Dear Parents & Guardians,
Shawnee Mission North High School would like to thank you for being our valued partners as we work together to educate and support the students in our district. Students whose parents provided consent during the registration process participated in the Panorama Social-Emotional Learning survey in October through November. This survey measures student’s perception of skills in the areas of grit, growth mindset and self-management, as well as teacher-student relationships and school climate. On the following page, there is a brief description of each of these categories.
Educators and education researchers agree that students with strong SEL skills exhibit more confidence, persistence, empathy and a greater sense of purpose. Moreover, when schools make SEL a priority, they see more positive behaviors and relationships with peers and adults, reduced conduct problems and risk-taking behavior, decreased emotional distress, improved test scores, better grades and higher attendance. Ultimately, greater social and emotional competence can increase the likelihood of high school graduation and readiness for postsecondary education career success (Weissberg, 2016). Finally, Panorama for Social-Emotional Learning gives educators resources to use as part of their regular classroom instruction to support the social and emotional development of their students.
We would like to encourage you to view and consider your student's 2025-2026 Fall Student Competency results. You can do so in Skyward by following these steps:
Log into Family Access in Skyward
Choose your student(s)
Choose “Grade Cards & Academic Awards”
Choose Panorama Fall 2025
When viewing your student results, remember every student grows and matures at different rates and in different ways. A decrease in a certain category does not necessarily indicate a problem. Scores should be seen as an opportunity to talk with your student, your student’s teachers and other school professionals about ways to uphold and support them. Results also provide an opportunity to discuss areas where your student is demonstrating strengths. If, after viewing your student’s results, you are interested in talking more about them, please reach out to your student’s teacher, social worker, counselor, or building administrator.
Thank you again for your ongoing support of our school, staff and students. For more information about the Panorama Social Emotional Learning Survey, including a look at all of the questions asked at each grade level, please visit this site.
Thank you,
Laura Brogdon
Associate Principal
Source: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/why-sel-essential-for-students-weissberg-durlak-domitrovich-gullotta
Student Competency Category Descriptions
Self-Management: How well students manage their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in different situations. Question examples are: How often did you come to class prepared? How often did you remain calm, even when someone was bothering you or saying bad things?
Grit: How well students are able to persevere through setbacks to achieve important long-term goals (not limited to academics), taking into account their experiences and identities. Question examples are: If you fail at an important goal, how likely are you to try again? When you are working on a project that matters a lot to you, how focused can you stay when there are lots of distractions?
Growth Mindset: Student perceptions of whether they have the potential to change those factors that are central to their performance in school. Question examples are: In school, how possible is it for you to change behaving well in class? In school, how possible is it for you to change being talented?
