School Climate: The "quality and character of school life" based on how members of the school community experience school and the school's "norms, goals, values, interpersonal relationships, teaching, learning and leadership practices, and organizational structures" (Reference: National School Climate Council). National School Climate Council
The collaborative process of developing a vision helps foster a sense of shared ownership over SEL. It asks staff, students, families, and community partners to reflect on why they are doing this work and what they want for their students and their school. An SEL vision statement launches the planning process and guides goal setting, […]
Before launching an SEL action plan, it’s important to take stock of what is going on across your school and previous SEL-related efforts. Build on your strengths and learn from members of your school community who have seen many initiatives come and go by honoring and reflecting on the work that has come before.
Make a plan to evaluate progress
With clear goals in place, determine what data you’ll need to collect throughout the year to measure progress and continuously improve your implementation plan. Consider these questions when planning how to evaluate your SEL efforts: What type of data will help us understand if we are making progress toward our goals? Who will be in […]
Implement and reflect on data to continuously improve
The SEL team meets regularly to drive the action plan forward, reflect on new data, and continuously improve SEL implementation to meet established SEL goals and respond to needs that arise.
Establish structures to support consistent two-way SEL communications between the SEL team and all stakeholders.
Peer Mentoring and Partnership
Mentoring programs can help teachers improve their professional relationships while enhancing their SEL and instructional practice.
A Supportive Classroom Environment
A supportive and equitable environment in all classrooms serves as a platform for all academic, social and emotional learning. At the core of a supportive classroom is a caring, engaging teacher who establishes authentic trusting relationships with each student.
When instructional practices actively involve students in making meaning of content, they are more deeply engaged in their learning and have meaningful opportunities to practice SEL skills.
Teacher stress has been found to affect teachers’ health and well-being, job satisfaction, turnover, and even student outcomes (Greenberg, Brown, & Abenavoli, 2016). For this reason, it’s essential that educators take time to prevent burnout, promote health, and protect themselves from the negative effects of stress.
A Brain-Based Model for Workplace Collaboration
When staff understand what motivates them and what motivates others, they are better equipped to work together in productive ways. This page can help teams explore what motivates them in the workplace.