What is Open Circle?
Open Circle is a comprehensive, whole-school education program that teaches children critical life skills to promote positive behavior, critical social- emotional life skills, and character development for elementary and middle schools.
Open Circle provides professional teacher training and a K-8 curriculum with two goals:
- To proactively help children develop positive decision making and problem solving skills, recognize and manage emotions, perspective taking, and to develop healthy and positive relationships.
- To help schools develop safe and highly engaging learning communities.
Open Circle works with school communities to help children develop essential life skills to be ethical people, contributing citizens and successful learners.
By helping schools implement Open Circle Curriculum & Circles in Open Circle, and through our unique and experiential approach, we foster the development of relationships that support safe, respectful, and engaging learning communities.
Founded in 1987, Open Circle has reached an estimated two million children, and has been in over 19 states across the U.S. and in schools in other countries.
In 2013, Open Circle’s highly effective program was recognized by CASEL in its exclusive Guide to Effective Social and Emotional Learning Programs. In 2023 Open Circle became an independent organization and relaunched an updated curriculum in 2024. In 2025 Open Circle expanded their programming and curriculum and added Circles in Open Circle for grades 6-8
Our Mission:
Our mission at Open Circle continues to be the advancement of children’s wellbeing and learning by partnering with school communities to promote critical life skills, positive behavior, and character development that help foster safe and engaging learning environments.
What makes Open Circle unique?
At Open Circle we “walk the talk” of social and emotional learning in schools.
We teach and model community building, establishing relationships, building safe and affirming learning environments, strengthening facilitation skills and developing listening, reflection and presence through our professional trainings with educators. Educators leave our sessions with concrete experiential learning to use in their classroom and schools.
We believe affirming and safe communities along with understanding identity are the foundational components for promoting effective SEL skills in schools. Our staff are educators with experience in culturally responsive practices and DEI work in elementary schools.
Open Circle is research- and evidence-based
The Open Circle program is based on extensive research and evidence.