Three years ago, as I prepared to enroll in my first graduate school courses, I started exploring various news outlets that covered social-emotional learning. My hope was to find a newsletter that provided subscribers with regular updates about research, policy, and resources from the field of social and emotional learning.
After a fruitless search, I decided to start my own.
I launched This Month in SEL (and Inside SEL) in the summer of 2018 to both deepen my own knowledge of social-emotional learning as well as share SEL-related news with a wider audience.
Since then, our community has grown larger (and more rapidly) than I ever imagined. This newsletter has been shared by educators, caregivers, students, researchers, and policymakers. Our content has been republished by state agencies, think tanks, and education news outlets. I’ve interviewed district leaders and innovators in K-12 and higher education. And, earlier this month, This Month in SEL officially surpassed 30,000 subscribers.
As we continue to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and begin to plan for a critical back-to-school transition in the fall, I’m thrilled to announce a new premium version of This Month in SEL. Supporters will receive a custom version of our monthly newsletter that (in addition to our curation of SEL news and insights) includes exclusive access to:
SEL Mastermind Interviews: In-depth discussions with leading SEL researchers and practitioners.
Careers in SEL: A supporter-only job board featuring new openings for SEL roles.
SEL in Higher Education Database: A private library of initiatives, research, and resources for bringing social-emotional learning to higher education.
50% of the proceeds from paid subscriptions will be donated to non-profit organizations that are advancing social-emotional learning through advocacy and grassroots organizing; the other 50% will go towards paying graduate students and freelancers who donate their time and expertise to contribute to Inside SEL as guest authors.
(This Month in SEL will always be a free publication, and existing subscribers will continue to receive our monthly roundup of news, research, and resources related to social-emotional learning.)
Thank you, as always, for reading, and I am beyond grateful for your continued support in helping to share our resources with friends and colleagues.
-Nick Woolf, Founder
How to Take a “Both And” Approach to SEL and Academics This Summer
Social-emotional learning can help us create safe, supportive, and inclusive learning environments that increase students’ agency, build self-efficacy, and improve academic outcomes.
Although adopting a “both and” mindset when it comes to SEL and academics is a daunting task, doing so is crucial to ensuring that our students feel validated, affirmed, and celebrated as they engage in rigorous instruction this summer.
In this post, I share three strategies to embed SEL within summer school initiatives in your community.
5 Learning Gains Made During the Pandemic
“Despite the hardships of pandemic learning there have been bright spots and even many learning gains, say educators.
While the potential for learning loss is very real, simply comparing students’ scores this year to previous years doesn’t tell the whole story and ignores the difficult but also rich life experiences students have had over the past 15 months.”
Developing Students’ Social and Emotional Skills May Be More Important Now Than Ever
“Effective social and emotional learning (SEL) is best encountered not in standalone programs, but within the context of academic lessons and a broader school culture and climate that provides students opportunities to encounter, reflect on, and practice habits of character. Such activities are inclusive and recognize and affirm students’ diverse cultures. The proliferation of SEL programs is based on the recognition that students’ emotions and social contexts are deeply intertwined with their success in school and beyond, including in the labor market.”
Engaging Students in Personally Meaningful SEL
“Grappling with the barriers to interpersonal connection inherent in remote learning has made us think even more carefully about how we craft lessons for students. Whether online or in person, lessons should promote deeper learning and, ultimately, greater student engagement and learning retention. That’s why it is of paramount importance to apply a social-emotional learning (SEL) lens to all lessons, no matter the subject. This means actively fostering belonging in a safe and welcoming classroom community, engaging students in learning that is relevant to their lives, and helping them grow skills that will enable them to pursue their personal goals.”
Other Headlines:
3 Engaging Activities for Teaching Culturally Responsive SEL (via Panorama Education)
Key Elements of SEL Implementation (via Edutopia)
How supporting SEL can improve diversity and equity in education (via ASCD)
Nation’s skeletal school mental health network will be severely tested (via The Hechinger Report)
Schooling Has Changed Forever. Here’s What Will Stay When Things Go Back to ‘Normal’ (via The 74)
Inside SEL is now partnered with Spotlight, the first identity-based university ratings service. Please share Spotlight’s survey widely with higher education professionals and students in your network.