Dan D. Rogers Elementary School, a personalized learning campus in the Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD), has been named the 2017 winner of the Golden Psi Award by the Board of Educational Affairs of the American Psychological Association (APA).
“The committee was most impressed by Rogers’ attention to promoting a positive social environment – mindfulness, social skill development and good decision making – all of which supports child and academic development,” said Tammy Hughes, chair of the Golden Psi Award selection committee.
Rogers was selected in part for its emphasis on positive discipline and encouraging students, teachers and parents to address conflict in a healthy and productive manner. The selection committee was also impressed by Rogers’ focus on school safety, which promotes community development and support.
Mindfulness practices, including deep breathing, focus techniques and yoga were added into the curriculum last year to help students cope with negative emotions, according to Jeanne Juneau, counselor at Rogers Elementary School. Activities from identifying sounds to writing feelings down have helped teachers and students better reflect on their emotions.
“The ultimate goal of our mindfulness implementation is for the students to better self-regulate their emotions,” Juneau said. “This has resulted in fewer reported cases of negative behavior, such as bullying.”
The Golden Psi Award is based on factors that include educational adaptations shown to be appropriate for a school’s demographic makeup, the use of evidence-based interventions, measureable academic and/or social-emotional growth and monitoring of an individual’s or group’s progress.
“The traditional forms of student discipline such as detention do not apply to Rogers,” Hughes said. “At Rogers, discipline is about teaching students, teachers and parents how to communicate their needs to each other properly.”
Rogers received an award trophy and a check presented by the APA for $1,000.
