Charlotte N.C. (Feb. 28, 2018) — Social-emotional learning (SEL) company Aperture Education and Kickboard, which provides technology and coaching for school culture initiatives, have partnered to help schools collect, monitor and analyze data on 40 student behaviors that tie to the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (the DESSA) core SEL competencies. The DESSA, which is published by Aperture Education, measures students’ social emotional competencies while the Kickboard platform allows teachers to record and analyze student behavior in real time.
As part of the partnership, Kickboard and Aperture Education have developed the DESSA SEL Inventory, a new tool to help districts more frequently monitor student behaviors related to key social and emotional skills. The Inventory addresses 40 behaviors that students may exhibit in the classroom such as managing time wisely, completing tasks as expected and participating in group activities. These behaviors are linked to the DESSA SEL competencies – self-awareness, self-management, social-awareness, relationship skills, goal-directed behavior, personal responsibility, decision-making and optimistic thinking. The DESSA SEL Inventory is available exclusively on Kickboard’s platform and is free to Kickboard customers.
“SEL programs can improve students’ academics and wellbeing while promoting positive behavior in the classroom,” said Jessica Adamson, CEO of Aperture Education. “But SEL instruction is often limited to once a week and rarely informed by data. The DESSA SEL Inventory helps schools focus on the specific behaviors that students display - or don’t display - so that SEL instruction can be more intentional, effective and integrated throughout the week. Our partnership with Kickboard will provide schools with the most comprehensive tool for measuring students’ social and emotional skills.”
Using the Inventory will provide educators with real-time, daily tracking of students’ social-emotional competencies. The data can be used to support schools’ SEL programs, PBIS programs, and climate initiatives or to inform SEL instruction.
“Schools often don’t have access to student behavior data on a daily basis. This data can provide a direction for intervention and help teachers acknowledge positive behavior,” Stefan Kohler, CEO of Kickboard. “By integrating our inventory with the DESSA, schools and districts can get an accurate picture of how their SEL and PBIS programs are impacting student behavior.”
Aperture Education and Kickboard created a white paper “The DESSA SEL Inventory: A strength-based approach to promoting positive student behavior” which coincides with the launch of Kickboard’s DESSA SEL Inventory. To download the white paper, visit https://goo.gl/tZntRc.
About Aperture Education
Aperture Education is a social enterprise focused on addressing the whole child. Its social and emotional learning (SEL) solution, Evo Social/Emotional, is based on the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA), a standardized, strengths-based measure of critical social and emotional skills. The Evo Social/Emotional online system includes both the DESSA and the DESSA-mini, a universal screener of social and emotional competence administered in less than a minute. Evo Social/Emotional also provides growth strategies and foundational practices to strengthen social and emotional skills. Its data helps SEL program administrators measure the impact of their programs and helps educators understand students’ SEL strengths and needs. For more information, go to www.ApertureEd.com.
About Kickboard
Kickboard partners with K-12 schools and districts to facilitate their climate and culture initiatives and positively impact student achievement, attendance, discipline, and more. A unique combination of technology and personalized leadership coaching, the Kickboard school culture system helps educators streamline and simplify behavior management and interventions, positive behavior reinforcement, classroom management, social-emotional learning, and district-wide school culture analysis. The result is a positive environment where effective teaching and learning can thrive. For more information, visit https://www.kickboardforschools.com/.
