There’s a culture shift happening in Michigan schools. As part of the state’s Top 10 in 10 initiative, many schools are exploring what it means to teach the “whole child” in education and how they can better facilitate their students’ social, emotional and behavioral growth.
In order to support this effort, Michigan Virtual is now offering Suite360, a multiplatform online character development and behavior intervention program designed by Evolution Labs. This program can be used by K-12 schools as a supplemental resource to foster social-emotional learning in classrooms or as a restorative justice component in school discipline programs, including in-school suspension (ISS).
Developed by school psychologists, guidance counselors, nutritionists, therapists, classroom teachers and administrators, Suite360 offers a robust library of thousands of educational videos, articles, and lessons on 600 critical topics, including bullying, mental health issues, drugs, alcohol, vaping and many more.
This program also meets the call from Michigan legislature for schools to provide restorative justice options in school discipline programs. In line with restorative justice practices, Suite360 Intervention (ISS360) turns detention or in-school suspension (ISS) into a learning opportunity by providing students with lessons based on their infraction. This program can also be successfully incorporated into a Responsible Thinking Process (RTP) classroom.
“Districts across the state of Michigan are looking for ways to implement restorative practices,” says Kyle Meteyer, associate principal at Lake Orion High School. “Suite360 meets students where they are and gives them the opportunity to learn a little bit about why they’re in ISS in the first place and how they can improve their decision-making.”
On top of its massive library of student resources, Suite360 also offers innovative learning options for parents and educators. P360 — the parent version of this program — equips families to have smart conversations with their children on difficult topics. For educators, A360 serves as a professional development platform designed to help staff promote social and emotional wellness in their schools.
Together, these four programs — Suite360, ISS360, P360 and A360 — provide a holistic and effective solution for schools to address the social, emotional and behavioral needs of their students.
As the movement toward “whole child” education continues, educators across the nation hope to find their students maturing into not only better scholars but also into more thoughtful, responsible and well-rounded human beings.
To learn more about Suite360, please visit: https://michiganvirtual.org/sel/
