Most adults likely remember their middle-school years as a time of unparalleled awkwardness. For many, those three years — sixth to eighth grade — often are the uncomfortable transition from childhood and onto a path toward adulthood.
Which is precisely why Tomlin Middle School Principal Susan Sullivan adopted a curriculum into her school’s sixth-grade wheel that focuses not on reading, writing or arithmetic, but rather social and emotional intelligence.
For her efforts, Tampa-based non-profit Frameworks of Tampa Bay awarded Sullivan its 2014 Head and Heart Award. Sullivan accepted the award at Frameworks’ FOCUS: The Art and Science of Emotional Intelligence luncheon March 27, at A La Carte Event Pavilion, in Tampa.
“Several years ago, our PTA members wanted to find a way to help our students be successful in relationships and in decision-making,” Sullivan said. “That year, we had a speaker come to the school for an assembly. But, there wasn’t a lot of follow-through.”
The following year, Tomlin — one of the largest middle schools in Hillsborough County — began its relationship with Frameworks, which offers programs to teach youth to manage their emotions, develop healthy relationships and make good decisions for academic, career and personal success.
That partnership blossomed this school year, when Tomlin adopted Frameworks’ PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) curriculum into its sixth-grade wheel. Now, Tomlin’s implementation of PATHS may be introduced into other middle schools throughout the county.
Through PATHS, trained Frameworks facilitators work directly with the students in small-group settings to teach them skills that can help them make responsible decisions, resolve conflicts, respond to emotions in a positive and mature way, and learn to show empathy toward their classmates.
Sullivan said even in just the first year of PATHS, she has seen improvements at Tomlin.
“We’ve seen a decrease in bullying,” she says. “There’s more of a sense of awareness (of others).”
Ultimately, emotional intelligence will lead to higher academic achievement, Sullivan said.
Plant City resident Yvonne Fry, a board member for Frameworks, said the organization now is working to bring its curriculum to Plant City High School, as well.
Founded in 2011, Frameworks now offers its programs and curricula to about 1,500 students ages 8 to 18 throughout the area.
For more information about Frameworks of Tampa Bay, visit myframeworks.org.
Contact Michael Eng at meng@plantcityobserver.com.