Webinar hosted by Aperture Education Aug. 29, 2017 offers
insight into what the DESSA is – and what it is not
insight into what the DESSA is – and what it is not
Charlotte N.C. (Aug. 10, 2017) -- Social-emotional learning (SEL) assessments can provide valuable information to help school districts improve their SEL programs and address the social-emotional strengths and needs of individual students. However, in order to be effective, these assessments must be used appropriately. SEL assessment expert Paul LeBuffe will lead a free webinar at 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Aug. 29, 2017 to share insight into the widely-used Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA), which he authored, and how to use it to support the social-emotional development of children.
The webinar “The DESSA: Uncovered. What it is, What it’s Not, and Everything in Between” is hosted by social-emotional learning company Aperture Education. To register, visit https://goo.gl/m3cmkh. Questions can be submitted in advance.
Paul LeBuffe is the Vice President of Research & Development for Aperture Education. His career has focused on strength-based approaches to promoting social and emotional competence and resilience in children, youth and the adults who care for them. He is the author of several strength-based assessments for children which have been adopted by more than 5,000 school districts, out-of-school-time organizations, and other programs.
“Adopting strength-based SEL assessments is a key part of creating an effective SEL program,” said LeBuffe, “But sometimes there can be misunderstandings about how SEL assessments and data should be used. The purpose of this webinar is to delve deeper into this issue, specifically relating to the DESSA, and explain how schools can best leverage this tool to truly help students.”
The DESSA is a strength-based, standardized behavior rating scale that measures children’s social and emotional competencies. The DESSA can be used by teachers and out-of-school time program staff to better understand children’s social and emotional skills and to help inform SEL instruction efforts.
The webinar is part of Aperture Education’s ongoing work to support educators, administers and out-of-school-time providers in implementing social-emotional learning programs within their schools. Its goal is to ensure members of school and out-of-school time communities, including adults, have the social and emotional skills needed to thrive.
About Aperture Education
Aperture Education is a social enterprise focused on addressing the whole child. Its social and emotional learning (SEL) solution, Evo Social/Emotional, is based on the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA), a standardized, strengths-based measure of critical social and emotional skills such as personal responsibility, self-management, relationship skills and healthy decision-making. The Evo Social/Emotional online system includes both the DESSA assessment and the DESSA-mini, a brief, universal screener of social and emotional competence. Evo Social/Emotional also provides strategies to strengthen social and emotional skills. Version 2.0, now available, provides the data needed to help SEL program administrators measure the impact of their programs and to help educators understand students’ SEL needs and strengths. For more information, go to www.ApertureEd.com.
Paul LeBuffe is the Vice President of Research & Development for Aperture Education. His career has focused on strength-based approaches to promoting social and emotional competence and resilience in children, youth and the adults who care for them. He is the author of several strength-based assessments for children which have been adopted by more than 5,000 school districts, out-of-school-time organizations, and other programs.
“Adopting strength-based SEL assessments is a key part of creating an effective SEL program,” said LeBuffe, “But sometimes there can be misunderstandings about how SEL assessments and data should be used. The purpose of this webinar is to delve deeper into this issue, specifically relating to the DESSA, and explain how schools can best leverage this tool to truly help students.”
The DESSA is a strength-based, standardized behavior rating scale that measures children’s social and emotional competencies. The DESSA can be used by teachers and out-of-school time program staff to better understand children’s social and emotional skills and to help inform SEL instruction efforts.
The webinar is part of Aperture Education’s ongoing work to support educators, administers and out-of-school-time providers in implementing social-emotional learning programs within their schools. Its goal is to ensure members of school and out-of-school time communities, including adults, have the social and emotional skills needed to thrive.
About Aperture Education
Aperture Education is a social enterprise focused on addressing the whole child. Its social and emotional learning (SEL) solution, Evo Social/Emotional, is based on the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA), a standardized, strengths-based measure of critical social and emotional skills such as personal responsibility, self-management, relationship skills and healthy decision-making. The Evo Social/Emotional online system includes both the DESSA assessment and the DESSA-mini, a brief, universal screener of social and emotional competence. Evo Social/Emotional also provides strategies to strengthen social and emotional skills. Version 2.0, now available, provides the data needed to help SEL program administrators measure the impact of their programs and to help educators understand students’ SEL needs and strengths. For more information, go to www.ApertureEd.com.
