Growth Guardians is an innovative superhero-themed social-emotional learning (SEL) and behavior intervention program designed to help elementary students develop emotional regulation, positive behavior, and healthy social skills. Through engaging character-driven lessons, interactive comic-style reflection journals, sensory regulation supports, and evidence-based SEL instruction, students become active participants in their own personal growth. The program equips students with the skills needed to reduce behavioral challenges, increase instructional engagement, and strengthen peer relationships while creating a positive and supportive learning environment. Growth Guardians empowers students to become the heroes of their own success both inside and outside the classroom.
Students receiving behavior support services often experience significant challenges with emotional regulation, impulse control, peer relationships, task completion, and appropriate classroom behavior. These behavioral and social-emotional needs frequently result in classroom disruptions, office referrals, lost instructional time, reduced academic engagement, and increased teacher redirection. Many students also struggle to identify their emotions, solve interpersonal conflicts appropriately, and independently utilize coping strategies when frustrated or overwhelmed.
The Growth Guardians program will serve approximately 8–10 elementary students currently receiving services through the Students Taking Effective Paths (STEP) behavior program at Barrett Elementary, with materials designed to support up to 20 students annually. These students represent a diverse population with disabilities and behavioral needs, including Emotional Disturbance (ED), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and other disabilities that impact emotional regulation and classroom success.
Behavior data collected through the STEP program demonstrates that students requiring behavioral intervention often need explicit instruction in replacement behaviors, self-management strategies, and social-emotional competencies. While traditional disciplinary approaches may address behavior after an incident occurs, they often fail to provide students with the skills necessary to prevent future behavioral challenges. Students benefit most when they are explicitly taught emotional regulation, self-awareness, problem-solving, and positive decision-making before behaviors escalate.
Research supports the integration of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) into daily instruction. According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), students participating in high-quality SEL programs demonstrate improved academic achievement, stronger emotional regulation, improved classroom behavior, and more positive peer relationships. Growth Guardians builds upon these evidence-based practices by combining direct SEL instruction with literacy, creative storytelling, student reflection, and sensory regulation supports to increase student engagement and ownership of learning.
This project addresses the need for proactive, engaging, and individualized behavior instruction by transforming students from passive recipients of discipline into active participants in their own growth. Through consistent instruction and reinforcement, students will develop lifelong skills that improve both their educational experiences and future success.
Growth Guardians is a comprehensive social-emotional learning and behavior intervention program that combines evidence-based instructional practices with creative, student-centered learning experiences. Rather than relying solely on reactive behavior management, the program proactively teaches students the skills necessary to regulate emotions, solve problems, build positive relationships, and demonstrate responsible decision-making.
Students will participate in weekly Growth Guardian lessons within the STEP behavior classroom throughout the school year. Each lesson introduces students to original superhero characters who model important character traits such as resilience, kindness, persistence, emotional regulation, confidence, responsibility, and self-control. These stories provide relatable scenarios that encourage students to reflect on their own behaviors while learning practical strategies for overcoming challenges.
Following each lesson, students will complete interactive activities in their personalized Growth Guardian Journals. Rather than simply answering questions, students will create their own comic strips illustrating how they applied the featured social-emotional skill in real-life situations. Journal activities also include emotional check-ins, goal setting, self-reflection, problem-solving exercises, behavior tracking, and celebration of personal successes. This creative approach increases student engagement while promoting literacy, critical thinking, and self-awareness.
Grant funding will also establish a dedicated Calm Corner equipped with bean bag chairs, sensory regulation tools, visual supports, breathing strategy cards, and noise-canceling headphones. Students will learn how to appropriately utilize these resources to regulate emotions, reduce anxiety, and return to instruction prepared for success. The Calm Corner promotes self-management rather than avoidance, teaching students lifelong coping strategies they can generalize to other educational settings.
The project will directly impact approximately 8–10 students receiving STEP behavior support during the 2026–2027 school year while providing reusable materials capable of serving up to 20 students annually.
The effectiveness of Growth Guardians will be measured using SMART objectives:
Specific: Students will receive weekly social-emotional learning instruction, individualized behavior coaching, and opportunities for guided reflection.
Measurable: Behavioral incidents and office referrals among participating students will decrease by at least 20% by May 2027. Teacher observations and behavior tracking data will also demonstrate increased time-on-task and improved classroom participation.
Achievable: Students will practice evidence-based self-regulation strategies using consistent routines, sensory supports, and guided instruction throughout the school year.
Relevant: The project directly supports Barrett Elementary's commitment to creating safe, supportive learning environments while increasing academic access for students with behavioral and emotional needs. It also aligns with the district's mission of personalizing learning by providing individualized supports that meet each student's unique needs.
Time-Bound: Student progress will be monitored continuously through weekly behavior data, teacher feedback, student reflections, and IEP/BIP progress monitoring, with project outcomes evaluated by May 2027.
Research consistently demonstrates that students with strong social-emotional competencies experience improved academic performance, increased classroom engagement, stronger peer relationships, and fewer behavioral challenges. A landmark meta-analysis by Durlak et al. (2011) found that students participating in evidence-based SEL programs showed an average 11-percentile-point improvement in academic achievement, along with significant gains in behavior and attitudes. Growth Guardians incorporates these research-based principles into a highly engaging, literacy-rich format that motivates students to see themselves as capable, resilient learners.
