Using social, emotional, and behavioral skills to improve student attendance, create better-informed intervention, and increase engagement at Lowell Public Schools.

Lowell Public Schools is one of the largest school districts in Massachusetts and is home to more than 14,000 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The diversity of the student population, alongside a goal to be “the best school district in the Commonwealth,” drives Lowell’s strategic plan centered around equity, excellence, and empowerment. As part of this plan, the district started focusing on the importance of the relationship and balance between the academic, mental health, and social and emotional competence of students. Lowell Public Schools puts great value on our student’s social and emotional well-being. Now more than ever, our district is striving to address all student’s social and emotional needs through Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum and resources. All LPS students are assessed by their teachers using the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) three times throughout the school year.  Through this assessment, we can measure each student's understanding and comprehension of the 8 competencies under CASEL. This data is beneficial to help each student obtain tiered support for students to have academic success.

 What is the DESSA  Assessment Tool?

The Devereux Students Strengths Assessment (DESSA) empowers educators to build a measurable and actionable social, emotional, and behavioral program with reliable assessment. The DESSA is an empirical, standardized social and emotional competence (SEC) assessment with editions that support students K-12. The DESSA suite complements many different educational models, including MTSS, RTI, and PBIS. It provides a common lens and language for crafting a tiered academic and behavioral program that involves educators, parents, and students.

Grounded in resilience theory and directly aligned with the CASEL framework, the DESSA is a user-friendly, practical SEC assessment that meets the highest professional standards. The DESSA is commonly used to inform the delivery of SEL at Tier 1 or Tier 2 as well as measure the results of that delivery. The DESSA suite includes assessments and screeners that adapt to K-8 and 9–12 settings.

For More Information: DESSA