North Kansas City Schools hold SEL workshop; district cites survey gains in student regulation and staff climate
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Summary
The North Kansas City Schools board hosted a staff-focused social-emotional learning workshop and heard district presenters say Panorama survey results show increases in students' self-rated emotional regulation and improvements in staff belonging and climate metrics.
North Kansas City Schools trustees spent an evening workshop focusing on social-emotional learning (SEL) and staff capacity, praising classroom demonstrations and hearing district officials cite year‑to‑date survey data indicating measurable gains in students' emotional regulation and staff climate.
The board recognized ProStart students from Winnetonka High School who prepared desserts for the meeting, and honored safety staff — including Paul Sobe, a campus supervisor at Staley High School — before the session moved into a presentation on the district’s Balanced Scorecard Goal 1: building staff capacity to meet student social-emotional needs.
A district presenter introduced the goal as an adult‑first approach to SEL, saying the work centers on strengthening staff self‑regulation so they can model and teach those skills to students. Susan Bartlett described the district’s frameworks — positive behavior supports, restorative practices and a multi‑tiered system of supports (MTSS) — and said those structures are paired with classroom tools such as PBIS, Second Step (elementary), Character Strong (secondary) and conscious discipline practices in early grades.
The workshop facilitator guided trustees through a brief Brain Smart Start exercise — a four‑part routine (unite, connect, disengage stress, commit) used in classrooms to build safety and belonging — and led a short breathing practice called the psychological sigh. After the practice the group read a communal pledge together: “I commit to noticing stress and responding in a way that restores clarity, not just productivity.”
District presenters connected the practices to recent district survey findings. According to the presentation, Panorama survey results show that among third‑ through fifth‑grade students the share who rate their emotional regulation positively rose from about 48% in 2019 to roughly 58% in the most recent collection; among sixth‑ through 12th‑grade students the positive rating rose from about 45% to about 55%. Presenters also reported that the district’s special education team provides one‑to‑one support for roughly 65 students year‑to‑date, while general‑education teams have provided one‑to‑one support for about 20 students year‑to‑date.
On staff measures, presenters told the board that staff belonging scores on the district survey increased from the high‑50s to about 62% for both certified and classified employees in recent years, and that climate measures for classified staff improved from roughly 49% (2020) to about 66% in the most recent reporting period. Presenters said sample sizes vary by question and survey window; they characterized the student samples cited as large (more than 4,000 for elementary grades and about 8,500 for secondary grades) and described school rankings on the Panorama comparative scale as in the 90th percentile for similarly situated districts.
Trustees asked operational questions about how often the Brain Smart Start routine is used. Presenters answered that frequency varies by classroom and teacher; the second‑grade example shown runs daily in that classroom, but implementation differs across sites. The district clarified elementary classrooms use Second Step lessons for SEL, middle grades rely largely on Character Strong, and PBIS/restorative practices provide districtwide foundations.
Board members praised the workshop and the presentation’s focus on narrowing training scope to better meet the needs of specific employee groups. The meeting included a brief procedural motion to approve the evening’s agenda, which passed by voice vote, and the chair closed the program and adjourned for the night.
The district said it will continue to refine training scope, expand support for teachers managing disruptive classroom behaviors and target professional learning to the needs of particular employee groups. No formal policy vote or budget decision was taken at the workshop; presenters described the session as professional development and informational for trustees.
