A new decade is officially underway and the first month of the year has been absolutely jam-packed with an influx of SEL resources, reports, and events. We are excited to continue to deliver the latest insights and research to your inbox each month throughout 2020 and beyond!
This month in SEL: Transforming Education releases a new toolkit for trauma-informed SEL, the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy publishes its anual Condition of Education in the Commonwealth report, findings from a national study on how high school students feel at school, SEL4US partners with The Urban Assembly to launch the first International SEL Day… and more!
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Transforming Education Releases New Toolkit for Trauma-Informed SEL
This research-based educator toolkit is focused on an approach to social-emotional learning (SEL) that seeks to foster youths’ development with practices that support all students while being particularly inclusive of (and responsive to) the needs of children and youth who have experienced or are currently experiencing trauma. Developed with a strengths-based approach, this resource includes a brief overview of the types of adversities that research suggests can have a negative effect on children’s lives as well as offers strategies that educators can use in their classrooms to support students experiencing ACEs and other types of trauma.
The Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy Publishes 2020 “Condition of Education in the Commonwealth” Report
The annual report looks at school performance in Massachusetts, highlighting successes while zeroing in on areas in need of improvement. The publication is accompanied by a data dashboard that looks at a range of state-level indicators ofschool performance and highlights disparities in student outcomes based on factors including income and race along with an Action Guide that examines the need fornew ways of measuring student success.
“Educators and state leaders recognize that serving all students well requires focusing on their individual needs, including mental health and social-emotional development as well as academic progress, but our assessment system has not kept pace with these demands.”
-Chad d’Entremont, Executive Director of the Rennie Center
The Practical Benefits of SEL Programs
Need help making the case for implementing SEL programming in your school? A new brief from CASEL unpacks the potential impact on a student body over time when a school offers an SEL program compared to when it does not offer such a program.
New Education Doctorate at Sacred Heart Focused On SEL
One of the first of its kind in the country, the Ed.D. focuses on social, emotional and academic leadership. The program is designed to prepare principals, superintendents and other school leaders in supporting teachers and students as well as becoming experts in the fast-growing field of social-emotional learning. This announcement comes month after Quinnipiac launched an online graduate certificate program in social-emotional learning and school climate.
Findings From a Large National Survey on High School Students’ Feelings
Co-authors Marc Brackett, Julia Moeller, Zorana Ivcevic and Arielle White investigated students’ feelings at high school in a nation-wide survey of 21,678 US students as well as in a four-week study using experience sampling methodology with 472 students across 5 high schools. The studies found that 75% of the feelings students reported in their responses to open-ended questions were negative. The three most frequently mentioned feelings were tired, stressed, and bored.
International SEL Day — March 27, 2020
The Urban Assembly and SEL4US invite communities across the globe to celebrate the importance of social emotional learning (SEL) on the first annual International SEL Day on March 27, 2020. Inside SEL is proud to be an official SEL Day partner and will be helping to spread the word ahead of this momentous event.
Social emotional learning (SEL) changes lives. Studies show that SEL improves well-being and academic outcomes, builds positive school climate, and provides children with the necessary skills to excel in today’s workforce. Yet, many members of our communities don’t know about SEL yet.
SEL Day is an opportunity to spread the word about the importance and impact of SEL. Working together, we can raise awareness for SEL, bring on new SEL stakeholders, create artifacts that demonstrate SEL in action, share SEL best practices… and more!
Other Headlines:
Research Scholars to Air Problems with Using ‘Grit’ at School (via Hechinger Report)
How to Coach Kids Through Big Emotions (via PBS Kids for Parents)
BOOK: Preventing Bullying in Schools: A Social and Emotional Learning Approach
Parents and Teachers are Critical Partners in the Work of SEL (via The 74)
How An 8-Page Catalog is Transforming Parent Engagement (via Education Dive)
Ways to Implement Restorative Practices in the Classroom (via EdWeek)
Supporting Student Mental Health: Resources to Prepare Educators (via MHTTC)
Emotional Intelligence Translates Into Better Grades for Students (via Forbes)
Restorative Justice, Youth Mental Health Issues, and the Future of Education (via SmartBrief)
JUUL Use More Than Doubled Among U.S. Teens and Young Adults in One Year (via Reuters)
Sorry, There’s No Toolkit for SEL. But It’s Worth the Work. (via EdWeek)
How Schools are Expanding the Definition of Student Success (via CZI)
STUDY: School Climate as an Intervention to Reduce Academic Failure and Educate the Whole Child
Students Before Content: The True Power of Relationships in the Classroom (via Next Gen Learning)
How and Why to Measure Character for Improvement and Impact in Schools (via EL Education)
The Workforce Skills That School Districts Want Embedded in Curriculum (via EdWeek)
Coaches Can Help Curb Middle School Dating Violence (via Reuters)
Three Ways Teachers Can Support Students With Autisum (via EdWeek)