Educating Beyond Academics: Schools Seek Right Approach in Social and Emotional Learning

By Jessica Gibbs, Colorado Community Media

Eighth-grader Kendall Meibos stepped shyly onto the stage at the Pepsi Center in Denver and peered over a lectern at the crowd around him.

Filling stands typically reserved for Denver Nuggets or Colorado Avalanche fans were about 6,000 employees from the Douglas County School District — administrators, teachers, board of education members and the superintendent. They came to hear the district roll out its new strategic plan.

“Last year was very rough for me,” said the 13-year-old, as he described his struggles with anxiety and depression. A school counselor, he explained, had helped him learn to better manage those conditions — in life, at school and in the classroom.