Peoria Public Schools’ instructional staff will focus on social-emotional learning during teacher-led sessions Wednesday.
District 150 schools will dismiss four hours early to accommodate the staff trainings.
Interim Superintendent Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat says the lessons aim to equip teachers with a tool to help students who may have experienced emotional trauma or stress.
“So that they could get some tangible things to take back into their classrooms, to assist them in reaching more kids,” Desmoulin-Kherat said.
More than 40 teacher-led sessions will be held district-wide.
"Social-emotional learning" has been a focus for the interim superintendent since she was hired in July. She's in the process of drafting a five-year plan to implement a district-wide system of behavioral supports and interventions for students.
Desmoulin-Kherat is also developing an alternative learning program for middle school students who have been expelled or in the juvenile detention system. It would require three hours of classroom instruction and two hours of social-emotional activities.
Desmoulin-Kherat points to mounting neurological research that how trauma or stress -- caused by abuse, neglect or poverty -- can have negative implications for a child’s ability to learn.