The Bangor High School Counseling Office uses the Consortium of Academic Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) standards as a basis for developing, implementing and assessing critical social, cultural and emotional competencies.

• Self-Awareness

• Self-Management

• Social Awareness

• Responsible Decision-Making

• Relationship Skills

These competencies represent the critical behaviors and mindsets that lead to success in the classroom, in the workplace and the help students develop strong interpersonal relationships.

Guidance Department strategies in one-on-one counseling and in classroom-based lessons use these standards to maintain focus on a holistic development strategy that addresses the career, life, and educational goals of our students and families.

Your school counselor is a facilitator that helps students access the necessary opportunities that will help them be competent, competitive and content in pursuit of their future plans. This goes beyond the obvious role of academic counselor, assisting students with course selections and study habits, to include coaching students in building competency in the five SEL standards.

Self-Awareness - School counselors help students to recognize their strengths and provide encouragement to accelerate their learning in these areas. They also help students to address their deficits and offer support in mitigating these challenges. A big part of this counselor role is to help students to see their own "place" within the community and to help them achieve success and happiness. An example of a self-awareness activity is the Jung-type Personality Profile that improves awareness into one's own preferences and tendencies.

Self-Management - So much of a counselor's job is dedicated to helping students manage their schedule and the responsibilities that come with it. From study tips to communication strategies, the counselor helps students build the "soft skills" that will allow them to apply their knowledge and skill to the responsibilities associated with school, work and family. An example of a self-management activity is the lesson about Online Reputation, and how it helps students to think before they post.

Social Awareness - Counselors spend a lot of time helping young people navigate the stormy waters of interpersonal relationships, including the tempest known as social media. Teens are still very much concrete thinkers and still have some of the impulsive and egocentric behaviors of younger children. In high school, it can often be "learn on the fly" for students and the counselor is someone that helps unpack the ups-and-downs of normal (and sometimes abnormal) human interaction. An example of a social awareness lesson is the Pledge of Allegiance lesson. In this activity, students learn about the difference between the right to recite the pledge and the responsibility to respect others during the pledge.

Responsible Decision-Making - As students move through high school, they assume a greater degree of responsibility in academic decision making. For many, parents have called all of the shots up to this point and decision making is a new experience. Meanwhile, other students have been given great latitude in decision-making, but tend to focus on wants instead of needs. The counselor provides support that directs students toward a cohesive plan and a great degree of focus on long-term goals over instant gratification. An example of a responsible decision-making activity is the four-year plan, known as Course Planner, in which students map out, and sometimes revise, their four year academic plan for high school.

Relationship Skills - Student-to-student, Student-to-Teacher, Student-to-Parent. These are all types of relationships that students must understand throughout high school, and beyond. The school counselor helps students navigate these relationships and to develop effective strategies for the many types of human interactions they encounter in a typical day. An effective lesson in relationship skills is the teaching of how to write an appropriate email.

Social-Emotional Learning does not happen in isolation. That means that students can gain social, emotional and cultural competency, and probably do, in every aspect of their daily life; at home, with friends, in school, and even when they are online. However, some of this learning can send the wrong message, or the point to the "lesson" may be missed. That is why it is so important for the school, family and community to cooperate in sending consistent signals to students regarding social, emotional and cultural learning as they navigate toward adulthood.

Schools are often seen as responsive to the needs and values of the community, which is certainly true in most cases. However, SEL is one of the times when schools are directive and assume a leadership role in the greater community at large. Parents, employers, military recruiters and other important figures in the education of teens often look to the school for guidance and support in the social and emotional development of their children. The CASEL framework not only helps define the role of SEL in the classroom, but also in the promotion of the school culture and climate, the fostering of authentic partnerships with the family and the integration of meaningful human development in the community.

Effective social-emotional development in children depends upon the cooperation between community, family and school. Our school counseling office, and many other programs in the Bangor School Department, benefits the appropriate and healthy social, cultural and emotional development of our students. Simple lessons such as encouraging informed and active civic participation; expanding awareness of, and respect for, cultural traditions; and emphasizing the importance of giving back to the community are developed by counselors and other educators, and are easily enhanced by parents and neighbors.

Social-Emotional learning exists in every walk of life, so it is safe to assume that it occurs in the regular education classroom and on the athletic fields. However, this is difficult to measure and the "lessons" may be inconsistent from one student to the next. This is why SEL is an essential part of the School Counseling Curriculum, as prescribed by the Bangor School Department and by the State of Maine. The Bangor High School SEL curriculum highlights and standardizes the essentials of productive social-emotional development. Here is how the SEL Standards are operationalized and assessed at Bangor High School:

One-on-One School Counseling: Using the American School Counseling Association model, the Bangor School Department 10-year Strategic Plan and the Maine Learning Results, school counselors have a specific strategy (see College & Career Planning) to help students achieve post-secondary success. This includes aspects of the social-emotional learning curriculum.

Advisory Period: (See Advisory Period) Every Thursday and Friday for 1 mod (20 minutes), students meet with a faculty advisor and engage with simple lessons that address many different facets of SEL and College, Career and Life planning. The lessons are typically 10-15 minute videos or other activities designed to engage at least surface level conversations about various SEL topics.

Xello: The BHS School Counseling office is happy to use the Xello Career Planning platform to support the SEL curriculum. Xello allows counselors to post lessons for advisory, to monitor student progress through their career planning activities and to gather data useful in assessing the School Counseling curriculum. Students benefit from Xello because it is also used for course selections and college applications, as well as many other useful applications. Parents are also able to monitor student activity on Xello.