Jami Jacobs has been a school social worker at Central Elementary School in Wilmette, IL, for 23 years. Prior to using Everyday Speech, the school struggled to find a program that offered both communication and social skills curriculum for all students. After piloting the program and observing how teachers and specialists integrated it, the school enthusiastically subscribed.

CASEL Alignment and Ease of Implementation

“Our educators are using it weekly, if not daily. The way that Everyday Speech is structured, I explained to them at the beginning of the year, you can do a half-hour lesson once a week and then refer to it. Or you can do 10 minutes three times a week, or you can do 15 minutes twice a week. You can design it the way you want it. So I do have teachers that use it in all of those different ways.

It’s CASEL-aligned, and as a school in the state of Illinois, we are CASEL-aligned. We’ve had a lot of training with CASEL, and that’s important to us. So that made it very easy for us to get folks on board. The structure follows that format, and it’s just so easy to use.”

Student Impact

Jacobs reports that Everyday Speech video models help students by breaking down skills into meaningful parts and allowing for practice opportunities.

Jacobs recalls a fourth-grade teacher who reported one student using Everyday Speech lessons to successfully reduce anxiety during school. Her parents also noticed similar improvements at home, which felt very meaningful to the staff.

“I use the program myself with our students with comprehensive learning needs. So they’re students with limited language. Seeing the videos is especially helpful with those students. Language is not easy for them, but that is a clear way that they can show their understanding. They love the thumbs-up and thumbs-down video, and even as they’re doing it, they’ll be like, ‘That’s a thumbs-up choice, Mrs. Jacobs.’”

Responding to Customer Ideas

“I would say that the scope and sequence are wonderful. It is CASEL-aligned, and it’s so easy to use. It provides you with everything you need. It’s current and up to date. And then the other thing I would say is that Everyday Speech is incredibly responsive. When I reach out to you or one of your colleagues with a concern, question, or comment, you make the change instantly, and that doesn’t happen with other companies.”

“Having Everyday Speech has been amazing. It was wonderful to be able to show other kids practicing these skills, learning the steps to the skills, practicing the skills, and then having a conversation with them. It really made it much easier.”