Parsons USD 503 Assistant Superintendent Jeff Pegues presented a view of the district’s social emotional learning and attendance data to Board of Education members Monday.
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is a process beginning at birth, in which people learn skills to support healthy development and relationships. Social Emotional Learning has been part of the district’s strategic plan for a while and has always been an emphasis in the district with high at-risk factors.
Social emotional learning and attendance problems were amplified coming out of COVID – as students faced mental health crises and chronic absenteeism escalated at the local, state, and national levels. The district continues to work to address the problems and student needs.
Addition of a social worker in the district and counselors in every building has aided students. Pegues said there has also been the addition of recovery rooms in every building including the middle school and high school replacing in-school suspension rooms, which has been more positive and allowed students to transition back more quickly to classrooms.
The district also increased contracted days with its behaviorist.
CARE Teams have been added at every building to provide preventative plans for at-risk students regarding behaviors to help students be successful. Monthly Student of Concern meetings to make sure students’ needs are met.
A variety of other measures have been taken by the district, administration, and staff. There are four therapy dogs in the district. There are now regulation rooms in all buildings to help provide a place for students to take a few minutes to self-regulate when needed.
Pegues said Zones of Regulation are taught in all buildings and weekly or bi-weekly Social Emotional Learning curriculum is taught. There has also been the creation of a monthly district SEL Committee and a Chronic Absenteeism Task Force.
In regard to the district’s Mental Health Intervention Program, Pegues said 180 total students (13%) are receiving.
Of those, 59 foster care students served, 47 have improved attendance, 53 have improved academically, 76 showed improvements on externalizing behaviors and 75 percent showed improvement on internalizing behaviors.
Chronic absenteeism, especially at the primary level continues to be a challenge.
“If students aren’t in school, we can’t do our jobs,” Pegues said.
A high number of students are in crisis (brains in a state of fight, fright or freeze) when they come to school because they may be living in difficult situations. This is where recovery and regulation rooms help to support students, he said.
While making great progress in other SEL areas, self-management continues to decline locally and nationally. Kansas Education Commissioner Randy Watson said they are seeing this issue across Kansas.
Pegues said they are seeing an increased number of students who lack basic life needs, which continues to impact their ability to learn.
Many students lack age-appropriate social skills. Following COVID, students are still a year or two behind maturity-wise. These are being incorporated into SEL lessons to help those students improve their skills.
The impacts are seen in a high number of behavior referrals locally, at the state and nationally.
In Parsons, the data is more promising. Violent incidents have decreased by 24 % this school year, 39 % over the last two years. Pegues said it shows teachers are handling small stuff so it doesn’t become big stuff, like horse play at the middle school that can lead to someone throwing a punch because they get mad.
There has also been a 17 % reduction in out-of-school suspensions and 40 % reduction in in-school suspension. School climate is up 8 % from teacher surveys, and up 21 % over the last 3 years, which is really remarkable, he said.
Self-efficacy of students, confidence in their own abilities, is up 10 % from last year, and up 18 % over the past two years. School leadership is up 20 % over the past 3 years on teacher surveys.
Pegues said Parsons USD 503 received the Silver Star Award from the state for Social Emotional Learning. It was the highest award given in that category for 2023, and it was bestowed on only 18 school districts and USD 503 one of them. USD 503 continues to improve aiding students in this area, and the data submitted for 2024 is even better, Pegues said.
Attendance
The district continues its efforts to improve chronic absenteeism, which is defined as students missing 10 percent or more of the academic year, putting them at-risk of falling behind and potentially failing.
Personalized outreach to families is being employed, among many other factors, to help remove barriers and help families get their children to school.
Pegues said the district saw a 4% decrease the 22-23 school year from 38% to 34% and a 5% decrease the 2024-2025 year, to 29%. The district has offered lots of incentives, and even participated in competitions with other districts, like Independence and Chanute.
Still, percentages are not below 2018-2019 levels of 15%.
Pegues said it is alarming that the worst levels of chronic absenteeism are at the primary levels, the most important for early educational development. For example, 48 percent of the kindergarten class was chronically absent. First grade was the second highest at 39%.
“If they are missing that many days, it is really going to put challenges as we do tiered interventions academically going through,” Pegues said.
There is no magic answer as to why parents aren’t bringing students to school. Main reasons given are the kid doesn’t want to get out of bed and they throw a fit and the parent doesn’t want to bring them to school, or the parent doesn’t want to get up to put the kid on the bus to get them to school.
Superintendent Lori Ray said while the importance of early childhood education has been proven, preschool and kindergarten are not mandated. Compulsory education begins at age 6, which makes it easier for parents to let students stay home.