Date: September 25, 2020
TO: All Parents and Guardians
FROM: Unity Junior High School
RE: Screening for Social-Emotional Learning
Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children develop awareness and management of their emotions, set and achieve important personal and academic goals, use social-awareness and interpersonal skills to establish and maintain positive relationships, and demonstrate decision making and responsible behaviors to achieve school and life success. There is a strong research base indicating that these SEL competencies improve students’ social/emotional development, readiness to learn, classroom behavior, and academic performance. The Illinois State Board of Education has developed and implemented social and emotional development standards as part of the Illinois Learning Standards for all students.
Universal screening helps school staff to determine which students may be “at risk” of not adequately achieving ISBE’s identified standards. Your child’s educational team will be completing the Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener (SAEBRS) for all students in the fall semester. The use of SAEBRS refines and strengthens our efforts to help all of our students be successful by allowing us to take positive and preventative measures as early as possible. Because this screener is completed by teachers, your child’s learning will not be disrupted.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the use of SAEBRS at UJHS, or if you do not want your child to be included in this assessment, please contact one of the following team members at (217)485-6735.
Laura Fitzgerald, Principal
Stephanie Grussing, School Counselor
Katrina Freehill, Title 1 School Social Worker
Thank you for your commitment to your child’s education and for helping us achieve UJHS’s mission of “educating, encouraging, and empowering students to reach their full intellectual, social, and emotional potential.”