Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Social Emotional Learning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Stenson staff outline schoolwide wellness, RULER and mindfulness practices
Summary
Stenson Elementary instructional coach Jeff Kaplan and 4th‑grade teacher Catherine Marakovsky presented the school’s wellness work—RULER curriculum, “potty PD” visuals in restrooms, and classroom mindfulness exercises—saying the practices aim to improve student emotional regulation and classroom focus.
Jeff Kaplan, instructional coach at James Stenson, told the Skokie School District 68 board the school’s wellness committee focuses on common‑area expectations and implementation of the RULER social‑emotional program to help students be "emotionally available to learning each day." Kaplan outlined the committee’s data‑driven approach: create expectations, teach them to students and staff, then evaluate and adjust.
Catherine Marakovsky, a 4th‑grade teacher at Stenson, led the board through examples of classroom mindfulness practice and said mindfulness is "being in the present moment with an open and curious mind." She described specific exercises used with students — belly breathing, EFT tapping, and body scans — and said teachers share those practices during faculty meetings and with families so children receive consistent language and strategies at home and at school.
Kaplan emphasized that the wellness work ties to the district strategic plan’s social‑emotional learning goal and that teachers receive ongoing professional development; Marakovsky invited the board to experience a brief guided exercise during the presentation. The presenters said the program includes low‑cost, classroom‑level interventions and periodic committee meetings to review observational data and adapt strategies.
