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Council Rock reports positive early results from districtwide Second Step social‑emotional lessons
Summary
District officials and elementary teachers said the Second Step program—adopted last October and rolled out in February—has shown early classroom engagement and improved student vocabulary for self‑regulation; principals can monitor participation via a leadership dashboard and staff plan for full‑year implementation next school year.
Dr. Casey Black, the district lead for student wellness, told the Council Rock School District Education Committee that the elementary rollout of the Second Step digital program began in February after board approval in October and principal training in November. "After having a bit of implementation time with our student wellness tier 1 program, namely Second Step, we wanted to provide you with an update on how things are going," she said.
Teachers who piloted the program described practical classroom benefits and urged expanding to a full year. First‑grade teacher Beth Kesler said the lessons teach repeated themes—academic success, growth mindset, resilience, empathy—and give students a vocabulary to identify emotions and distractions. She gave a classroom example: "One of the boys actually said, 'Mrs. Kesler, I'm feeling distracted. Can you close the curtains?'" Kesler said that ability to name a state and request a simple fix illustrated how students are applying the lessons to problem solving.
Fourth‑grade teacher Ashley Quinn and sixth‑grade teacher Rachel Ferry reported similarly positive classroom effects: more engagement during short "brain builders," greater willingness to share in pair and group work, and richer reflection in writing at the middle‑school level. Teachers said the program helps students practice executive‑function skills so class time is less frequently interrupted by behavioral issues.
The program includes a leadership dashboard for principals and select staff to monitor lesson completion across grade levels. Board members asked about dosage and measurable outcomes; presenters said K–5 lessons number 20 and sixth grade has 24 lessons, with a routine of about "15 to 20 minutes per week" for the tier‑1 lessons. Dr. Black said the midyear start limited year‑one outcome data—screeners done in March came shortly after rollout—and the district expects clearer social‑emotional screener results after a full year of implementation.
District staff recommended continuing the program and moving to a full‑year schedule next school year so the district can track changes to internalizing and externalizing behavior measures. Teachers expressed enthusiasm for wider implementation but asked to preserve flexibility so lessons can be paused and resumed as classroom schedules require.
The committee did not take formal action; presenters said the next step is continued classroom rollout, monitoring participation through the dashboard and reviewing screener data after a full year of implementation.
