Last spring, Westbrook High School (WHS) was one of seven recipients of a 2018 CAS-CIAC Flanagan Endowment Grant. This popular grant program, made possible thanks to the generosity of our corporate partners, provides funding to support new or existing initiatives that lead to enriched educational experiences and/or improved learning environments for students.

WHS was awarded a grant for its “Enhancing SEL for School Climate Improvement” initiative led by the WHS Teen Leadership/School Climate students. The students presented at the recent National Education Association New England Aspiring Educators’ Conference held in October at the Heritage Hotel in Southbury, CT. Their topic was “Working with Students as Resources to Enhance Social Emotional Learning in a School Setting” and they shared first hand their training through the National School Climate Center and strategies for improving school climate and social emotional learning. WHS is the first high school in the country to adopt the National School Climate Standards and is a pioneer in promoting engagement through the training of students as well as faculty and staff. Through this workshop, WHS students provided valuable information garnered from school climate training and also gave ideas, shared experiences and allowed for participation in a variety of related activities. The NEA and CEA have never before included student presentations at their conference. Congratulations to WHS for its groundbreaking work in the area of school climate and social emotional learning!