Apperson’s pioneering, online-based platform for measuring student social-emotional strengths, Evo Social-Emotional, makes an impact at Ebinport Elementary School in Fort Mill, South Carolina.

Several classrooms have been participating in the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) Program, which is published by Apperson as the cornerstone of its online module. This goal of this program is for teachers and families to identify and enhance a child’s social and emotional skills, which are essential to academic achievement.

The program caught the attention of the local cable news channel, who came out to learn more and interview some of the staff at the school.

The DESSA is a strength-based standardized behavior rating scale that assesses the social-emotional competencies in children grades K-8. Teachers complete the assessment based on observations about a child’s daily interactions at school with peers and adults, and how they get along with others, how they share, explore and learn.

Parents were also be asked to complete the assessment on their child as well. Having both the parent and teacher participating in this exercise provides valuable information about how a child behaves both at home and in the classroom. This information is used to better plan for all children in the program, building on individual strengths and employing strategies for growth. Teachers use the Apperson Evo Social-Emotional platform and the DESSA Program to help children be more successful in school.