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
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.
Integrating SEL into Staff and Grade-Level Meetings
SEL practices help improve collaboration and can be embedded into any meeting where staff comes together to help build collaboration. Practices may include intentional opportunities to connect personally, interact in meaningful ways, share appreciations, or take time for reflection.
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.
When each staff member models social awareness by expressing their appreciation for their peers’ efforts, a culture of appreciation is created.