Open Circle provides a unique, whole-school approach to helping students develop social and emotional skills and fostering safe, caring, and cooperative school climates.

Every member of your school community is an integral piece of the social and emotional learning puzzle. (PDF)

The Open Circle approach addresses both of the key requirements for social and emotional development: building social and emotional skills and establishing safe, caring and highly-engaging learning environments.

Social skills like self-management, social awareness, relationship-building, teamwork and problem solving are taught through lessons outlined in the K-5, grade-differentiated Open Circle Curriculum. Safe and caring learning environments are fostered through community-building activities, frameworks to understand and address central needs of students and staff, and a common vocabulary.

Open Circle Implementation Model (PDF)
Open Circle's programs work best when schools apply an implementation model. Schools implement Open Circle on different timelines depending on their needs and resources. The funding resources on the back of our Catalog of Programs may help you implement more quickly. We can help you customize an implementation plan and a budget for your school. Contact us at info@open-circle.org or 781-283-3277.

The Importance of Implementation Fidelity
The success of initiatives in schools relies on the quality and consistency of implementation. Open Circle works best when it is fully implemented throughout your school, with training for all members of your school community. School climate change is a process, not a single event. As with any new initiative, it might take a few years of consistent, widespread implementation to realize Open Circle's full benefits. However, once realized, these results are long-lasting and worth the investment.

Programs Overview
To best address the unique needs of various school staff members, training programs are tailored to specific staff roles. More extensive programs involve year-long participation and provide opportunities to practice and reinforce learning throughout the school year.

Our Training Programs include programs for: grade-level teachers, school and district administrators, SEL leadership teams, special subject teachers and paraprofessionals, peer coaches, school counselors, all school staff, parents and other members of your school community. View our Catalog of Programs (PDF)

Some training programs also include in-school coaching to support and guide participants in their own school environments. This extra support accelerates learning, facilitates deeper understanding and adoption of the Open Circle approach, and leads to more successful implementation.