LevelUp SEL in Action
Some of the LevelUP SEL Team at TMALS
We recently sat down with Nicole Washington, Associate Director at The Meeting House, to discuss the impact and benefits of the Thurgood Marshall LevelUp SEL program.
LevelUP SEL is a seamless mutually beneficial program, where we provide supervision, training, and work experience for young college and graduate school students, as seen in the images of the team above. They benefit from a workplace training opportunity, while hundreds of young students in elementary schools personally benefit from their emerging expertise.
What is the Meeting House program at TMALS?
"The LevelUP SEL program takes place within a school setting and involves a team of interns who work with children, providing them with emotional and social support. The interns are college students, trained in social skills and strategies to help them effectively interact with the children. The work is done through game-play by creating engaging and fun experiences for the children to interact with the interns. We use those social moments as real-time learning experiences. The program simultaneously focuses on the personal and professional growth of the interns as part of the teaching process."
For more information on LevelUp SEL, click here.
What impact does the work of The Meeting House have at TMALS?
"The program provides a master class in life for the interns, helping them understand and apply various skills in their personal and professional lives. It also creates a sense of belonging and community within the school and for the interns.
The interns also serve as role models for the children, demonstrating how to integrate the SEL components into daily life. For the children, the Meeting House provides a sense of belonging and a positive impact on their attendance, academic performance, and relationship outlook. The Meeting House's presence and activities are valued and supported by the school administration and have become part of the school's culture."
Why Lunch?
“Lunch is an oasis for opportunity to teach social skills and a time where students have freedom to be themselves. I can see authentic relationships growing and reflect on how a student’s day is going. You can see what has transpired in the morning when they come to lunch. You are in a position to impact how their afternoon will transpire. There is an opportunity to for students to demonstrate resiliency, conflict resolution and to freely express themselves in play. We are a safe space to listen and support them in these critical developmental years. Lunch is also nuanced socially for many students so providing positive options can make or break a student’s day. At our core we foster Fun, Friendship and Community!”
What makes the LevelUp SEL program at TMALS unique?
“I really think the TMALS program is special because we are taking play, a time when children are at their most relaxed and excited, and incorporating valuable SEL components into that play. The college interns make the program really work. They are closer in age to the children, and I see how they know how to talk to them and bring them in. I think that interactive part of it really works to advance trust.”
What is the importance of SEL in the community?
"Social emotional learning (SEL) is a process that provides lifelong benefits because it helps develop self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. These skills are not only important for the children's personal development but also for their academic success. Employers look for developed social skills in potential hires and see that maturity as an essential quality in their work force."
Can you speak to The Meeting House impact on belonging and inclusivity in the school community?
Kids in elementary school crave reliability, predictability and consistency. It is important to understand that we are a consistent part of the school week and part of the school’s weekly routine. It is important to always show up as part of the daily school routine. We have built trust with the administration, teachers and students. We require our interns to work for a minimum of one year in an effort to demonstrate how important consistency is to relationship-building. This helps us to anchor the entire community. I always talk with the interns about Friday being a very important day for us to be here because students are coming out of the weekly routine with more school hours than awake time at home. They know they are going to see us on Friday and then they will be going into their weekend routine which will be different. One thing they can count on is The Meeting House."