Social Emotional Learning
Responsive Classroom
NHS uses the Responsive Classroom® approach to teaching and learning in all grade levels. This is a holistic approach that integrates academics and social-emotional skills for greater learning outcomes. The goal is to merge Responsive Classroom guiding principles (of having a balanced social-emotional and academic curriculum; recognizing that how students learn is as important as what they learn; cognitive growth occurs through social interaction; students need to learn the skills of cooperation, assertiveness, responsibility, empathy, and self-control; we need to know our students individually, culturally, and developmentally; it is important to know the families of our students; and have a positive adult community that works together) with teaching practices (that include teacher language, interactive modeling, logical consequences, and interactive learning structures).
Developmental Stages
The New Horizon faculty is fully aware that children go through developmental stages as they grow up, and that with each stage come certain predictable changes in how children relate to others and approach the world. Through the use of such Responsive Classroom resources as Yardsticks, that outline the common developmental characteristics of students in each grade level, the NHS faculty has developed a greater understanding of the social, physical, and cognitive changes that children experience at each stage and is thus better equipped to meet the social and emotional needs of our students and support their learning in school.
Advisory Program
Research has shown that students’ academic achievement has a direct correlation to their relationships with their peers and teachers. The advisory program at the Middle School provides the opportunity for students to develop positive, meaningful connections at a time when they are undergoing rapid physical and hormonal changes that have a profound impact on their social and emotional experiences. To more effectively support our students at this critical stage in their lives, the Middle School has implemented a structured advisory program consisting of weekly sessions with an advisor.
The advisory curriculum covers a variety of topics focused mainly on students’ personal and social development (e.g. nurturing a positive self-image, conflict resolution, inclusion, collaboration, acceptance of others’ perspectives, effective communication, developing social skills) in addition to offering some support for development of academic skills (e.g. time management, organization).
Support Services
In order to better meet our students’ academic, mental, and emotional needs, the school relies on various professional entities in the local area to refer families to for counseling and assessment. These include the school’s consulting psychologist, private mental health providers, educational therapists/learning specialists, Integrating Learning Solutions, Professional Child Development Associates, Frostig Center, Futures Academy, and Fusion Academy.
