BENTONVILLE -- Love will be in the air next month when the School District celebrates a program devoted to social and emotional learning.
Scarlett Lewis, a Fayetteville native and founder of the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement, will speak Nov. 9 at the Choose Love Community Celebration.
Choose Love Community Celebration
When: 10 a.m.-noon, Nov. 9
Where: Old High Middle School, 406 N.W. Second St., Bentonville
Cost: Free
Source: Staff report
"I'm going to tell people that we have the power to choose how we thoughtfully respond in any situation, circumstance or interaction, and when we have some skills and tools, we can choose love as a thoughtful response," Lewis said.
Her son Jesse was 6 years old when he was killed in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, 2012.
She started the Choose Love Movement in an effort to prevent tragedies. The nonprofit organization's social and emotional education program focuses on teaching people how to choose loving thoughts over angry thoughts. The program is designed for students in prekindergarten through 12th grade.
The four values fundamental to the program are courage, gratitude, forgiveness and compassion in action. Choose Love is in 5% of the nation's schools representing about 1.5 million kids, Lewis said.
Lewis' speech will be followed by a fall festival on Old High's front lawn featuring a marching band, games, balloons and more, said Leslee Wright, the district's director of communication.
"It's going to be upbeat and positive," Wright said. "It's about making the world a safer place through kindness and humanity."
The city, the Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Walmart Museum are some of the community organizations promoting the event, Wright said.
Superintendent Debbie Jones was one of about 130 educators from across the state who heard Lewis speak at a Choose Love Conference on Aug. 2 at the Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences in Fayetteville. She also was the main speaker at the district's back-to-school rally the following week.
Jones was a little worried going into the rally Lewis' subject matter would be too gloomy for what is normally a celebratory event. Her fears were unwarranted, she said.
"She had such positive response from the staff," Jones said.
District staff members studied Lewis' program and integrated it into the curriculum at every grade level, Wright said.
Washington Elementary School in Fayetteville is in its fourth year using Choose Love. For the first three years, counselor Tara Lechtenberger visited each classroom every other week giving the Choose Love lessons. Lechtenberger still does that, but teachers are leading Choose Love lessons as well, she said.
Choose Love provides all the components educators look for in a social and emotional learning program, Lechtenberger said.
"I think it's been real successful here at our school," she said. "We're giving kids these tools they need. They are children and don't always practice what you teach them, but it's planting the seeds of this knowledge."
Choose Love is free, and the materials are accessible online. The foundation is growing thanks to contributions, according to its website.
The discussion of school safety has changed to emphasize social and emotional learning as much as anything, Lewis said.
The Federal Commission on School Safety, organized last year in response to the high school shooting in Parkland, Fla., released its final report in December. One of its chief recommendations for preventing school violence was character education and creation of a positive school climate.
The report listed five skills key to supporting character development: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making. Youth who learn these skills are better able to manage their emotions and interactions with others, the report states.
"Most importantly, recent research suggests that the development of social and emotional skills can lead to improved outcomes for educational attainment, employment, and earnings," the report states.
"It can also lead to a significant decrease in the likelihood of crime and delinquency, substance use, antisocial behavioral conditions, aggression and violent behavior."
NW News on 10/14/2019