Deliberate Community-Building
At SEEQS, a strong school community forms the soil in which everything else can grow. Deliberate community-building and maintenance create an intellectually safe learning environment and set the stage for collaborative co-learning.
"In an intellectually safe place there are no put-downs and no comments intended to belittle, negate, devalue, or ridicule. Within this place, the group accepts virtually any question or comment, so long as it is respectful of the other members of the circle." -Dr. Thomas Jackson |
Social-Emotional Learning (RULER)
RULER is an approach for social-emotional learning developed by Dr. Marc Brackett, founder of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, and his team. RULER is an acronym for the five skills of emotional intelligence:
At SEEQS, all students are part of a multi-aged advisory that serves as a “home” community-within-a-community. Advisories meet three times per week throughout the school year, including an extended period each Wednesday. This allows time for the implementation of the RULER curriculum as well as other social-emotional supports.
SEEQS also employs a School Counselor who supports students’ social and emotional well-being and promotes healthy, productive, and resilient interactions among students, between students and adults, and within the SEEQS community as a whole.
Visit the Ruler Approach to learn more.
- Recognizing emotions in oneself and others
- Understanding the causes and consequences of emotions
- Labeling emotions with a nuanced vocabulary
- Expressing emotions in accordance with cultural norms and social context
- Regulating emotions with helpful strategies
At SEEQS, all students are part of a multi-aged advisory that serves as a “home” community-within-a-community. Advisories meet three times per week throughout the school year, including an extended period each Wednesday. This allows time for the implementation of the RULER curriculum as well as other social-emotional supports.
SEEQS also employs a School Counselor who supports students’ social and emotional well-being and promotes healthy, productive, and resilient interactions among students, between students and adults, and within the SEEQS community as a whole.
Visit the Ruler Approach to learn more.
p4c Hawaii
Inquiry is the basis of philosophy for children (p4c) Hawaiian-style. "Gently Socratic Inquiry" recognizes that a paramount objective of education is to help students develop their ability to think for themselves and to learn to use this ability in responsible ways.
p4c Hawaii is both a theory of education and a set of classroom practices. It is not a program, but a set of ideas and structures that can be modified to meet the needs of the situation.
p4c Hawaii has been implemented in schools throughout the state, including Waikiki School, Kailua High School, and more. The team is led by Dr. Tom Jackson, Dr. Amber Strong Makaiau, and Dr. Chad Miller.
SEEQS uses p4c with our students in advisories, in classes, and as a whole school; we also implement it as a faculty.
Visit the Uehiro Academy for Philosophy and Ethics in Education to learn more.
p4c Hawaii is both a theory of education and a set of classroom practices. It is not a program, but a set of ideas and structures that can be modified to meet the needs of the situation.
- It is the foundation for creating intellectual safety in a school
- It opens the space for students' ideas and voices to be honored
- It builds empathy
- It provides a structure for democratic conversation
- It encourages authentic listening, instead of simply waiting for a turn to talk
- It encourages and provides space for reflection on both relationships and thinking
p4c Hawaii has been implemented in schools throughout the state, including Waikiki School, Kailua High School, and more. The team is led by Dr. Tom Jackson, Dr. Amber Strong Makaiau, and Dr. Chad Miller.
SEEQS uses p4c with our students in advisories, in classes, and as a whole school; we also implement it as a faculty.
Visit the Uehiro Academy for Philosophy and Ethics in Education to learn more.
Restorative Practices
The IIRP defines restorative practices as "a social science that studies how to build social capital and achieve social discipline through participatory learning and decision making." This includes informal and formal process that precede wrongdoing, as well as those for responding to wrongdoing after it occurs (often referred to as restorative justice).
At SEEQS we believe that restorative practices are more impactful than punitive practices and we strive to foster a school community where every individual understands their role in the health of the overall community and is invested in doing their part to contribute.
During a 2018 visit to the SEEQS middle school, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) committee reported that “the SEEQS campus feels safe and supportive of individual differences; students clearly articulated that they feel cared for by their peers and the adults on campus.”
Visit the International Institute for Restorative Practices to learn more.
At SEEQS we believe that restorative practices are more impactful than punitive practices and we strive to foster a school community where every individual understands their role in the health of the overall community and is invested in doing their part to contribute.
During a 2018 visit to the SEEQS middle school, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) committee reported that “the SEEQS campus feels safe and supportive of individual differences; students clearly articulated that they feel cared for by their peers and the adults on campus.”
Visit the International Institute for Restorative Practices to learn more.