Student Support Services

The Presidio Hill School Social Emotional Learning program builds comprehensively from TK to 8th grade and supports students’ growing awareness of self and others as they move through the grades at PHS. Teachers and our school counselor, Shannon, partner to cover a wide range of topics. 

• TK-2 is focused on developing self-awareness and consistent use of skills-based approaches for understanding and moving through big feelings. 
• 3rd-5th grade students widen their scope to include their social community–SEL focuses on developing empathy and resilience, understanding others’ perspectives, and deepening awareness of one’s own identity and growth areas. 
• 6th-8th grade students dive deeper as a community through Life Skills classes–they are widening their sphere from just themselves and their PHS community, to the world. Students learn how to use critical thinking and a growth mindset to approach problems, they begin to understand how to cope with larger scale global events and challenges while maintaining optimism, they dive even deeper into identity work and understanding and appreciating perspectives that are different from their own, and they learn how to navigate changing relationships and communities. 

The Presidio Hill SEL program is a crucial component of our curriculum in all grades, and we offer additional individual support as needed. The counselor is available as a trusted adult for talk-it-outs, short-term individual and small-group counseling, and family support. Students may self-refer or be referred by faculty, staff, or parents.

While PHS is not equipped to offer an individualized curriculum for students with learning differences, emotional difficulties, or those needing significant academic extension, we do believe that a variety of learning styles enriches the learning experience for all our students and we offer academic support to help every student thrive. 

At PHS, our two learning specialists (Tamara–grades TK-4, and Jenna–grades 5-8), provide support to those students requiring additional assistance as well as collaborate with teachers to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all learners. Learning specialists partner with families and teachers to offer student support by way of small group instruction, classroom-based support, and by partnering with outside specialists. They offer more general curricular support by way of classroom and student observations, implementation of accommodations, and collaboration and planning around differentiation. 

The Presidio Hill School Counseling Program is a comprehensive social and emotional support service available to students and families in our community. The counselor is available as a trusted adult for talk-it-outs, short-term individual and small group counseling, and family support. Students may self-refer or be referred by faculty, staff, or parents. In addition to short-term counseling support, all students have access to social emotional learning and life skills lessons that are tailored to the age and developmental stage of each class. 

From 4th through 8th grade, students are able to participate in a range of identity and affinity groups. 

For the past few years, our Middle School program has successfully implemented an affinity group program. Within this program, pre-adolescents and adolescents begin and/or deepen the inner work of investing in and exploring their identities. Affinity groups can comprise essential aspects of students’ social and emotional learning, and provide a deeply felt sense of support from the school community. They also help students to develop the cultural competency that will help them navigate wholeheartedly through an increasingly diverse and complex social and political world.

Our 4th and 5th graders participate in a similar small group format that helps prepare them for this middle school experience. Within these general identity groups, students will be organized into cross-grade groups that experience lessons and activities exploring gender, ability (both physical and mental), race, and family structure.

Each morning middle school students begin with a 15-minute morning meeting. These are groups of about ten students guided by one teacher/advisor. The program ensures that three important things happen every day: students are greeted, students have a chance to share, and students get to play together. This offers a chance to get grounded prior to starting their academic day

The PHS counselor provides weekly Life Skills classes for sixth grade students entering their first year of middle school and also runs small groups for seventh and eighth graders. PHS Life Skills classes help students continue to develop their executive functioning skills at a critical time when they experience an increase in transitions, autonomy, and responsibility for their learning. They also learn more about themselves and others through identity work and the exploration of healthy relationships. 

Students dive into lessons on self-discovery by creating developmental timelines, genograms, and discovery webs. They learn about social-emotional dynamics, communication styles, and interpersonal relationships. In recent months they have covered topics on organization, time management, and study skills, using visual aids and diagrams to support learning. They have talked about personal and social power and how we get it, use it, and may misuse it. Students completed a unit on bullying, cyberbullying, and what it means to be an upstander. Life skills classes are also a flexible space to address topics specific to the grade and situation. Here is a Life Skills “Quiz” that students received recently.

Presidio Hill School utilizes the Project Wayfinder Program for Social-Emotional Learning skills development in TK-5th grades. 

Wayfinder’s research-backed Core Skills go beyond typical SEL competencies to incorporate meaning-making, critical thinking, and future-ready skills in order to connect classroom learning to the real world. They align with CASEL's evidence-based SEL framework and help students develop self-awareness, adaptability, self-management, empathy, social awareness, collaboration, agency, and responsible decision-making.