Blog - Sound Discipline

10Jun 2021 by Mary Power

Lakeridge Elementary Teaches a Combo of Ethnic Studies and SEL

This month we are featuring some important work being done by two educators at Lakeridge Elementary School in the Renton School District. Jenna Middleton, SEL coach, and Angela Varela, counselor, began with a few questions – What could it look like for our students to receive culturally relevant and responsive lessons? How could we incorporate opportunities for reflection after these lessons every month?

These two educators have dedicated this school year to crafting a new curriculum for Lakeridge students—a combination of ethnic studies and social emotional learning. Using a different topic each month, classroom teachers are given a set of …

09Jun 2021 by Mary Power

The Problem with Learning Loss Part 1: Outcomes vs. Experiences

In the News, Point of View, Racial Justice

“The learning loss narrative does not bring us together. It’s not the teacher’s fault; it’s not one school. It’s a systemic problem that goes back to before the pandemic.” – Regina Elmi, Co-founder of Supporting Partnerships in Education and Beyond

As the country emerges from a global pandemic, we at Sound Discipline are paying attention to the conversation in education and policy circles about “learning loss.” Applying the lenses of test scores, academic milestones, and SEL metrics, state and district superintendents are feeling and passing on the pressure to quantify and replace standards-based content not delivered in online …

13May 2021 by Mary Power

ACEs Awareness and Knowing Your Own Number

In the News, Resilience

ACE Resource Network recently announced the first ever public awareness campaign about adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). At Sound Discipline, we’ve been talking and teaching about ACEs for a long time, and we’re thrilled to see a movement putting resources into spreading the word about ACEs and trauma-informed practices.

The term ACEs was invented with a 1990s study conducted by Dr. Vince Felitti, MD and Dr. Robert Anda, MD in collaboration with Kaiser Permanente and the Centers for Disease Control. Over a two-year period, Kaiser collected data from more than 17,000 mostly white participants which traced adverse experiences …

13May 2021 by Mary Power

A Creative SEL Screener Tool for Remote and In-person Learning

Inspiring Stories, Teachers

Remote learning has many challenges, one of the biggest being a lack of connection. Without the ability to read body language, see faces, and spot someone in a hallway, how can educators connect with their students to see how their doing?

After the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) mandated the adoption of a SEL screener, a tool that allows teachers to assess students’ social emotional health and skills, Talbot Hill Elementary, in the Renton School District, knew it had to come up with a solution that worked remotely. So, they came up with a creative solution.…

19Apr 2021 by Mary Power

The Journey to Understanding Trauma and Resilience

Point of View, Resilience

“The question we should be asking is not what’s wrong with that child, but what happened to that child?” – Oprah Winfrey

“The more healthy relationships a child has, the more likely they will be to recover from trauma and thrive. Relationships are the agents of change and the most powerful therapy is human love.” – Dr. Bruce Perry

Let’s talk about trauma and resilience. At Sound Discipline, we teach and coach educators and adults working with or raising kids about trauma-informed practice. Ten years ago, this concept was just migrating to schools and social service delivery. Like a …

14Apr 2021 by Mary Power

Lowell Elementary’s Educational Enhancement Site

Inspiring Stories, Teachers

When the pandemic hit last year and school buildings were shut down, the staff at Lowell Elementary in Seattle quickly saw the disproportionate impact remote learning was having on many of their students of color and those without stable housing. While some students in their school had the technology and support from their caregivers to transition to remote learning, many could not.

Lowell Elementary staff responded to this inequity by creating an Educational Enhancement Site, a physical space where students get free access to in-person adult support, tutoring, meals, recreation, and reliable internet. At the same time, students …

15Mar 2021 by Mary Power

The COVID One-Year Mark: Let’s not go back

Brain Science, Connection and love, In the News, Point of View, Resilience

We will not go back to normal. Normal never was. Our pre-corona existence was not normal other than we normalized greed, inequity, exhaustion, depletion, extraction, disconnection, confusion, rage, hoarding, hate, and lack. We should not long to return, my friends. We are being given the opportunity to stitch a new garment. One that fits all of humanity and nature.

— Sonya Renee Taylor

On March 5 of last year, Sound Discipline’s leadership team met to make a COVID contingency plan. A 2-week school closure had just been announced. We drew all over a whiteboard, planning for three scenarios; 1) …

09Mar 2021 by Mary Power

Teacher Panel Shares Experience Transitioning to Hybrid and In-Person Learning

Inspiring Stories

“Nothing is going to be perfect, and that’s o.k.”

When Sound Discipline convened a group of educators to discuss the transition to in-person learning, this is how Christine Mooney, the Principal of Redwood Elementary School, opened our discussion. Redwood Elementary is in Grants Pass, Oregon. They started the 20-21 school year with grades K-3 in hybrid learning and grades 4-5 in distance learning. At the end of November, they moved to all distance learning. On February 1, 2021, they moved back to a hybrid model with all grades.

A group of their staff met with us on February 11 to …

12Feb 2021 by Mary Power

Black History and Belonging in School

Point of View, Racial Justice

When we say, “what if every child knew they belonged?”, what exactly do we mean?

Recently, I explored this question over Zoom with Dr. DeLeon Gray, Associate Professor of Educational Psychology and Education Equity at North Carolina State University and a leading researcher on the intersection of race, belonging, and motivation in school.

I learned about Dr. Gray’s work from Education Trust Research Associate Nancy Duchesneau. When Nancy and I talked about Sound Discipline’s investigation into belonging, she said, “Well then, you have to talk with DeLeon Gray. He is pretty much the leading voice on belonging.”

To learn …

12Feb 2021 by Mary Power

Dimmitt Middle School Core Values: Equity and Community

Inspiring Stories, Uncategorized

The article about Redwood Elementary staff sharing their experience shifting to in-person and hybrid learning is here.

Dimmitt Middle School has been a partner of Sound Discipline for over five years, and we are excited to feature them this month as our Sound Discipline Inspiring Story. In a recent Education Week article, Arianna Prothero stated that school leadership’s most critical job “is creating a school environment where students feel safe, supported, engaged, and accepted.” Dimmitt Middle School has consistently prioritized creating this healthy school environment, and it shines through the entire school community daily.

Dimmitt is hosting …