Hearts and Minds features Pinewood Elementary School in Jenison, MI, a suburb of Grand Rapids, where teachers and staff found themselves dealing with extreme student behaviors that disrupted learning. When Principal Rachael Postle-Brown and her staff adopted a “Whole School” approach to supporting positive student behaviors, a host of benefits followed. The approach has three elements: students learn Mindfulness strategies to self-soothe and invite self-reflection, while a Social Thinking curriculum helps them develop oral language skills for resolving conflict and evaluating problems, and Whole Brain Teaching engages them through physical movement and choral responses that aid students in remembering content and academic processes.

Read a transcript of Hearts and Minds: Social-Emotional Learning Improves Content Learning.

Read Pinewood Elementary School’s 2017 National Blue Ribbon School application.

Contact Information
Mrs. Rachael Postle-Brown, Principal at Time of Nomination
2405 Chippewa Street
Jenison, MI, 49428-9116
(616) 457-1407
http://www.jpsonline.org/schools/pinewood-elementary/

Student Demographics 2017

Number of students K-6	371
Students eligible for subsidized meals	28%
Limited English Proficient students	0%
Students receiving special ed services	13%
White students	96%
African American students	1%
Hispanic or Latino students	1%
Students of 2 or more races	1%
Asian	1%
Student mobility rate	3%