District committee recommends Everyday Speech as K–5 SEL core, estimates $11,049 cost

A district committee recommended adopting Everyday Speech as the core Tier 1 social-emotional learning (SEL) resource for kindergarten through fifth grade across all four Unionville-Chadds Ford elementary schools, staff told the Curriculum, Instruction & Technology committee on April 8.

The recommendation, presented by 'mister Audubard,' draws on this year’s MTSS (multi-tiered system of supports) work and a classroom pilot conducted from January through March. Staff said the program offers grade-level scope and sequence, short instructional videos, mindful-opening activities and school-to-home letters so families know what students are learning.

The recommendation matters because the district wants a consistent, research-aligned approach during the daily 30-minute class-meeting block (9:10–9:40 a.m.) that teachers use for community building, SEL competencies and some executive-functioning instruction. "The committee does recommend Everyday Speech as a tier 1 instructional tool," staff said during the presentation.

Presenters said counselors and special-education staff already use parts of Everyday Speech for tier 2 and tier 3 interventions and argued a single core tool could reduce variability across classrooms. A teacher who participated in the pilot reported that lessons were "developmentally appropriate for each grade," that students responded well to the characters in short videos, and that the program’s structure made it simple to "pick up" for substitutes.

Cost and next steps

Staff estimated the program cost at approximately $11,049, noting the final price depends on actual enrollment. The expense was included in budget planning for next school year, staff said. Because the committee brought the recommendation to the CIT meeting, the item is scheduled as a voting item at the May regular board meeting; staff also offered community review opportunities before the vote.

Board questions and concerns

Board members pressed staff on transparency and curriculum oversight. One member asked whether the district would send school-to-home summaries for each unit so families would know "what we're really doing with that time." Staff replied they would include the home connection letters and post information on the district curriculum website and said they were considering placing the resource on the formal curriculum-review cycle so it would be monitored over time.

Some board members and committee participants also raised workload concerns for elementary teachers. Staff and teachers said they chose Everyday Speech partly because of its reported ease of use, and emphasized the goal of providing teachers a ready-to-use tool rather than an additional planning burden.

What happens next

If the board approves the recommendation in May, staff outlined immediate next steps: convene an implementation committee, map program lessons to the district’s Portrait of a Graduate, create curriculum documents and professional development and schedule rollout training (staff had tentatively blocked dates in August).