Ryan Scallon is superintendent of Portland Public Schools. He can be reached at superintendent@portlandschools.org.

I’m continuing my series of columns on how our new Portland Public Schools’ five-year strategic plan impacts students in the classroom. This month I’m focusing on our “whole student” priority.

Our strategic plan has five priorities: equity, achievement, whole student, people, and systems. Each priority is supported by multiple initiatives to achieve that goal. We’re starting some initiatives now and phasing in others over the next four years.

Our whole student initiative this year is to “increase the capacity of schools to create and implement whole-school systems, social-emotional learning curriculum, and relationships that promote a joyful, supportive and safe school culture.”

To advance that, we’ve added culture and climate coordinators to our schools to ensure the following:

• Adoption and implementation of the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports framework in each school.

• Enhancement of our social-emotional learning practices, including strong morning meetings/advisories, explicit social-emotional learning instruction, and the use of restorative practices.

PBIS is a decision-making framework for selecting and using effective academic and behavioral practices to improve outcomes for all students. PBIS emphasizes data usage. By collecting and analyzing behavioral and academic data, educators can identify trends that help them facilitate tailored interventions for students.

A strong focus on addressing behavioral and academic issues before they escalate is central to PBIS. This enables educators to identify students needing extra support and effectively track their progress. For our PBIS efforts, PPS was recognized as a District of Distinction at the Northeast PBIS Leadership Forum.

Strong morning meetings in our elementary schools and robust advisory programs at our middle and high schools foster meaningful relationships between students and educators. These supportive environments allow students to feel valued and connected, providing structured opportunities for guidance, discussions about challenges, and the development of essential life skills such as goal-setting and problem-solving.

Under our culture and climate coordinators’ guidance, social-emotional learning is a focal point in morning meetings and advisories. Integrating this instruction helps cultivate a positive school climate by teaching students vital skills such as self awareness, empathy and conflict resolution. At the middle and high school levels, we use BASE Education, evidence-based SEL lessons, to enrich classroom discussions. At the elementary level, we currently use the Second Step curriculum, but are working to identify an updated, research-based curriculum to further meet students’ needs.

Restorative practices are also integral to our approach. These methods emphasize healing and relationship building, allowing students to learn from their mistakes. Our culture and climate coordinators, alongside partners from Cumberland County Public Health and Youth-Led Justice, are training our teaching staff on implementing restorative practices in the classroom and are providing resources that empower educators to facilitate constructive dialogues and promote understanding among students.

Research indicates that schools adopting PBIS, maintaining strong morning meetings/advisories, and incorporating restorative practices create learning environments where students are excited to go to school. Also, each of our schools has a designated attendance coordinator who collaborates with students and families to identify the causes of irregular attendance and develop plans to ensure regular attendance.

We also aim to instill joy in our schools by celebrating positive student behavior in such ways as holding dance parties at Rowe and Talbot elementary schools, and Reiche Elementary School teachers donning astronaut suits to share “moon cheese” (cheese puffs) and “astro-pop” (flavored water) with students. We also will hold upcoming professional development sessions focused on infusing learning environments with joy, love and belonging.

In short, the whole student priority of our new strategic plan is a comprehensive approach to creating a nurturing and supportive educational environment in which all students thrive academically and personally and love coming to school.