Anyone who has recently passed through the south hallway of The Skokie School has noticed the installation of 12 new beautiful mosaics that depict youth in the throes of movement and play with inspirational words such as hope and dream. The art is striking in its own right, but it's also a reminder of one of our core values: celebrating and supporting the whole child.   

The mosaic project was created by more than two dozen fifth- and sixth-grade students in lunchtime art, as an extension of the school's REACH (Reponsibility, Empathy, Appreciation, Confidence, and Hope) program, which seeks to enhance the social and emotional development of

The Skokie School lunchtime art students recently created these mosaics for the school.

students through the teaching of life-long skills. The timing is particularly fitting as the school prepares to bid farewell to retiring principal Tom Eber, who created REACH nine years ago. Lessons on topics such as community building, personal goal setting, media literacy, and respect for diversity are taught on a regularly scheduled basis by a team of teachers, and school assemblies reinforce these concepts for students. 

The REACH program is a developmentally appropriate bridge from our elementary social-emotional learning program. In kindergarten through fourth grade, students focus on such themes as friendship, respect, cooperation, and peace. Although each of our three elementary schools approach these themes a little differently, they all teach them through classroom meetings, service projects, and a wide variety of community-building activities.

For most students, the transition in social-emotional learning from elementary school to The Skokie School is seamless. As students move on to Carleton Washburne School for seventh and eighth grade, this work continues, with particular emphasis on developing common activities and vocabulary. Students participate in numerous activities that explore social justice, respect, courage, personal/group responsibility, and self-advocacy. Mental health, substance abuse, peer pressure, and other issues are incorporated into the Carleton Washburne School advisory program.

All these lessons support the District 36 goal of creating a supportive environment where, first and foremost, everyone feels valued and safe. This can happen only when we foster respectful interpersonal relationships, build character and responsible citizenship, and find appropriate ways to deal with life's challenges. While we have many adults in our schools to help students work on  these issues during our time together, our larger goal is to ensure that our students are prepared to continue making appropriate choices long after they are in our care.

Naturally, we cannot do this work in isolation. We look to our parents and community members to partner with us, and to remember all of our individual and collective roles in serving as models for our students through our words, actions, and deeds.