EDUCATION / BEHAVIORAL MANAGEMENT

"The series is highly recommended and will prove invaluable to school professionals with structured lesson plans and supplementary materials to help all students succeed." —Lori Ernsperger, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Executive Director of Behavioral Training Resource Center

"My colleagues and I have conducted several studies on the curricula in the Strong Kids series and have been impressed with how easily public school educators have been able to implement these with fidelity. We have also documented improvements in students’ internalizing symptoms (e.g., anxiety and depression) following implementation of Strong Kids." —Paul Caldarella, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Brigham Young University

Grades 9-12

Each social-emotional competence—the foundation of school and social success—with the NEW edition of the Strong Teens—Grades 9–12 curriculum! Part of the Strong Teens is the fun and easy way to help your students develop the social-emotional skills they need to manage their challenges and succeed in school and life. Developed by a team of educational and mental health experts, this evidence-based, age-appropriate curriculum is:

• Low cost and low tech
• Proven to help increase students’ knowledge of social and emotional concepts and decrease their emotional and behavioral problems.

STRONG KIDS

Merrell’s Strong Teens—Grades 9–12

A Social & Emotional Learning Curriculum

Second Edition

by Dianna Carrizales-Engelmann, Ph.D., University of Oregon
Laura L. Feuerborn, Ph.D., University of Washington, Tacoma
Barbara A. Gueldner, Ph.D., Successful Kids Today, Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Oanh K. Tran, Ph.D., California State University, Hayward

About Strong Kids

Strong Kids™: A Social and Emotional Learning Curriculum is a social and emotional learning curriculum that consists of five brief and practical social and emotional learning (SEL) programs designed for the purpose of teaching social and emotional skills and assets that promote resilience and mitigate risk in children and adolescents. These introductory chapters provide information on the following:

• The importance of promoting children’s mental health and doing so in the context of SEL
• The design of the Strong Kids program
• Evidence of the program’s effectiveness
• Tips for using the curriculum effectively and with confidence
• Updates to the second edition

Young people in the Strong Teens—Grades 9–12 age range experience a host of changes during this time in development. Bodies are morphing into their adult states; friendships and romantic relationships become more prevalent and important; navigating these relationships, often using social media, remains complex; and there is increased pressure for academic performance as students prepare for post–high school education and work. Juggling academic demands and extracurricular schedules can prove tenuous, as students strive to do well while sacrificing basic self-care needs such as obtaining adequate sleep, exercise, nutrition, and time for healthy reflection and relaxation.

Promoting Children’s Mental Health

As many researchers, writers, and public officials have noted, changes in the structure of society and families have resulted in an increasing percentage of children and families who are at risk for developing a variety of behavioral, social, and mental health problems. The numbers of children and youth affected by these problems are surprisingly high. Greenberg, Domitrovich, and Bumbarger (2001) asserted that between 12% and 22% of children and adolescents younger than age 18 experience mental health problems of sufficient severity to be in need of mental health services.

Model for Preventing Behavioral and Emotional Problems

Education researchers have adapted a public health prevention model for use in school systems. We believe that this three-tiered model has great importance for promoting SEL and for school-based promotion of children’s mental health in general:

• Primary prevention: Achieving positive school climate.
• Secondary prevention: Identifying students at risk for developing significant problems.
• Tertiary prevention: Involving students who currently are experiencing significant learning or social/behavior difficulties.

Implementation Guidelines and Lesson Structure

The Strong Kids and Strong Teens programs were designed to circumvent common barriers to implementation such as time, resources, and training while upholding criteria for effective instructional design and delivery. Thus, this curriculum was developed with both time feasibility and ease of implementation as high priorities.

Evidence

The Strong Kids curriculum, from Strong Start—Pre-K to Strong Teens, has been evaluated and continues to be studied within a multitiered model across age and grade levels (e.g., elementary through high school-age individuals) and in a variety of settings. The strongest evidence exists for a unilateral increase in the knowledge of social and emotional content across studies. Some studies also have found significant decreases in internalizing problem symptoms and increases in social and emotional skills and assets.