Daily Social-Emotional Check-Ins for Students with Rachel Miller
What if we knew a student was struggling before the crisis?
In this conversation, Jennifer Ulie, Ph.D. talks with Rachel Miller, CEO of Closegap, about the power of simple, consistent social-emotional check-ins and what can happen when schools create meaningful ways for students to tell adults how they are doing.
The discussion explores student voice, early identification, relationships, mental health support, and why a daily check-in can become much more than an SEL activity when adults are prepared to notice and respond.
Teachers, school administrators, counselors, social workers, psychologists, school mental health professionals, SEL leaders, student-support teams, and anyone looking for practical ways to understand student wellbeing earlier.
Students cannot always tell us they need help in the ways adults expect.
Consistent check-ins create a regular opportunity for students to communicate how they are doing rather than waiting until distress becomes obvious.
Changes in mood, belonging, stress, safety, or connection can become visible before they appear as attendance problems, behavior concerns, disengagement, or crisis.
Asking students how they are doing matters most when the information leads to curiosity, connection, and meaningful adult response.
Check-in information can help schools better understand needs across classrooms, student groups, and levels of support when it is used thoughtfully.
Asking the question is only the beginning.
A student check-in has little value if young people share what they are experiencing and nothing meaningful happens next. Strong systems pair student voice with clear response pathways, trusted relationships, appropriate follow-up, and multiple levels of support.
Create simple and consistent opportunities for students to communicate.
Pay attention to patterns, changes, and students whose responses suggest they may need connection or support.
Make sure students experience an appropriate response when they take the risk of telling adults how they are doing.
If a student told us today that they were not okay, what would happen next?
Use this conversation as a starting point for examining how your school collects student voice, notices changes in wellbeing, and connects students with meaningful support.
MyMensana 2026