Building a Caring School Community is a school-wide effort that works well when all staff use a common approach and common language to support students in the development of SEL skills, particularly relationship building. Communication between classroom teachers and special subject teachers and support staff is particularly helpful so that these faculty and staff members can include these strategies and use the same language that students have experienced in settings across the school day.
- Some schools have arranged schedules to include their special subject and support teachers in their Morning Circles. These teachers may act as co-facilitators with the classroom teacher.
- Special subject teachers may consider engaging in a norm setting process with classes using a modified version of what appears in Week 2.
- Each week of the K–5 Teacher’s Manuals includes suggestions for how to integrate social skills throughout the day under the “Things to Do This Week” heading. Sometimes those are subject-area specific (and include ideas for art, PE, etc) but sometimes they are broader and include suggestions that ALL teachers might use.
- Special area teachers might use the Open Week/Create Your Own Week template that is in the back of every Teacher’s Manual to create some quick circles/meetings that might address needs they have in their own subject area.
- All teachers would benefit from using the collaborative structures that are taught in the Caring School Community program (Turn to Your Partner, Think-Pair-Share, etc.) to build student engagement and student voice.
- All teachers should use the facilitation techniques that are part of the Caring School Community program as they conduct their classes (e.g. open-ended questions, wait-time, neutral responses, etc.).
- All teachers should examine their practices and lesson planning to include opportunities for students to develop autonomy, belonging, and competence.
- Some schools have found that they can include their special subject teachers in their Morning Circles, and this has proven to be very powerful.
- Using the Getting Ready for a Substitute Teacher as a guide, create a When We are in Special Subjects week. If possible, Special Subject teachers might attend a meeting as students discuss this.
- Cross-age Buddy activities lend themselves to Special Subjects. Some schools scheduled a Cross-age Buddies session with special subject teachers.
- Grade 6–8 teachers use the Subject-area Integration Guides to support the Caring School Community program in their classes.