Rhithm Letter Sent to Families from Participating Schools
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Your student’s well-being is an essential part of academic success. As part of our Launching Thriving Futures strategic plan, we are focusing resources to prioritize student well-being and belonging. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated school closures has greatly impacted many of our student’s feelings of safety and belonging which are essential to well-being.
To assist our students, our school has been selected to participate in a pilot program in which we will check in with students about their emotions at the start of the school day. The tool that will be used to conduct these frequent check-ins is called Rhithm. Students will complete a short survey to assess their emotional state and will participate in a brief 1–3 minute activity that is tailored to their specific emotional needs. You may navigate to our Rhithm information page for more detailed information about the brief survey and follow up activities.
At our school we will be having our students use the Rhithm tool, also called “getting in Rhithm”, either daily or during specific days weekly. We will use the results of this assessment to navigate daily activities based on the emotions of all students in the classroom and will pace our learning in a manner that is responsive to these results. If there is a situation where a teacher or other staff member has a concern about the student’s response to the emotional check-in, a parent/guardian will be contacted to support next steps during the school day. You may also have questions about how student data will be maintained and kept confidential. Click here to learn more about the protection of your student’s data.
Parents and guardians may opt their student out of participation in the emotional check-in. If you wish to opt your student out of this activity, please complete the attached opt-out form and return to your student’s teacher or school counselor no later than January 6, 2023. We plan to begin introducing Rhithm to our students on or about January 9, 2023.
If you have further questions, please reach out to your student’s school counselor.
Yours in Education,
Principal