination of data and student stories and discussed targeting outreach to chronically absent students and restroom safety issues at a middle school, which the presentation team said they are addressing through beautification and targeted safety planning.

The oral report is informational and no board action was required.