Communication: When schools send regular, coherent messages about SEL that are consistent in tone and content, while also ensuring they listen and respond to the inputs, ideas and needs of stakeholders (including staff, students, families, community partners, etc.). This is most likely to happen when schools take the time to learn more about the stakeholders they serve and use strategies to create personal connections.
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.
While your team works to align school discipline policies to SEL, it’s important to ensure that all classrooms consistently reinforce a student-centered approach to discipline.
Assess needs and resources to develop an SEL implementation plan with clear goals, action steps, and assigned ownership.
Develop a coordinated approach for supporting students’ social and emotional learning across the school, classrooms, homes, and communities.
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.
Reflect on Personal Social and Emotional Skills
Carol Dweck is a psychologist who researches achievement and success. Her major finding is that those who have a “growth mindset”—those who believe that their abilities are developed through dedication and hard work, not innate talent—are more likely to be resilient when things get tough and persevere to achieve goals (Dweck, 2006).
Just as it’s important to model SEL for students in the classroom, it’s also important for adults to consistently model social-emotional competencies with each other.
Strategies for Establishing School-OST-Family Partnerships in Support of SEL