Classroom Agreements: A consensus formed by a group that frames how members wish to interact and relate with each other. They are enforced by the group, rather than authority figure (Reference: National Equity Project).
Align schoolwide systems, policies, programs, and practices to promote SEL for students.
Belonging and Emotional Safety
When teachers build the structures that support belonging and emotional safety, they lay the groundwork for students to focus on learning (Sergiovanni, 1994 in Darling-Hammond et al., 2017).
Explicit SEL instruction refers to consistent opportunities for students to cultivate, practice, and reflect on social and emotional competencies in ways that are developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive.
Schoolwide SEL is evidenced by indicators in the classroom, school, family, and community.
Professional Learning About SEL
As staff use shared agreements to guide their interactions, it’s essential that they also reflect on their own social and emotional growth.
Aligning SEL and Academic Objectives
As your SEL team works with teachers to align SEL and academic objectives, it’s also important to consider how the content is delivered so that it supports the practice of social and emotional competencies.
Create meaningful partnership opportunities and two-way communication that invites families to understand, experience, inform, and support the social and emotional development of their students.
Create a stable budget for SEL resources, professional learning, and staffing to support the sustainability of SEL efforts.
Adopt an Evidence-Based Program for SEL
Evidence-based SEL programs are grounded in research and principles of child and adolescent development, and scientifically evaluated and shown to produce positive student outcomes.
Students have a unique perspective on how high-level decisions impact the day-to-day life of the school, and their voices are critical to quality schoolwide SEL implementation. By listening to students, schools can make informed decisions about the changes that will best support all learners.