Warm Jackets & Warm Connections: How Warsaw Central School District Built a Culture of Care

Students spend a major portion of their day at school, but when so much of their lives happens outside the four walls of the classroom, the ability to make authentic connections with teachers is rare. Unless you’re part of a school system that’s well aware of this fact, and is taking action to change it.

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Warsaw Central School District is one of those special communities. Located in Upstate New York, Warsaw is committed to whole-child support and well-being, and with leaders like Kimberly D’Amico, Director of Instructional Service, it’s no surprise that students are thriving.

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The district’s increase of social emotional health initiatives began in 2022 with the inception of Wellness Wednesday, during which students started using Sown To Grow’s five-minute weekly check-in to share how they’re feeling, and what’s happening in their lives. Warsaw expects its teachers to read and respond within the day. Over time, noted D’Amico, who’s worked in Warsaw since 2014, this became a routine that everyone “takes pride in” and is now “second nature” to all.

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“We've had some things brought up on Sown To Grow that have really changed the culture,” D’Amico explained. “One child’s check-in talked about how the worst part of their day was walking to school because they were cold. The teacher read that and went to Walmart and bought him a jacket that day—no questions asked, not a big production. The platform offered the student the opportunity to not be embarrassed and have to say, ‘Hey, I don't have a coat.’ And the teacher remarked, ‘If it wasn't for Sown To Grow, I wouldn't have known that.’”

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Being on the receiving end of sensitive information made some educators anxious, but Warsaw invested in virtual training and assured staff that Sown To Grow would be a shared responsibility amongst teachers, administrators, and trained mental health professionals.

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“That really made a big difference,” D’Amico explained, “because in the beginning, we had a little resistance, but over time, as people felt comfortable, that’s no longer even a discussion anymore. They know that if an alert is flagged, we have such a great system in place to have somebody call down that child and check in with them, so teachers know they're not alone in that scenario.”

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Beyond Wellness Wednesday, the district also has several other well-being practices in place:

👥 Monday Morning Meeting: Weekly icebreaker time for students

🍎 Teachable Tuesdays: Monthly CASEL-aligned SEL lessons taught by counselors

🎯 Reflection Friday: Weekly academic check-in and goal-setting, which helped the failure list decline drastically!

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The schoolwide support for these programs helps promote fidelity, but the real reason Warsaw sees such success in their Sown To Grow implementation is the opportunity for students to speak candidly and connect with teachers on a different level. 

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“Taking instructional time away for social-emotional learning is never easy,” D’Amico said, “but as a district, we see such huge bang for our buck with that middle school-aged child, that is really the reason why we have buy-in. Students feel like they have someone to talk to—a teacher, a counselor—they’re not feeling like they don’t have anybody.”

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^{Interested in learning how Sown To Grow may fit with the student support goals in your own school or district? Click here or below to chat with a member of our team!}