Moira Koskey

November 30, 2020

ED252
Final Project

Name of Program: Second Step

Author or Publisher: Committee For Children, a non-profit organization devoted to
teaching social emotional skills to children.
Target Grade Levels: Preschool through 8th Grade
Cost: The cost for a Pre-K through 5th grade setup is $2769, which includes lesson plans,
classroom materials, online support, staff training guides, and other teaching supports.
The middle school program is web based and schools are charged for a license to utilize
the online resources- a one-year 6-8th grade license is $2749. Individual classroom kits
and teacher licenses are available as well.
Website (if one is available): secondstep.org
Do you think this program follows more of a generic discipline model, an obedience
discipline model, or a responsibility discipline model? This program uses a responsi-
bility discipline model by focusing on teaching students social and emotional self-man-
agement skills. Students are taught to take responsibility for their own behavior, and the
staff focuses on modeling these skills.
Are the principals of good behavior as visible and as important as the rules? Is there
an incentive for good behavior? The standards for good behavior are taught as the focus
of this program. Students are explicitly taught to manage their emotions, cultivate empa-
thy, and develop problem solving skills through lessons in the classroom. Specific incen-
tives for students are not prescribed, but the overall incentive is a more connected and
confident school community.
Is it realistically possible to reinforce this program consistently? Why or why not?
This program can easily be reinforced consistently as long as there is buy-in from staff
across the grade levels. One of the major facets of the staff training is developing a com-
mon vocabulary when discussing self management and responsibility. This will help stu-
dents understand what is expected of them across classrooms and grades, and will help
teachers communicate and build trust. There is also a parent communication element that
can be used to reinforce behavior outside of the classroom. However, it would be much
more difficult to reinforce the program if it were only used in one or two individual class-
rooms and not the entire school. A larger group participation is ideal.
Can this program address the unique needs of an individual school? Schools have the
ability to be flexible with the implementation of this program, so they can focus on any
elements that require extra focus in their school. There are also additional supports avail-
able from the company for an additional fee that centers child abuse prevention or bully-
ing, although the primary product itself does include anti-bullying material as well.
Is this program researched based? Yes. The program’s website states “We take great
pride in the fact that our programs are based on current research in the field. Translating
research into our programs is a key component in the development of our curriculum.”
There are links on the website to numerous studies showing the effectiveness of social
emotional learning in general, as well as the Second Step program specifically. The re-
search is ongoing and the program is updated accordingly.
Does this program provide an instructional component for teaching students self-
control and/or social skill strategies? Yes, this is the program’s primary function. Stu-
dents are taught a number of important social skills and self monitoring techniques via
weekly in-class lessons. These lessons vary in length by age group, from about five min-
utes for Kindergarteners to thirty minutes for middle school students and are available in
Spanish as well as English.
Does the program offer materials that can address the needs of students with
chronic, challenging behaviors? Yes, the research cited shows that the program reduces
conflict and can increase academic achievement. The skills taught in this program have
been shown to increase attendance, reduce aggressive behaviors, and lead to an increase
in positive social behaviors overall.
What do students learn as a result of reinforcement? Students learn a variety of im-
portant skills that will help them succeed in school as well as outside the classroom.
Some of the skills taught are managing strong emotions, focusing attention and listening,
making friends, handling anxiety, conversation skills, dealing with peer pressure, setting
goals, and managing disappointment and anger.
Is a teacher training option available? If so, how long does the training last? Is there
continuous follow up and administrative support? Initial training takes about four hours,
and there is follow up support available through the Second Step website. In addition,
there is are optional webinars and trainings for teachers to increase their own social emo-
tional skill levels in efforts to be a better model for students.
Why is it important for the goals of this program to be consistent with the stated
goals of the school? When working to improve overall school climate, consistent model-
ing and reinforcement of positive behaviors and skills is crucial. The goals of this pro-
gram are well laid out and are easy to communicate to teachers, students, and families.
The focus on using a shared language to ensure consistency in behavior management will
help increase positive behaviors and self-management skills and will ideally lead to a
stronger and more connected school community.