The students in our community have experienced rapid change, social challenges, and ongoing unknowns that we have not faced before. Since 2019 suicide has become the 2nd leading cause of death in children aged 10-18 only following accidents. 1 in 5 youth have a mental health disorder, while only 20% of these youth receive treatment. Arkansas is ranked 47 out of 50 with access to mental health care within the United States. Arkansas also leads the nation with 27% of children experiencing 2 or more adverse childhood experiences by age 18. Our children are in a crisis.
To assist students in crisis, and to help prevent further crisis, the El Dorado School District seeks to provide a variety of educational opportunities that support growth for students and staff. Social and emotional learning has been in place for decades through various curriculums that focus on emotional skills students need to succeed in life. As student needs have increased, the district has sought to train teachers to respond to the emotional needs of students.
The El Dorado School District has been fortunate to receive a grant from the SHARE Foundation to augment the current social-emotional classroom lessons. Social-Emotional Learning has always been an integral part of educating the whole child. SEL (Social-Emotional Learning) aims to focus on the overarching theme of “being your best self.” Whether the objective be to practice naming emotions like frustration or anxiety, to work through the stress of taking a big test or to rehearse the intimidating idea of making new friends, SEL offers the activities and language students need in order to gain these skills that will be necessary no matter what career or degree path they choose. When students are given opportunities to develop the lifelong skills that a well-built SEL program seeks to accomplish, they launch into their next chapters in life ready to regulate their emotions under stress, carry on positive conversations with peers, make wise decisions, and be successful overall in their community.
El Dorado School District is already utilizing SEL lessons through programs like Seed Digging (https://www.seeddigging.com), which encourages growth in student self-esteem and positive self-talk, and through regular character education lessons delivered by the counselors at each campus.
Over the last two school years, educators of all levels have seen that students are lacking in some areas of social skills, simply due to decreased opportunity during quarantines and other cancellations. The El Dorado School District truly sees our students and is making powerful strides towards meeting this need for social and emotional growth by allocating resources for teachers and counselors to focus on topics like maintaining friendships, decision-making, stress management, and self-esteem growth in order to, not only prepare our students for the academic challenges they will face, but also to send them out into our world as solid, confident citizens ready to be bright lights wherever their journeys take them.
The district is committed to supporting students' and staff mental health in this challenging time and moving forward.