According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, anxiety disorders in young children are on the rise. As educators, we are not surprised by that information. We have witnessed a shift in our students in recent years. While there are many theories about the reasons, what we are sure about is that learning to manage anxiety is critical for healthy social and emotional development.
In the Chelsea School District, our Portrait of a Graduate guides our work to support students in the areas of social, emotional and academic growth. At North Creek, you can count on us to teach and model strategies to help our students cope when faced with challenges, practice solving problems and learn to calm down. We practice these each day in our classrooms.
It is good for our students to struggle from time to time. By struggling, our young children learn to cope and solve problems. As adults who care deeply about our children, it can be difficult to step aside and let children attempt to solve problems, feel strong feelings without us swooping in and try things we suspect they may not be successful at right away.
At North Creek, our goal is to help each child grow socially, emotionally and academically while they are in our care. One of the many ways we do that is by celebrating each challenge along the way. Struggling a bit, and learning to cope when things don’t go as expected, leads to growth.
Thank you for partnering with us to help your children develop socially, emotionally and academically. We are honored to have the responsibility of educating your children.
Kimberly Gillow, Principal
North Creek Elementary