“You can’t teach them until you reach them,” says Cindy Marten, superintendent of San Diego Unified, the state’s second-largest district, as she talks about the importance of daily check-ins with students to assess how they’re feeling and the district’s system of additional support involving counselors and mental health specialists. From EdSource, listen to a podcast
The director of research at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence wants to make sure that teachers are making time to care for themselves. Chrissy Romano Arrabito teaches second grade at an elementary school in Hackensack, N.J., a community that has been devastated by COVID-19 in recent weeks. Her school is located a few miles
The high school senior sitting across from Franciene Sabens was in tears over the abrupt amputation of her social life and turmoil at home. Because of the coronavirus, there will be no prom, no traditional send-off or ceremony for the graduates of Carbondale Community High School in Carbondale, Ill. And Sabens, one of the school’s
If you’re looking for guidance documents from the US Dept. of Education relating to special education and related services during the coronavirus school closure, visit the special education guidance hub. The Educating All Learners Alliance, a new partnership of over thirty disability, advocacy and professional groups, has created a “hub of curated tools, strategies, tips
Recently, governors including California’s Gavin Newsom and New York’s Andrew Cuomo have started to talk about what school reopening might look like. From shorter days to smaller classes, school will likely look radically different in the fall. Three-quarters of U.S. states have now officially closed schools for the rest of the academic year. While remote
Working with Students Struggling with SEL and Mental Health Issues With 49% of American adolescents managing mental disorders, and 22.5% of these 13–18-year-old youngsters dealing with severe impairments, school districts have realized it is necessary to take a more proactive role in recognizing and helping to treat these very personal conditions. For most, this requires
Schools are closed in much of the United States, leaving students to hunker down at home for months — without their usual outlets for learning and socializing. Educators say trying to meet their social-emotional needs will be more important than ever. Even when schools reopen, students might still be grappling with fears, anxieties, or lingering
Eighth graders at Wickford Middle School In Rhode Island took part in an all-day event recently featuring nonverbal drum lessons and poetry, all with a focus on community and social-emotional learning. The event, called “Spread the Words: African Drumming and the Moving Poetry Project,” took place in the eighth-grade social studies classes and the gymnasium,
We want to thank any members who participated in last Friday’s SEL Day collaborative social media event intended to gain public awareness of, and support for, SEL and our movement. By the best measure of this first ever and to-be-annual initiative, it was a meaningful success. Final views for the 24 hours of March 27
The Equip Our Kids! Campaign has compiled a list of SEL programs as well as some other resources that parents can teach at home during the cronovirus home restrictions. A secondary benefit is that, once familiar with the practices, parents will be more open to advancing SEL in their schools. As we get ready to
