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. The process outlined below integrates resources and tools from CASEL’s Financial Sustainability for Social and Emotional Learning website to provide a step-by-step guide for laying a solid financial foundation for SEL implementation. If you’re new to budget management, you may first wish to review the Build your Knowledge section.
There you’ll find:
It’s also helpful to review how other school districts rolled out SEL and how they budgeted to advance and sustain SEL. You can review case studies for four school districts that utilized different strategies to implement SEL across all schools and grade levels in their districts.
Varying in size, region, and demographics, these districts demonstrate a range of approaches to budgeting for SEL. You can see a quick summary of their budgets here.
Begin by examining existing financial resources and how your district funds priorities. This means taking a close look at:
Begin by examining existing financial resources and how your district funds priorities. This means taking a close look at:
The Strengths and Needs Inventory is the first of five steps outlined in the SEL Financial Sustainability Planning Tool, and can help you get a clearer sense of your district’s opportunities and challenges for supporting SEL.
Based on your review, determine:
The Financial Sustainability for Social and Emotional Learning website offers a More
The Financial Sustainability for Social and Emotional Learning website offers a cost calculator that can help you estimate the cost of implementation. When you enter data about your school district, the tool provides estimates for a six-year budget for SEL implementation based on the models employed in the four case-study districts: Austin, Tex.; Chicago, Ill.; Washoe County, Nev.; and Wheaton-Warrenville, Ill.
Since human resources and financial resources are so closely connected, you’ll want to identify the personnel you need to support SEL implementation (See the process for aligning human resources below). 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 against your SEL needs.
To develop an estimate, you’ll want to consider:
The SEL District Cost Modeling Discussion Guide available on the More
The SEL District Cost Modeling Discussion Guide available on the Financial Sustainability for Social and Emotional Learning website provides a process for using data from the site’s cost calculator and other local data to draft an expense and income budget.
Another useful tool is the SEL Budget Planning Tool, which is a spreadsheet you can download and use to enter data and projections for the district. Consider using a projector or screen-sharing software so your team can work collaboratively with this planning tool.
If your SEL leadership team does not have a member who understands 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.
To ensure the stability of your financial resources, you’ll want to leverage funding from a range of sources. This helps sustain SEL implementation beyond district budget cuts or time-limited grant…More
To ensure the stability of your financial resources, you’ll want to leverage funding from a range of sources. This helps sustain SEL implementation beyond district budget cuts or time-limited grants. You’ll want to pull from a combination of existing district funds that could be reallocated or streamlined to support SEL, as well as potential new sources of support including donors, foundations, research organizations, governments, and other groups.
New sources may include:
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. When approaching potential grantors, you may want to:
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?
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.