ChooSELove

Choose Love for Schools is an innovative program designed to foster a healthy, positive and compassionate school environment by equipping educators and students with the tools to promote essential life skills found in Character Social Emotional Development. Based on the core pillars of Courage, Gratitude, Forgiveness and Compassion in Action, those engaged with the program learn to develop self-awareness skills, problem solving, conflict resolution, responsible decision-making skills, healthy connections, resiliency, and overall strengthened emotional intelligence.

In 2016, New Hampshire began developing a comprehensive system of care for children’s behavioral health. School districts adopted the New Hampshire Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports for Behavioral Health (MTSS-B), establishing expanded school-based prevention efforts including social emotional learning and a focus on school culture and climate.

In July of 2018, Governor Chris Sununu's School Safety Preparedness Taskforce released its report – the first of its kind in the nation. As a result, New Hampshire was the first state in the nation to adopt the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movcurriculum to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) as a statewide initiative. The comprehensive curriculum is available to schools at no cost, and has since been accessed by more than 600 New Hampshire schools (to include early childhood programs through post-secondary education). The program provides educators with resources, professional development training, and support, equipping them with strategies to create a supportive classroom environment, enhancing both academic performance and overall well-being.  

Schools are encouraged to extend the Choose Love principles beyond the classroom.  This might include community projects, partnerships with local organizations, or events that bring families and community members together to promote a culture of love and support.

The Choose Love Movement emphasizes proactive and preventative measures, playing a critical role in enhancing school safety by promoting a culture of compassion and emotional resilience within educational environments.  Schools who implement Choose Love often report a noticeable improvement in student behavior, a more positive school culture, and increased academic performance.  Students feel safer and more connected, leading to enhanced academics, increased engagement in their education and school activities, and reduced instances of conflict.  The program instills essential life skills that enable students to cope with stress and challenges more effectively, reducing the likelihood of negative behaviors that can further compromise safety.

Additional programs designed for infants and toddlers, athletes and coaches, communities, and homes are also available at no cost.  Out of School Time professionals have also embraced Choose Love and successfully integrate it into their programs.

Through New Hampshire’s strong model, additional programs have been created:  Choose Love for Caregivers, designed for foster caregivers, kinship programs, and workers in the field, as well as Choose Love for Corrections, which is run in both the men’s and women’s prisons, as well as Transitional Housing Units.

 

Contact

Shannon Desilets
Choose Love Movement Program Director
Community Wellness Administrator
NH Department of Health & Human Services
Division for Behavioral Health
Shannon.M.Desilets@dhhs.nh.gov