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Learning Standards Standards

What does a student learn in ?

This is the year students learn to run their own lives, not just react to them. They notice what sets off their stress, plan around it, and steady themselves before a big test or a hard conversation. Students also start reading other people more carefully, including people whose backgrounds are nothing like their own. By spring, a student can walk into a tough moment at school or work, think through the choice, and handle it without losing their footing.

  • Self-awareness
  • Stress management
  • Empathy
  • Healthy relationships
  • Responsible choices
Source: Maine Maine Learning Results
Year at a glance
How the year usually goes. Every school and district set their own curriculum, so treat this as a guide, not official pacing.
  1. 1

    Knowing yourself

    Students start the year by looking at what they feel, what they believe, and how that shows up in their choices. They name their strengths and the spots where they still want to grow.

  2. 2

    Managing stress and goals

    Students practice handling pressure from school, work, and home. They learn ways to calm down before reacting, stay organized, and break big goals into steps they can actually finish.

  3. 3

    Understanding other people

    Students work on seeing situations from someone else's point of view, including classmates with different backgrounds. They also map out the adults and groups they can turn to when life gets hard.

  4. 4

    Building strong relationships

    Students focus on the skills friendships, jobs, and family life all depend on. They practice clear conversation, teamwork, working through disagreements, and asking for help without shame.

  5. 5

    Making thoughtful choices

    Students close the year by thinking through real decisions about school, social media, friendships, and risk. They weigh the upside and the cost and consider how a choice lands on other people.

Mastery Learning Standards
The required skills a student should display by the end of Grade 10.
Social Emotional Learning

  • The abilities to understand one's own emotions, thoughts

    ME-SEL.1.9-12
    High School

    Students learn to name their own emotions and spot how those feelings shape their choices. They also take stock of what they're good at and where they need to grow.

  • The abilities to manage emotions, thoughts

    ME-SEL.2.9-12
    High School

    Students practice staying calm under pressure, thinking before acting, and keeping track of responsibilities. These habits help them follow through on goals even when things get hard.

  • The abilities to understand the perspectives of and empathise with others…

    ME-SEL.3.9-12
    High School

    Students practice seeing situations from someone else's point of view, including people whose backgrounds differ from their own. They also learn to identify who and what they can turn to for help at school, at home, and in their community.

  • The abilities to establish and maintain healthy and supportive relationships…

    ME-SEL.4.9-12
    High School

    Students practice the skills that keep relationships healthy: listening well, working through disagreements, and asking for or offering help. These habits apply across friendships, classrooms, and group work with people who think and live differently than they do.

  • The abilities to make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior…

    ME-SEL.5.9-12
    High School

    Students practice weighing real consequences before acting, thinking through how a choice affects themselves and the people around them. This applies to personal decisions and how they treat others in everyday situations.

Common Questions
  • What does social emotional learning look like in high school?

    Students learn to notice their own emotions, manage stress, see other people's perspectives, build healthy relationships, and make thoughtful decisions. The work shows up in how students handle a hard class, a friendship problem, or a choice about their future.

  • How can parents help a teenager who is overwhelmed by stress?

    Ask what is on their plate before offering advice. Help them name the feeling, then pick one small next step, like sleep, a walk, or breaking homework into shorter chunks. Modeling how to handle stress out loud teaches more than a lecture.

  • My teen shuts down when I ask about school. What should I do?

    Trade the daily interrogation for short, low-pressure moments. A car ride, a meal, or a shared chore often works better than a sit-down talk. Listen more than fix, and let them know the door stays open.

  • How should this work be sequenced across the year?

    Start with self-awareness and routines while relationships are still forming, then move into perspective-taking and conflict resolution once trust is built. Save decision-making and goal-setting for stretches tied to real events like grades, friendships, or post-graduation plans.

  • What skills usually need the most reteaching at this age?

    Impulse control under stress and seeing a situation from someone else's point of view are the two that come up again and again. Both take repeated practice in low-stakes moments, not a single lesson.

  • How can parents support healthy relationships and conflict resolution at home?

    Treat small disagreements as practice. When a conflict comes up with a sibling or friend, ask what the other person might be feeling and what a fair next step would look like. Avoid solving it for them.

  • How do I know a student is ready for life after high school?

    Look for students who can name a stressor, ask for help, follow through on a goal over weeks, and repair a relationship after a rough moment. Those habits matter more than any single skill on a checklist.

  • How do I make space for this work without losing academic time?

    Build short routines into what already exists. A two-minute check-in at the start of class, a reflection at the end of a project, or a quick reset after a hard discussion costs little time and pays back in focus.