Student Wellbeing Roundup

What K‑12 leaders need to know this week

Four new studies on attendance, behavior, and self-regulation that student services leaders should read.

Week of 5/17/26
Social-Emotional Learning Education Week

Kids' Executive Function Skills Took a Hit During COVID. What Can Schools Do?

Education Week covers a new Child Development study using 2018–2023 data from the Early Learning Study at Harvard, a longitudinal study of more than 3,100 Massachusetts children ages 3–11. Researchers found that executive function skills — including attention, working memory, self-control, and goal-directed behavior — grew more slowly during the pandemic than expected. The researchers connect the slowdown to disrupted social experiences, stress, and strained family and school systems.

3,100+
Massachusetts children tracked in Harvard's longitudinal Early Learning Study
5 yrs
of data spanning 2018–2023, capturing executive function growth before and during the pandemic
Why this matters

Executive function shows up in everyday classroom behavior: following directions, managing frustration, shifting attention, and sticking with tasks. Schools can respond by building self-regulation practice into instruction, protecting relationship-rich routines, and supporting teachers as they work with students who are still catching up developmentally.

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Social-Emotional Learning Education Week

What SEL Can Do to Help Kids Manage Their Online Lives

Education Week examines how SEL can help students manage social media and online life without treating teens as powerless victims of technology. The article argues that students need direct instruction and practice in skills such as self-awareness, decision-making, empathy, and relationship management as they handle online comparison, conflict, and attention pressures. The piece also cautions that adults should talk with students about both the helpful and harmful sides of social media.

4 skills
SEL competencies students need to navigate online life: self-awareness, decision-making, empathy, and relationship management
2 sides
of the conversation adults should have with students — both the helpful and the harmful aspects of social media
Why this matters

Phone bans and screen-time rules can reduce access, but they do not teach students how to make better choices when adults are not watching. Districts can pair device policies with SEL and digital citizenship lessons that help students name pressure, pause before reacting, and repair conflict when online behavior spills into school.

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School Climate K-12 Dive

Cellphone Ban Led to Improved Learning, Attendance in Florida District

K-12 Dive summarizes an Education Next study of an unnamed large urban Florida district. After a bell-to-bell cellphone ban, high school cellphone "visits" dropped more than 80%, from 46 daily visits per 100 students to 10; middle school visits fell from 62 to 31. The study also found reading and math scores rose by about 3.5 percentiles in year two and unexcused absences fell 5% to 10%, but suspension rates rose by 25% during the first year before returning to pre-ban levels.

>80%
drop in high school cellphone visits — from 46 to 10 daily per 100 students — after the bell-to-bell ban
3.5 pts
rise in reading and math percentile scores by year two of the policy
Why this matters

Cellphone rules can improve focus and attendance, but the rollout period can create discipline problems if schools are not prepared. Leaders should plan communication, teacher support, accommodations, and equity checks before implementation — not after suspensions rise.

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Attendance The 74

How Community-Based Advocates Can Bring Students Back to School

This opinion piece argues that chronic absenteeism outreach works better when families hear from trusted community members rather than only formal authorities. The author cites the roughly 25% of American students who are chronically absent and argues that families facing housing instability, food insecurity, immigration concerns, or health challenges may respond differently to a neighbor-like advocate than to a compliance-driven truancy contact. The article also cites an analysis finding that 48% of chronically absent students returned after one supportive in-home intervention.

25%
of American students who are chronically absent — roughly one in four across the country
48%
of chronically absent students who returned to regular attendance after just one supportive in-home intervention
Why this matters

Attendance outreach is not only about the message. It is also about the messenger. Districts can improve follow-through by hiring or partnering with people who share families' language, community context, and lived experience — then pairing outreach with practical barrier removal.

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