The process below supports districts in creating a strong long-term budget and plan for equitable SEL funding to meet the needs of all schools, as well as human resources practices that embed SEL considerations into candidate screening, hiring, evaluation, and employment policies at the district and school levels. Use the Rubric to assess your current level of implementation.
Below you’ll find steps for Aligning Financial Resources to Support SEL and for Aligning Human Resources to Support SEL (Jump to Aligning Human Resources).
Budgets for SEL implementation are typically limited, and it’s common for districts to underfund their SEL initiatives. When this happens, districts may find they’re unable to support implementatio…More
Budgets for SEL implementation are typically limited, and it’s common for districts to underfund their SEL initiatives. When this happens, districts may find they’re unable to support implementation.
It might be useful to review how other school districts budgeted for and rolled out SEL. We have documented how four school districts used different strategies in their first years of implementing SEL across all schools and grade levels. For each district, we have a brief case study and a multi-year budget.
Use our cost estimator to see what your district’s costs might be if you adopt a budget model similar to that of Austin, Washoe County, or Wheaton-Warrenville.
All four study districts began with their vision for what SEL would look like in classrooms and schools before they put together an implementation plan. (Developing a shared vision should be your first step as well). They developed annual budgets for the first two years by iteratively building implementation models with cost in mind. SEL leads, design teams, and advisory committees held fast to their vision as a guide for implementation planning. Most required development of funding streams that were larger than the initial planned allocation, particularly in years three to five of the SEL initiative. All four SEL leads brought together broad, diverse groups of stakeholders on design teams or advisory committees. This helped to broaden SEL beyond the SEL department, which increased ownership of SEL throughout the district, avoided SEL being perceived as an isolated element in schools, and increased the odds of SEL sustainability.
Rapidly deploying introductory SEL training and engaging a group of early adopters at a deeper level helped build early support. In Austin Independent School District they rolled out SEL over a span of years, involving additional vertical school team cohorts each year. Seeing the impact on neighboring schools in the district, some principals whose schools were still one or two years away from beginning SEL implementation asked if they could use their own site funding to purchase evidence-based programs and participate in district SEL professional development right away. After demonstrating gains in initial years, the SEL lead in Chicago felt she had developed the “firepower” to request a significant budget allocation to hire 14 new SEL coaches needed to spread SEL to all elementary schools. The approval and allocation of funding for the coaches starting in year three demonstrated district support at the highest levels.
Consider the context. As you plan your new SEL initiative, begin by considering what kinds of resources are or will be available and how the initiative will compete with existing priorities and ini…More
Consider the context. As you plan your new SEL initiative, begin by considering what kinds of resources are or will be available and how the initiative will compete with existing priorities and initiatives already underway. The following questions can guide this discussion:
Refer back to the SEL strategy you have developed so far (see Shared Visio…More
Refer back to the SEL strategy you have developed so far (see Shared Vision and Plan and/or your Districtwide SEL Action Planning Workbook), which includes your vision, goals, review of existing SEL-related efforts, planned action steps, and aligned evaluation plan. To estimate the cost of carrying out this work, you’ll want to consider
By analyzing the budgets of 3 of our district partners that have employed different SEL implementation strategies, we built a cost estimator to help you estimate what your SEL implementation costs might be.
Most districts find that the biggest cost of SEL implementation is staffing. As you’re analyzing your budgetary needs, you’ll need to factor in the costs of new staff. Similarly, if you have budgetary limitations, you may need to rethink how you will leverage your current staff to support SEL.
Some strategies will fit your goals and cost constraints better than others. The following questions, in the context of your district’s SEL goals, may help guide your reflection and decision-making:
Don’t forget to consider costs over time. Because it is usually not feasible to implement SEL at all grades and schools simultaneously, district leaders must develop a phased-in implementation plan. They must ensure the phased-in implementation model doesn’t become simply a pilot in which interested schools volunteer or low-performing schools are required to participate. A multiyear phase-in plan should be made public and the timeline adhered to so that all schools are engaged within a reasonable amount of time, typically two to five years. When designing a phase-in plan, consider the depth and breadth of implementation over time.
For example:
The SEL budget planning tool is a three step template that will help you to compare budget…More
The SEL budget planning tool is a three step template that will help you to compare budget-related tradeoffs of different implementation strategies, draft your district’s SEL budget, and discuss and adjust your budget with your broader team.
If your SEL leadership team does not have a member who is fluent with the school district budget and spreadsheets, it’s strongly recommended that you invite your chief financial officer or someone from the budget department. Involving your chief financial officer early in the SEL planning process will improve your plan and will help you build sustainable strategies into your multi-year effort.
Large-scale initiatives take time to achieve student outcomes. Although other important district- or school-level outcomes may be achieved sooner, districtwide initiatives take a minimum of three t…More
Large-scale initiatives take time to achieve student outcomes. Although other important district- or school-level outcomes may be achieved sooner, districtwide initiatives take a minimum of three to seven years to realize demonstrable student results. Large-scale initiatives are often funded, completely or in part, by external grants from a single private donor, foundations or public source. External funding provides an initial influx of money that districts can use to hire new staff or reassign current staff, provide new or expanded programs and services, or provide technical assistance or training to staff. With well-documented academic, mental health, college and career, and other outcomes, SEL is a school reform priority of tremendous interest to local, regional, national funders, including individual donors, philanthropic foundations, research organizations, and government agencies.
