Building a Kinder Future: How Operation Xcel Weaves Kindness into SEL

Introduction: More Than Academics

While academic success is crucial, true, lasting achievement is built on a foundation of strong character. At Operation Xcel, we believe that developing a well-rounded child focuses on life skills as well as core subjects like Math, Reading, and STEM but also on essential life skills through Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). Our mission is to prepare students to be positive contributors to society, and the foundational skill for this goal is kindness. Kindness is a measurable, teachable skill set that falls directly under the key SEL competencies defined by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL, 2020). We see kindness practiced and reinforced every day by both our students and staff, making it a pillar of our educational enrichment program.

Section 1: Kindness and the SEL Skill Set

Kindness is the active expression of emotional intelligence. At Operation Xcel, we teach students that kindness directly correlates with the following core CASEL competencies:

• Kindness is Social Awareness (SA): This competency involves the ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others (CASEL, 2020). An act of kindness begins when a student uses SA to notice someone else's need. Research has shown that teaching children empathy leads to more prosocial and helpful behaviors (Eisenberg et al., 2015).
• Kindness is Relationship Skills (RS): Kindness is the action that builds and maintains healthy, rewarding relationships between peers, students, and staff (Elias, 2019). Practicing patience, offering support, and resolving conflicts peacefully are all acts of kindness that strengthen our community.
• Kindness is Responsible Decision-Making (RDM): A responsible decision often involves choosing to be helpful or supportive. It's making a constructive choice based on ethical standards (CASEL, 2020).

Quote: "Kindness isn't just an emotion... (at Operation Xcel); ...it's a deliberate act, a social skill we practice every day to strengthen our community and build empathy (Elias, 2019)."

Section 2: The Affirmation: Kindness as a Daily Standard

The Operation Xcel Affirmation is more than just words—it’s a daily promise that integrates SEL values and character standards, preparing students for the "real world" from their first steps into the program. By reciting these affirmations daily, students internalize the behaviors required for success.

Student-Led Kindness (The Ripple Effect):

Students put these standards into action through meaningful, daily acts:

• Practicing Patience and Respect: A key standard is respecting the learning environment. This looks like students offering to help a peer with a tough problem or using an "I feel..." statement during conflict resolution (a key SEL strategy).
• Fostering Selfless Service: When students recite standards of Responsibility and Leadership, they are encouraged to look beyond themselves. This is demonstrated when they participate in the annual Holiday Honor Card initiative, showing kindness to the broader community by supporting the organization.

Staff-Driven Kindness (The Supportive Environment):

Operation Xcel staff model the kindness standards every day:

• Compassionate Mentorship: Staff practice kindness by being the consistent, non-parental adult with whom students can build trust. They don't just teach the standards; they live them by meeting students where they are emotionally, which is key to addressing emotional concerns (Jones, Greenberg, & Crowley, 2015).
• Community-Wide Care: The program's kindness extends to the whole family. Staff demonstrate commitment to community betterment by partnering with organizations to provide essential resources, such as food boxes, showing care for the whole family unit.  Operation Xcel works with partners such as Alcohol and Drug Services (ADS) to offer monthly Parent Café sessions. These gatherings provide parents with a supportive space to share strategies for building healthy, principle-based family relationships.

Section 3: The Tangible Results: Kindness and Self-Management

The conscious, daily practice of kindness and the recitation of our affirmations yield powerful, measurable results in our students' SEL development, particularly in the areas of Resilience (a component of GRIT) and Self-Management.

The Challenge: The Need for Self-Management

We recognize that many students arrive demonstrating high rates of impulsive behaviors, which interfere with learning and relationships. Our pre-program assessments show that up to 85% of participating students initially struggle with impulsivity—a significantly higher rate than typical developmental expectations for K-8 students (CASEL, 2020). This high starting point underscores the critical need Operation Xcel addresses.

2024–2025 Impact Highlight: Quantifiable Kindness

The results from our latest Impact Report provide compelling evidence that our focus on kindness, character standards, and SEL is working to build essential life skills:

These metrics show that a culture of kindness breeds success. When students feel safe, supported, and emotionally connected (the result of kind interactions), they are more willing to embrace challenges, exercise self-control, and persist until they succeed.

Conclusion: Join the Movement

Kindness is not just a secondary topic at Operation Xcel; it is a powerful component of our academic and emotional success model. Through the daily recitation of our standards and consistent practice by students and staff, we are building more than just bright students—we are building compassionate leaders with the Resilience and Self-Regulation skills to succeed in the "real world."

We invite you to be a part of this culture of compassion:

• Donate: To continue supporting programs that build character and kindness.
• Volunteer: To become one of the kind, supportive faces in our students' lives.
• Practice: Challenge yourself to perform a small act of kindness today and create your own ripple effect.

References
CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning). (2020). What is SEL? Retrieved October 31, 2025, from 
https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/

Eisenberg, N., Eggum, N. D., & Diener, E. (2015). The regulation of emotion and its functional significance for social functioning, school success, and well-being. Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science, 773-812.

Elias, M. J. (2019). The feel and touch of social and emotional learning (SEL). Journal of Social and Emotional Learning, 1(1), 1-13.

Jones, D. E., Greenberg, M., & Crowley, M. (2015). Early social and emotional functioning and public health: The relationship between kindergarten social competence and future mental health. American Journal of Public Health, 105(11), 2283-2290.

Operation Xcel. (2024). 2024–2025 Impact Report. Retrieved October 31, 2025, from  https://operationxcel.org/about-us/our-impact.html