OPEN CIRCLE
A Social Competency Program
As a parent community, you are often asked to support school initiatives through your participation in fund raising events. Many of our fund raising activities are planned, organized and implemented through the efforts of the Cushing School Parent Teacher Organization (PTO). Many realize that the monies generated through such efforts are the sole support of the Enrichment Programs at Cushing School. Are you aware that the PTO has also stepped up to the plate and voted to donate monies to support some of the teachers at Cushing School as they are trained in the social competency program, Open Circle?

For the past two years, the PTO voted to pay the tuition costs for additional Cushing School Teachers to be trained in Open Circle. This was quite a wonderful step to take, as the tuition for one teacher is $750.00. Additionally, the Scituate Education Alliance (S.E.A.) also voted to sponsor this training. As a result, more Cushing teachers began their training over the summer. Mr. Brendan Smith (Grade 4), Ms. Sarah Lane (Grade 5), Mrs. Joyce Miller (Grade 5), Ms. Grace Monahan (Grade 2) and Mrs. Michelle Coughlin (Grade 3), have joined with those trained in past years (Ms. Sweeney, Mrs. Tassini, Ms. Galvin, and Ms. Casteline) to share the philosophy and curriculum of Open Circle with our students.

What is Open Circle All About?
Open Circle is a grade-differentiated curriculum for elementary students in Grades K-5. A curriculum for Grade 6 has not yet been developed but it is in the pipeline. The curriculum at all grade levels contains core lessons that are taught twice a week for fifteen (15) to thirty (30) minutes throughout the school year. The curriculum presents a consistent set of concepts across all grade levels. The core concepts (creating cooperative classroom environments, solving interpersonal problems, and building positive relationships) are explored in greater depth and reinforced as students move from one grade level to the next. Within the core areas mentioned above, lessons focusing on listening, calming down, speaking up, dealing with teasing, recognizing discrimination, expressing anger appropriately, reaching a consensus, and more are taught.

Overall, the Open Circle Curriculum provides a structured format to facilitate the teaching of social competency skills and a context for discussing other issues important to the class. Our teachers who participated in the training received a copy of their grade level curriculum. In addition, the teachers have received suggestions of homework activities and literature connections to support the internalization of the concepts being addressed in class. If your child is in one of the rooms involved in the Open Circle Program, you have been the recipient of parent letters designed to inform you about the topics being covered during Open Circle. All of this is a result of the training supported by our PTO and S.E.A.

Why Implement Open Circle at Cushing School?
Understanding human relationships, how to encourage positive interactions, and how to effectively handle conflicts are key elements that impact every portion of the school day and every moment in the classrooms at Cushing School. Learning is so much more than reading, writing, and arithmetic. The development of productive, well-rounded individuals is also a key component of the elementary experience. The Open Circle Program can help us achieve this goal.

The Open Circle Curriculum draws on well-researched methods of instruction in social competency and is constantly revising its curriculum to reflect the needs and suggestions of the elementary teachers implementing the program. Continuous evaluation of the program has documented the impact on students, teachers, classrooms and schools. The Stone Center at Wellesley College has reported the following evaluation results for those participating in the program:

• IMPACT ON STUDENTS
  • Specific interpersonal skill development
  • Problem solving skill development
  • Individual responsibility
  • Carry over of skills developed in Open Circle to the classroom and beyond
• IMPACT ON TEACHERS
  • Improvement of teacher relationships with students
    Improvement of teaching skills while coming to better know their students
    Development of a unified approach to student discipline

• IMPACT ON CLASSROOMS AND SCHOOLS
  • Increased time on task for academics
  • Increased ability of students to take risks, solve problems, focus their
    attention, support each other’s learning and make positive contributions
  • Increased ability of students to share responsibility for classroom learning
  • Improvement in student discipline and classroom management