But this funding comes with strings. Although grants and donations often have a positive impact on the district’s work, they are available for a limited number of years. The inherent challenge for districts is that even with multi-year grants, external funding will eventually change or end altogether, often before districts can show desired student-level outcomes. Without such funds, SEL programs and staff are vulnerable to cuts unless the district raises new funds, absorbs program expenses into the district’s operating budget, and/or reallocates general education funds toward SEL.
Thus, while the first Collaborating Districts Initiative partners received a grant from NoVo Foundation to help launch their SEL initiatives, district leaders, and especially the SEL directors, began thinking about affordability and sustainability very early.
New funding sources may include:
Determine when to approach external funders. Some funders may want to support the early adoption of SEL while others may want to wait for results from an initial pilot. Some funders may want to support organizations that partner with your district rather than the district itself. Your district fund development staff should be able to offer insights.
Our Collaborating Districts Initiative partners generated interest with potential funders in different ways:
Here are some useful resources for identifying external public and private funding:
If you’re developing an SEL budget apart from your annual district budget process, determine which leaders need to approve the budget for implementation to begin. Determine if you need to communica…More
If you’re developing an SEL budget apart from your annual district budget process, determine which leaders need to approve the budget for implementation to begin. Determine if you need to communicate your SEL budget and human resources decisions to the district or school leaders.
Conduct an annual risk assessment of funds and staff positions that support SEL. Are any grants ending? Are any leadership or political changes threatening to pull funds away from SEL? Are any staf…More
Conduct an annual risk assessment of funds and staff positions that support SEL. Are any grants ending? Are any leadership or political changes threatening to pull funds away from SEL? Are any staff cuts expected?
Through the process, you will want to communicate the importance of these investments regularly with all key stakeholders: board, staff, parents, community members, and funders. Make…More
Through the process, you will want to communicate the importance of these investments regularly with all key stakeholders: board, staff, parents, community members, and funders. Make the case for SEL. Be transparent about your spending assumptions–why you are making the investments, how they fit into your overall strategic plan, and what stakeholders can expect and when. Create opportunities for multiple stakeholders to be involved in creating your SEL budgets; teachers, staff, parents, and other stakeholders often are more effective messengers than districts leaders, especially with their peers and colleagues.
You can find general communication advice here in Focus Area 1.
Some useful communications resources related specifically to funding include:
While staffing may vary across districts, it is critical to engage or recruit an SEL lead or director to oversee implementation and drive forward the district’s vision for SEL. This person should h…More
While staffing may vary across districts, it is critical to engage or recruit an SEL lead or director to oversee implementation and drive forward the district’s vision for SEL. This person should have access to district leaders (including the superintendent) and direct links to those responsible for curriculum and instruction, school leadership, professional learning, and other functions connected to SEL implementation. Here are some sample job descriptions of leadership roles in SEL:
In addition, depending on the size of your district, you may wish to add other SEL support roles to round out your SEL team, such as:
When building your SEL team, we recommend considering the diversity in your district to ensure an SEL team that is representative of the community they’ll be supporting.
Since SEL is most effective and sustainable when integrated across district functions, you’ll want to encourage your district to assign accountability for SEL integration to particular staff within…More
Since SEL is most effective and sustainable when integrated across district functions, you’ll want to encourage your district to assign accountability for SEL integration to particular staff within the central office.
Your superintendent may wish to assign particular responsibilities regarding SEL, or the SEL lead may invite staff in various departments to collaborate to determine accountability and responsibility.
Also, consider “cross-training” existing staff such as behavioral specialists and restorative practice specialists in SEL so that they can incorporate SEL into their areas of specialization and provide additional support to overarching SEL efforts.
In partnership with your district’s human resources department, identify key SEL-related competencies that are critical for the district and school positions. Then, review and update job postings a…More
In partnership with your district’s human resources department, identify key SEL-related competencies that are critical for the district and school positions. Then, review and update job postings and descriptions to highlight the importance of modeling SEL competencies.
Look for ways to incorporate SEL into your discussions with candidates for teaching and superintendent positions. Here are some interview questions you can use or adapt:
After SEL is embedded into job descriptions, you’ll want to ensure SEL becomes an expected competency for staff throughout the district and schools. Work with your human resources department to exa…More
After SEL is embedded into job descriptions, you’ll want to ensure SEL becomes an expected competency for staff throughout the district and schools. Work with your human resources department to examine evaluation and employment policies to determine where SEL-related competencies already exist and where they could be enhanced. Consider how to communicate and support staff in meeting these expectations (see Focus Area 2).
If needed, you may also want to consider including SEL professional learning and implementation activities in union contracts. This ensures that SEL becomes a standard professional responsibility for key staff, including teachers, instructional coaches, and school counselors.
As an example, look at the Cleveland Teachers Union Agreement from 2013 through 2016, which includes provisions regarding the role of the district’s HumanWare/Social Emotional Learning Committee.