By combining social-emotional learning, behavior intervention, literacy, creativity, and sensory regulation into one cohesive framework, Growth Guardians equips students with the skills they need to succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. The program creates lasting change by empowering students to become active participants in their own growth while fostering a positive school climate that benefits both students and staff.
Students receiving behavior support services often experience significant challenges with emotional regulation, impulse control, peer relationships, task completion, and appropriate classroom behavior. These behavioral and social-emotional needs frequently result in classroom disruptions, office referrals, lost instructional time, reduced academic engagement, and increased teacher redirection. Many students also struggle to identify their emotions, solve interpersonal conflicts appropriately, and independently utilize coping strategies when frustrated or overwhelmed.
The Growth Guardians program will serve approximately 8–10 elementary students currently receiving services through the Students Taking Effective Paths (STEP) behavior program at Barrett Elementary, with materials designed to support up to 20 students annually. These students represent a diverse population with disabilities and behavioral needs, including Emotional Disturbance (ED), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and other disabilities that impact emotional regulation and classroom success.
Behavior data collected through the STEP program demonstrates that students requiring behavioral intervention often need explicit instruction in replacement behaviors, self-management strategies, and social-emotional competencies. While traditional disciplinary approaches may address behavior after an incident occurs, they often fail to provide students with the skills necessary to prevent future behavioral challenges. Students benefit most when they are explicitly taught emotional regulation, self-awareness, problem-solving, and positive decision-making before behaviors escalate.
Research supports the integration of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) into daily instruction. According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), students participating in high-quality SEL programs demonstrate improved academic achievement, stronger emotional regulation, improved classroom behavior, and more positive peer relationships. Growth Guardians builds upon these evidence-based practices by combining direct SEL instruction with literacy, creative storytelling, student reflection, and sensory regulation supports to increase student engagement and ownership of learning.
This project addresses the need for proactive, engaging, and individualized behavior instruction by transforming students from passive recipients of discipline into active participants in their own growth. Through consistent instruction and reinforcement, students will develop lifelong skills that improve both their educational experiences and future success.
Growth Guardians is a comprehensive social-emotional learning and behavior intervention program that combines evidence-based instructional practices with creative, student-centered learning experiences. Rather than relying solely on reactive behavior management, the program proactively teaches students the skills necessary to regulate emotions, solve problems, build positive relationships, and demonstrate responsible decision-making.
Students will participate in weekly Growth Guardian lessons within the STEP behavior classroom throughout the school year. Each lesson introduces students to original superhero characters who model important character traits such as resilience, kindness, persistence, emotional regulation, confidence, responsibility, and self-control. These stories provide relatable scenarios that encourage students to reflect on their own behaviors while learning practical strategies for overcoming challenges.
Following each lesson, students will complete interactive activities in their personalized Growth Guardian Journals. Rather than simply answering questions, students will create their own comic strips illustrating how they applied the featured social-emotional skill in real-life situations. Journal activities also include emotional check-ins, goal setting, self-reflection, problem-solving exercises, behavior tracking, and celebration of personal successes. This creative approach increases student engagement while promoting literacy, critical thinking, and self-awareness.
Grant funding will also establish a dedicated Calm Corner equipped with bean bag chairs, sensory regulation tools, visual supports, breathing strategy cards, and noise-canceling headphones. Students will learn how to appropriately utilize these resources to regulate emotions, reduce anxiety, and return to instruction prepared for success. The Calm Corner promotes self-management rather than avoidance, teaching students lifelong coping strategies they can generalize to other educational settings.
The project will directly impact approximately 8–10 students receiving STEP behavior support during the 2026–2027 school year while providing reusable materials capable of serving up to 20 students annually.
The effectiveness of Growth Guardians will be measured using SMART objectives:
Specific: Students will receive weekly social-emotional learning instruction, individualized behavior coaching, and opportunities for guided reflection.
Measurable: Behavioral incidents and office referrals among participating students will decrease by at least 20% by May 2027. Teacher observations and behavior tracking data will also demonstrate increased time-on-task and improved classroom participation.
Achievable: Students will practice evidence-based self-regulation strategies using consistent routines, sensory supports, and guided instruction throughout the school year.
Relevant: The project directly supports Barrett Elementary's commitment to creating safe, supportive learning environments while increasing academic access for students with behavioral and emotional needs. It also aligns with the district's mission of personalizing learning by providing individualized supports that meet each student's unique needs.
Time-Bound: Student progress will be monitored continuously through weekly behavior data, teacher feedback, student reflections, and IEP/BIP progress monitoring, with project outcomes evaluated by May 2027.
Research consistently demonstrates that students with strong social-emotional competencies experience improved academic performance, increased classroom engagement, stronger peer relationships, and fewer behavioral challenges. A landmark meta-analysis by Durlak et al. (2011) found that students participating in evidence-based SEL programs showed an average 11-percentile-point improvement in academic achievement, along with significant gains in behavior and attitudes. Growth Guardians incorporates these research-based principles into a highly engaging, literacy-rich format that motivates students to see themselves as capable, resilient learners.
By combining social-emotional learning, behavior intervention, literacy, creativity, and sensory regulation into one cohesive framework, Growth Guardians equips students with the skills they need to succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. The program creates lasting change by empowering students to become active participants in their own growth while fostering a positive school climate that benefits both students and staff.
$733
Sold Out!Value:
priceless