Future Forward

At Parker, the advisory period curriculum is built to foster an inclusive community, promote character education, and build healthy relationships through meaningful activities and engaging discussions. This school year, Parker expanded the presence of the CASEL framework in advisory programming to further support the student as a whole by transitioning to a stronger focus on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). This change benefits students in their current developmental stages and prepares them with life skills for their future beyond Parker.

The CASEL framework includes five core social and emotional competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Unlike past advisory curricula, the current curriculum planning starts with the five competencies as the foundation for every topic covered. Important advisory topics previously taught as standalone lessons are now tied into the larger scope of these social-emotional competencies.  

“When we’re talking about responsible decision-making, we can link that to something like behavior online or academic honesty and a range of other decisions that students make,” Head of Student Support and Wellness Dr. Megan Storey-Hallam explained. “We’ve always paid attention to those, but now they are the foundation of how we plan advisory by thinking developmentally in terms of their social-emotional learning–what areas do we need to focus on and what are appropriate skills for students to be building at those different developmental times?”

Megan collaborates regularly with Lower School Dean of Students Daniella Marks-Koffler, Middle School Dean of Students Jeremy Howard, and both Dr. Stacey Patsko, Upper School Dean of Students, and Carrie Dilmore, Assistant Head of the Upper School, with Upper School Grade Level Deans (Rachel Krause, Grade 9; Sarah Fraschetti-Williams, Grade 10; Sarah Jensen, Grade 11; and Katie Rosin, Grade 12) to ensure upcoming advisory lessons are grounded in CASEL standards and responsive to current trends in Parker student behavior. Current student behavioral trends are identified through classroom observations, grades by Parker focus areas, and bi-annual Independent School Health Check (ISHC) community survey results. 

With a data-driven approach, the Deans and Megan can tailor advisory lessons to address relevant age-appropriate needs for our community and curate the delivery throughout the year. Following reflection, Deans finalize lessons and train Advisors to facilitate the delivery of each concept to students. Their aim is to place the right lesson in front of the right students at the right time by using all possible information about Parker students and not relying on out-of-the-box solutions.  

In September, advisors started conversations focused on digital and media well-being, which helped students understand the parameters being set by the new phone policies introduced this school year and how these guidelines encourage students to interact with each other more throughout the day and fully engage in the classroom.

Students reflected on how less social and digital media usage leads to better memory, a stronger presence and focus in class, and how it impacts them as people. The goal was for students to reflect on their school experience without phones, take what they learned, and make better decisions about screen time and digital well-being when off campus. 

Upper School students also conducted a personal strengths and values inventory at the start of the school year. They asked themselves questions such as, “Who am I?" and "Where do I want to grow?” and then connected the answers they came up with to academic goals. With these goals in mind, the students conduct weekly academic check-ins with their advisors, where they do a grade check and see how things are going overall for the student. 

These check-ins reinforce the importance of goal setting and planning to ensure students are more prepared to reflect on their decisions, understand the consequences of their actions, reflect on their choices, and change their behavior to achieve different results as needed. 

“I definitely see the updates to the advisory system. I can appreciate both the new predictable schedule of academic check-ins and community time, but also the new community time topics we’re focusing on,” said Monte DuVal, Class of 2027. “New lessons on civil discourse, social media, holiday celebrations, and more have been informative and helpful in navigating student life.”

For Middle and Upper School, advisory classes also focus on ensuring that when students are online, their actions are oriented around kindness and thoughtfulness. Before switching to CASEL, this would’ve been a standalone topic, but now it is tied back to the social-emotional competencies, which gives students a more comprehensive understanding of the messages being shared.

“I firmly believe the most important skills we can help students develop are the ‘soft skills’…These are the skills that go beyond content mastery and equip our students to succeed in any situation—whether socially, within their families, or in their future workplaces,” said Learning Specialist Dr. Ashley Alexander. 

The School elected to use the reputable Second Step program to support Middle and Lower School teachers with age-appropriate tactics for applying SEL to the curriculum. Second Step is a social-emotional learning program that empowers students of all ages to build skills for success and offers well-developed, evidence-based lessons that supplement the great programming Parker previously had in place. 

Second Step not only supports teachers, who can, in turn, utilize the tools to better support students, but aligns closely with existing curricular practices at the Lower School that inform classroom routines and practices. SEL in all divisions is not approached in a silo, rather, students are met with opportunities to practice their developing skills in all coursework, as each curriculum is designed to include lessons that promote targeted growth in these areas. Additionally, with the program overlapping from Lower to Middle School, the transition between the two divisions is more manageable for students. 

“I’m really appreciating the intentional focus on helping students make thoughtful choices and recognize their ability to build strong relationships, think critically about the impact of their words on our community, and approach things with intention,” said Dr. Ashley Alexander, “Over my years here, I’ve often noticed that students tend to feel like the locus of control in their lives is external. I love that this shifts that perspective, encouraging students to develop metacognition—whether it’s understanding how their study habits affect their grades, how the tone of an email impacts the reader, or how their approach to a discussion influences their relationships.”

Parker’s shift to the CASEL framework has significantly enhanced the advisory curriculum, ensuring a more cohesive and intentional approach to Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). By grounding lessons in the five core competencies—self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making—the School is equipping students with the tools needed to navigate both academic and personal challenges during their time at Parker and beyond.