Memphis Shelby County Schools to pilot SEL clubs, RESET rooms and family wellness centers under ACES grant

Colette Parks, SEL advisor for Memphis Shelby County Schools, told the Resilient Tennessee meeting that the district is using an ACES innovation grant to expand social‑emotional learning and reduce punitive discipline. She said the district revised Policy 60/22 to create a multi‑tier system of supports emphasizing social‑emotional learning and accountability.

Parks described three program components: a districtwide SEL curriculum (Rethink) delivered weekly to every grade K–12; RESET rooms staffed by trained reset assistants who meet with students after behavioral incidents to teach coping strategies and facilitate reentry into class; and an SEL Academy for students placed on long‑term suspension to receive consecutive sessions rather than exclusion. She said parents and principals report the reset room has been a “beautiful success.”

As part of the innovation grant Parks said the district will pilot after‑school SEO clubs in three schools (two K–8 and one middle school) with approximately 20 students per school (about 60 students total). The clubs will run after school, provide homework help, tutoring, dinner each evening and weekly SEL lessons aligned with CASEL competencies. Principals will select students, focusing on Tier‑2 students with behavioral concerns who also demonstrate leadership potential to serve as school ambassadors.

Parks said the district has three existing family wellness centers with licensed clinicians and plans to open two more; clinicians will offer one‑on‑one counseling and family counseling and make referrals to school supports. Data collection will begin at student entry to the club (baseline) to track outcomes. Parks named extended learning programs as an internal partner and said the district is seeking community mental‑health agencies to run weekly therapeutic groups at each school.

Parks said the pilot intentionally starts small because resources are limited, and she welcomed future collaboration and sharing of lessons learned with other grantees at the DCS learning community.