SCOTCH PLAINS — Lori Lidofsky, a student assistance specialist at School One Elementary, has won first place in the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning’s (CASEL) blog contest to celebrate 2024 National Social and Emotional Learning Week. She was among 10 finalists in the competition. Voting took place March 4 to 15 to decide on the most impactful story about Social and Emotional Learning across the country.

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is a method that aims to foster these skills within schools. To celebrate SEL Week, CASEL invited students, parents, teachers, counselors, school and district administrators and community leaders to share their SEL stories. Ten finalists were selected to advance to the final round of the competition.

“We are incredibly proud of Ms. Lidofsky’s dedication to supporting SEL in our school,” said School One Principal Justin Fiory, who encouraged everyone to read the blog post and vote for Ms. Lidofsky. “This is an opportunity to show our pride and celebrate the work of our students, teachers and staff.”

After assessing and identifying the need for SEL, School One created the “Soaring with School One P.R.I.D.E.” program. The acronym stands for Perseverance, Respect, Integrity, Diversity and Empathy. When students demonstrate these core values, they are publicly celebrated by receiving a “Cardinal Card.”Assemblies are held throughout the year to dive deeper into the students’ understanding of these characteristics, and weekly morning meetings are dedicated to the school’s shared core values.

“Students now leave School One Elementary with a deep understanding and drive to model these values in middle school and beyond,” Ms. Lidofsky wrote in the blog post. “We often hear how alumni feel that Cardinal ‘P.R.I.D.E’ as they navigate home and school life.”

Through counseling, social skills and SEL curriculum, students have learned how to appropriately manage “big feelings.” Staff members also received a book about how to use positive thinking in their professional and private lives to achieve success, and Mr. Fiory regularly models, references and builds upon these skills to support school culture.

Ms. Lidofsky highlights in the blog post the Kids Care Club, in which students meet to brainstorm ways to spread kindness. They sponsor donations and collections such as “Sharea- Sandwich,” “We Care Kits” and “The Supper Bowl” to give back to the local community and families in need.

School One hosted a “SEL Day Meets Career Day” on March 8 in the spirit of International SEL Day’s theme this year of “Today’s Students, Tomorrow’s Leaders.” Adults from the community visited students and shared how they used their social and emotional skills to overcome challenges in their careers and personal lives to achieve success.

“School One Elementary is a living and breathing example of all the good that can come from SEL,” Ms. Lidofsky wrote. “The evolution of SEL at School One will support our students to soar into all future endeavors with the social and emotional knowledge and skills to thrive.”

To read Ms. Lidofsky’s blog post, visit https://casel.org/blog/creating-aschool- where-students-soar/.