The Responsive Classroom Approach in the RCSD

 

 

Social-emotional learning (SEL) is an important part of the work of schools. Board of Education President Jane Anderson, herself a former teacher, often talks about how a school district can provide the best education in the world, but unless a student is in the mental frame of mind to learn, it’s all for naught. In The Rye Commitment, the RCSD and Board of Education pledge to oversee “the academic and social-emotional development of our children.” Studies show that children learn better when they feel they are a part of a school community. 

Beginning in 2023, the district administration and Board began asking themselves, “How can we enhance the culture and climate in every school so that students feel a sense of belonging and connection?” In the spring of 2023, the RCSD convened an SEL committee of school psychologists, counselors, social workers, teachers, administrators, and parents. The committee made several recommendations to improve school climate, one of which was to institute the Responsive ClassroomⓇ approach in the three elementary schools.

What is Responsive Classroom? It’s an approach to education that originated with school teachers in Greenfield, MA, in the 1980s who wanted to explore developmentally-appropriate practices and social curriculum. 45 years later, it’s used by elementary and middle school educators in all 50 states and more than 29 countries. The locus of Response Classroom training is the  Center for Responsive Schools, a nonprofit organization in Turners Falls, MA, that develops and provides professional development, programs, and materials for K–8 educators to improve teaching and learning through the Responsive Classroom approach. 

The guiding principles for educators of the Responsive Classroom approach are:

• Teaching social and emotional skills is as important as teaching academic content.
• How we teach is as important as what we teach.
• Great cognitive growth occurs through social interaction.
• How we work together as adults to create a safe, joyful, and inclusive school environment is as important as our individual contributions or competence.
• What we know and believe about our students--individually, culturally, developmentally--informs our expectations, reactions, and attitudes about those students.
• Partnering with families--knowing them and valuing their contributions--is as important as knowing the children we teach.

What the principles lead to is a student-centered, evidence-based approach to teaching that integrates SEL with academics to create a safe, joyful, and engaging classroom community  -- to benefit both students and teachers. It uses specific, research-backed practices across four key tenets to support student success:

Engaging Academics: Creating a curriculum that is both challenging and accessible to all students.

Positive Community: Building a sense of belonging and mutual respect among students and between students and teachers.

Effective Management: Using proactive and consistent strategies to create a calm, orderly environment where students feel safe to take risks.

Developmentally Responsive Teaching: Understanding and responding to the social, emotional, and academic needs of students at different developmental stages.

What does this look like in practice? One of the most effective tools in the program is “Morning Meeting,” which has now been added to the classroom schedule in almost all of the classrooms in the three elementary schools in Rye. 

Morning Meeting creates a predictable, engaging, and fun way to begin each school day and helps to build a sense of community. While every teacher runs Morning Meeting differently, it could look something like this: Sitting together in a circle so that everyone can see and be seen by everyone else, teachers and children greet one another; share news about themselves; do a quick, fun activity together; and read a message written by the teacher. 

This daily routine sets a positive tone for the day and builds a sense of belonging while giving students practice in key academic and social skills. Teachers who are using Morning Meeting in Rye report that it has been an incredibly powerful tool in forging a daily connection between students and their peers and with the teacher. Osborn School 3rd-grade teacher Margaret Brown says, “Morning meeting is a soft-launch to our day together. Students love having this time to bridge the gap between home and school and to engage with their classmates in an easy and relaxed way before the work of the day begins.”  

Positive Discipline is another important idea in the Responsive Classroom approach. Positive discipline focuses on teaching students self-control and social-emotional skills through respect, understanding, and encouragement, rather than relying on rewards or punishments. It involves clear rules around behavior, positive language, teaching problem-solving, and helping students learn from mistakes to build an intrinsic motivation for good behavior. Third-grade Osborn School teacher Francesca Martilotta says, “Positive discipline helps our class work together to problem solve when situations arise, rather than relying solely on the teacher to react.”

The RCSD  is committed to training every K-5 general education teacher, all special area teachers (music, art, FLES, gym, etc.), school counselors, teaching assistants, and teacher aides in the Responsive Classroom approach by the spring of 2026 -- a total of almost 240 staff. Some are already Responsive Classroom veterans:  In July of this year, 25 teachers, counselors, staff, and administrators participated in a four-day Responsive Classroom summer training session, sponsored by a generous grant from the Rye Fund for Education. 

This vanguard of staff who took the summer training are now in what’s known as the “Advanced Course” of Responsive Classroom. They are focused on learning more advanced and targeted strategies.

The 90 general education teachers and special education teachers who are new to the approach will be taking what is called the “Core Classroom Course” at Superintendent’s Conference Days and after-school professional learning sessions. Thirty-three special area teachers will learn to use the core beliefs and competencies of Responsive Classroom at the next Superintendent’s Conference Day, while Teacher Assistants and Teacher Aides will be learning about the positive and inclusive language use strategies of Responsive Classroom. 

Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment Lauren Santabarbara summed up the benefits of Responsive Classroom, saying, “Elementary students grow best in classrooms where they feel seen, heard, and valued -- where every morning meeting, kind word, and shared goal help them discover not just what they can do, but who they can become.”

 

Responsive Classroom Training

Responsive Classroom Training

Morning Meeting at Osborn School