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Abstract: 

This report summarizes the first-year implementation of a social emotional health program that was integrated into an urban school district’s existing prekindergarten academic curriculum and teacher professional development program. The district partnered in this effort with Momentous Institute, a nonprofit with more than 95 years of experience in building and repairing children’s social emotional health. A unique aspect of the Momentous Institute program that distinguishes it from other social emotional learning programs is the inclusion of both an educational and mental health perspective. Prekindergarten teachers from four urban elementary schools implemented the Momentous Institute’s social emotional health (SEH) curriculum in their classrooms and also received professional development and coaching targeting students’ development of self-regulation, self-awareness, and relationship skills. Lessons learned from this initial implementation included both challenges—for instance, in fully integrating the social emotional health curriculum into the district’s existing academic curriculum and in determining the level of teacher coaching needed—and triumphs—for instance, teachers’ overall high ratings of the program and recognition of the need for a program focused on social emotional health.

Keywords: Social emotional health, social emotional learning, children’s mental health, school curriculum, school mental health, Momentous School

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