WHAT IS SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING?
At Congressional School, we prioritize both academic growth and social-emotional growth. What is social-emotional growth? It means that we focus on more than just knowledge and grades. We want our students to also learn how to be good citizens, form healthy relationships, respect others, be inclusive of all forms of diversity, regulate emotions, and so much more. We want our students to persevere and learn from difficult situations. We want them to grow in relationships with others and to feel known by their school family. When students feel safe, welcome, and understood, academics thrive.
We believe this is what a well-rounded education looks like.
CORE VALUES: OUR FOUNDATION
Walk down the hallway, stop any student, and they will be able to name all five of our Core Values and what they mean. Our Core Values aren't just words on our website. We live and breathe them. We discuss, implement, and refer back to them as our foundation for interacting with ourselves, our school family, and our world. Read about our middle school social contract.
KINDNESS. INTEGRITY. RESPECT. RESPONSIBILITY. PERSEVERANCE.
Morning Meetings are how we kick off each day in Early Childhood - Lower School (toddlers - 4th grade). They take purposeful time to greet one another in varying ways and focus on creating an environment for the class that is safe and nurturing where students can trust. They do activities that build community and explore and celebrate ways that each student is similar and different. We want students to be able to take risks and know they will be ok.
Each day in middle school begins in Advisories. These small groups are designed to meet the needs of the students and foster strong relationships. Students greet each other and often engage in relationship building activities and games. Middle school teachers serve as advisors and lead discussions on important topics such as digital citizenship, study skills, current events, and more. It's a purposeful start to the day to help students feel heard, understood, and included.
Hover over each photo to learn more about how we start our days as a Congressional family.
SCHOOL COUNSELOR
Our full-time school counselor meets regularly with students in large and small groups to support and help them understand emotions, self-regulate, and form healthy relationships. Our counselor is also a support system for our faculty and parents in providing resources for emotional and mental health.
Discussing emotions and expression
Focused Lunch Bunches
LEAD MIDDLE SCHOOL GROUP
Our LEAD Middle School Group stands for Leaders in Equity, Advancement, and Diversity. Any students in 6th-8th grade are welcome to join the group during lunch once per rotation. The aim of the group is to educate, celebrate diversity, listen and share opinions in respectful ways, and plan activities for the school around relevant topics. The group is run by several eighth graders who also report back to the school's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee to ensure student voices and opinions are heard at a higher level.
CELEBRATING WHAT MAKES EACH PERSON UNIQUE
We love recognizing similarities between individuals, what makes them unique, and how we can unite, learn, and share with one another. We want each of our classrooms, no matter the grade, to have "windows and mirrors" to help all children feel valued. Mirrors are reflections of a student's personal culture and identity. Windows are resources to learn about others' experiences.
LEARNING THROUGH SERVICE
We desire for students to look beyond their own needs to the needs of others. We want them to not think twice about stepping into service projects for the good of our community and world. We incorporate service learning into our curriculum for this very purpose.
Students picking up trash on our campus.
7th grade's annual food drive to benefit our local community through the Culmore Family Resource Center
To learn more or ask questions, please contact:
Amanda Carbury
Director of Enrollment Management & Financial Aid