Dear Parent,

We are excited to let you know about our continued work to support students’ Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). Over two decades of research has helped us understand the important role social and emotional skills play in each child’s success in school, in the community, and, eventually, in higher education and the workplace. Skills such as demonstrating self-control, persisting at challenging tasks, making good decisions, and working well in groups are all necessary to being successful students and adults. 

To support our students in developing these skills, students will complete a social-emotional self-report assessment tool called the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment Student Self Report (DESSA-SSR). The DESSA-SSR is a standardized, norm-referenced behavior rating scale used to assess the social and emotional competence of students in grades 9–12. The self-report will be used three times a year during the months of October, February, and May.  Students using the SSR can create goals and complete a set of challenges designed to promote stronger social emotional competence. The SSR system is entirely student self-directed, allowing them to either start with leveraging their strengths to build their skills, or to select areas in which they have a growth opportunity.  

The DESSA is published by Riverside Insights. Our district chose the DESSA in part because of Riverside Insights strong commitment to respecting and protecting your child’s privacy. Hundreds of school districts and afterschool programs nationwide utilize the DESSA and trust Riverside Insights with protecting their students’ data. Riverside Insights will never share your child’s data with a third party. To view additional information about the DESSA, the privacy policy, or the parent portal, visit https://info.apertureed.com/parent-portal .

While the DESSA is just one component of our program this year, we want to make sure that you are informed of our use of this instructional tool. We believe that the information gathered from the DESSA will be beneficial to your child’s overall success both inside and outside of the classroom. If you have any questions or would like to have your child opt out of the assessment, please call Nicole Morse at 203-977-5916.

 

Sincerely,

Dr. Nicole Morse 
MTSS- Westhill High School
203-977-5916

 

For more information about the DESSA-SSR: https://www.stamfordpublicschools.org/departments/student-services/social-emotional-learning-sel/assessing-competencies