Mastery of knowledge and skills are generally what folks think about when talking education: what have students learned? How have they done on state testing? What does achievement look like at SELS? These are important questions, though often the topic focuses on “knowledge” more than “skills”. At SELS, we believe that character education (explained more thoroughly in the character section) provides the foundations needed to be succussful in all areas. In short, we develop students’ character around both social-relational and job/life skills, allowing students the emotional and intellectual strategies and thinking necessary to fully engage in their learning. 

This approach has demonstrated academic success. SELS students’ state test scores have exceeded district and state scores every year (as evidenced by the previous five years graphed below):