As a Champion MESPA business
partner, Free Spirit Publishing and Safe & Caring Schools are proud supporters of MESPA and their members

Safe & Caring Schools^®
By Katia S. Petersen, Ph.D.

Together, Safe & Caring Schools and Free Spirit Publishing bring you what educators know and what research supports—when kids’ social and emotional needs are met, they do significantly better in school, at home, in their communities, and in life. 

involving 288,000 elementary and secondary students, found that in schools where SEL is integrated into daily instruction, students scored 11 percentile points higher on standardized tests compared to schools not using an SEL program.

Create systemic change by reducing negative behaviors and bullying, enhancing student performance, and building a positive school climate for learning. Practical activities, monthly themes, and a foundation of literature make it easy to integrate social and emotional learning (SEL) into the school day. Teacher created and kid tested, each resource guide contains complete lesson plans, fun activities, a monthly list of themes with literature connections, reproducible activity sheets, tips for organizing a schoolwide program, and a CD-ROM of all the reproducible forms (for Macintosh and Windows).

KEY FEATURES OF THE SAFE & CARING SCHOOLS RESOURCES:

Research Foundation

• Scientifically based research shows that social and emotional learning significantly improves students’ academic performance
  
• Tested in various school models and with students of all abilities and backgrounds
  
• Teaching approach that educates the whole child
  
• Integrates social and emotional learning into academic lessons
  

Implementation Plan

• Works in all schools
  
• Use schoolwide or in the single classroom
  
• Sequential, yet flexible, activities
  
• Literature-based
  
• Year-long options
  
• Activities integrated with core curriculum
  
• Reproducible activity sheets, also on CD-ROM
  
• Safe & Caring vocabulary
  
• Use in morning meetings, advisory time, and throughout the day
  
• Staff training also available; contact us at help4kids@freespirit.com for details 

Safe & Caring Schools Tips for a Great 2008–09 School Year

• Add into your mission statement your intent to create a safe and caring school community for all children and adults.
  
• Infuse social and emotional learning into the daily classroom instruction.
  
• Model social and emotional skills as often as possible.
  
• Create opportunities for students to practice their new skills.
  
• Recognize students who use positive skills on a regular basis.
  
• Enlist parental support to reinforce SCS skills and concepts at home.

Safe & Caring Schools Downloads:

1. TOC from Grades 3–5 guide
   
2. Part 1 and Part 2 from Grades 3–5 guide
   
3. January (Bullying) section from Grades 3–5

Safe & Caring Schools® Posters

Ten posters reinforce the lessons and key skills from the Safe & Caring Schools resource guides. Use in classrooms, hallways, and gathering areas throughout the school. All posters are laminated and can be purchased individually or as a set of 10.

Laminated, 18" x 24"
Each poster: $8.95
Set of 10 posters: $79.90 (over 10% savings!)

Safe & Caring Schools^® Bye Bye Bullies! Play

Bring the message of bully prevention, conflict resolution, respect, and caring to your school! In collaboration with the National Theatre for Children, the Safe & Caring Schools Bye Bye Bullies! is an exciting new play to help children gain a better understanding of bullying behavior and what can be done about it.

Created by The National Theatre for Children (NTC) along with Katia Petersen, Ph.D., author of the Safe & Caring Schools series, Bye Bye Bullies! uses a proven educational method— live theater— to encourage elementary-school students to have empathy for their peers and take positive steps when confronted with bullying behavior. The production will go on a national tour to more than 1,000 schools nationwide.

Katia worked closely with NTC’s creative team to integrate her proven curriculum into the 25-minute show. The messages in Bye Bye Bullies! are reinforced before and after the performances with exciting student workbooks, an extensive teacher guide, online games, and take-home activities for students and their parents.

JUST ANNOUNCED!

The National Theatre for Children will be on tour in Minnesota April 27–May 8, 2009. You can bring the play to your region by recruiting several schools in your area to participate. For more information or to schedule the play, contact The National Theatre for Children by calling 1-800-858-3999, ext. 1.


Email Ed Sales for more information about the Safe & Caring Schools resource guides and posters.