Student Wellness Works

Established in 2022, Student Wellness Works serves all Schermerhorn students in grades K 12 by helping compensate for their decreased opportunities to learn incidentally by observing others and supporting social-emotional learning and executive functioning skills development.

Provides students with access to experiences and opportunities to supplement classroom instruction; Student Wellness Works offers opportunities to learn from and interact with alums, special guests, authors, and educators committed to supporting their social-emotional development and learning.

Note: In addition to the Student Wellness Works Program for Schermerhorn students, Readiness Program teachers, childcare workers, and therapeutic recreational specialists plan and supervise various activities to support our pre-schoolers with developmental delays.

Program Benefits: Expanded Core Curriculum

Aligned with both our Academic and Expanded Core Curriculums (ECC), the Student Wellness Works helps students with nine universal educational needs for students with visual impairments.

These needs include:

Compensatory Access Skills
Self-determination
Sensory Efficiency
Assistive Technology
Social Interaction
Career Education
Independent Living Skills
Orientation and Mobility
Recreation and Leisure

Program Benefits: Social Emotional Learning

Social emotional learning is focused on helping students recognize, understand, and manage their emotions. Instruction methods vary based on the age of each student and encompass everything from learning how to share toys in kindergarten to digital literacy and preparation for college.

Examples of social emotional learning, include

identifying and managing difficult emotions
understanding how to make responsible decisions
different methods for handling stress
the importance of setting goals, and
building healthy relationships.

Source: https://childmind.org/article/what-is-social-and-emotional-learning/

Program Benefits: Executive Function Skills

Executive Functioning skills are core life skills used to successfully manage school, work, outside interests, and social relationships. These skills are critical to ensuring the development of students' independence at the Institute and are taught deliberately throughout our programs.

Executive Functioning skills include, but are not limited to

Displaying self-control and flexibility

Capacity to plan and meet goals

Following multi-step directions

Time management

Filtering distractions

Maintaining focus

Prioritizing tasks

Organization

Sources:

https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/what-is-executive-function-and-how-does-it-relate-to-child-development/

https://harvardcenter.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/HCDC_BuildingAdolescentCoreLifeSkills.pdf