Social Development

Social Development at Villa

All students participate in a weekly social skills group with their fellow school-aged peers. These groups focus on a variety of topics that comprise a comprehensive school counseling curriculum, which are guided by the five core CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning) competencies: self awareness, self management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making.

Particular focus on self-awareness (The abilities to understand one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts) and self management (The abilities to manage one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations and to achieve goals and aspirations) set the stage to then build on themes of social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making, which will be incorporated throughout the year. Our social skills curriculum is integrated across all settings throughout the day as students learn about respect, cooperation and positive social engagement All students have the opportunity to meet individually or in small groups, or as a larger team to address social-emotional needs that arise.