Typically, when it comes to social-emotional learning (SEL) in schools, “expert” adults impart information they think will be best for students. Between 2019 and 2022, College Spark funded something different. With expertise in restorative, science-based and trauma-informed learning practices, BELONG Partners (formerly Sound Discipline) used the funding to launch Designing Our Own Learning (DOOL), a student-centered SEL curriculum.
While DOOL would make sense at any time, the program coming to fruition during a global pandemic made for an especially relevant proving ground.
Filling an Unmet Need
To kick off the effort, diverse and interested students and educators from Dimmitt Middle School in the Renton School District and Evergreen High School in the Highline School District met in the summer of 2019. The facilitated DOOL meetings focused on shifting the dynamics between educators and students and centering student wisdom and leadership, especially for those most marginalized.
“As the collaborative sessions unfolded, it became clear within the first couple of days that a profound intergenerational learning experience was taking place,” says BELONG Partners Director of Program Stacy Lappin.
Informed by a research-based social-emotional learning curriculum, the collective work involved unpacking school structures and hierarchies, collaborative leadership, and thinking through SEL lessons and project-based ideas that students could implement in the coming year.
“As the collaborative sessions unfolded, it became clear within the first couple of days that a profound intergenerational learning experience was taking place.”
Pandemic-Tested
As students returned to school in the fall of 2019 with more agency, they led various projects. Leadership groups and clubs began flourishing at the two schools, and momentum grew. Then, people began to get sick with COVID-19. March of 2020 brought isolation and uncertainty.
In response to the new global pandemic reality, the DOOL group of educators and students decided to meet weekly for connection and support. These gatherings online fostered a strong foundation of community and trust that continued into the summer of 2020 and the creation of DOOL 2.0.
Virtual summer 2020 session activities explored individual, institutional and structural racism and its daily impacts in and outside of school. Students and educators formed solidarity groups for projects that would continue to shift culture and increase a sense of community at school. Focus areas included creating anti-racist spaces, teaching history more equitably, and undoing structural racism in school. An online community event capped off the summer session and the group extended their impact when they shared what they had learned with a larger group of teachers, administrators and policymakers.
Continuing to Evolve and Innovate
During the next couple of years, the program continued going strong, incorporating more flexibility with online approaches learned during the pandemic. Funding from foundry10 and Dare2Be, combined with a contribution from a major donor made the 2023 summer convening possible.
This time, participants co-created a school charter focused on a community of safety and belonging. Solidarity groups again zeroed in on where they could make change in the upcoming school year. One group worked on making daily announcements more accessible with visuals. Another looked at how to build time into homeroom for DOOL activities. A third made plans to revitalize a courtyard.
The DOOL program celebrated its fifth-year anniversary in that courtyard. “Earlier that week, they’d rented a pressure washer and pulled weeds,” says BELONG Partners Communications and Marketing Manager Mary Stillwell Power. “Then, they decorated the windows with encouraging statements and brought in umbrellas for the tables.”
In the midst of the ice cream and soccer games, students shared why a program like DOOL matters. “I learned how to believe in myself and put my ideas out there,” one student said. “DOOL helped school feel better,” said another. “Our voices really got heard, and we got to do the things together, and it did make a difference.”
What’s next for DOOL? The program will continue so long as it receives funding. Given more support, BELONG Partners would love to pilot the program in a middle and high school in every school district in which they work.
