Since the earliest days of 1st grade, Tamar and Shira had hated each other. Their school moved them into separate classes the following year to stop their constant fighting, but things only got worse. Both were popular and charismatic and had a strong influence on other girls. As they got older, their entire friendship groups would go to war against each other in the corridors, at recess, and whenever the two classes joined together. By 4th grade, the atmosphere was so bitter, and the students had become so disruptive that teachers dreaded teaching both classes. The school tried to implement different strategies to fix the issue, but without success, and so they reached out to Kav L’Noar.
Kav L’Noar opened a social and emotional learning group for Tamar, Shira and some of their classmates. Over the course of 20 sessions, Kav L’Noar’s dedicated therapist led targeted group discussions, taught new skills, and worked to bring the two sides together. She also held 1-1 sessions with each girl to explore private issues and reinforce what the group was focusing on, and received regular supervision and support from a senior Kav L’Noar clinician.
The principal, guidance counselor, and teachers expressed highly positive feedback in an end of year meeting. The classes were getting along better, teachers were no longer struggling to handle the two groups, and the change wasn’t only behavioral. Even the grades had gone up in both classes! The principal marveled over how Kav L’Noar’s program not only impacted the ten girls in the group. It also affected 90 other students in the grade, and their teachers. The program created peace and the conditions necessary for a whole grade to grow and develop socially, emotionally and academically.
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