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Below, you’ll find resources to help integrate SEL with academics, discipline, and student supports.
See how districts have strategized and planned to integrate SEL
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Integrating Equity and SEL: Classroom Visits and Look-Fors A Minnesota school district shares a set of learning experiences and classroom walk-through tools to develop a shared understanding of how SEL and equity initiatives intersect in classroom environments and instruction. SOURCE: ISD 197 - West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan Area Schools |
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Districts in Action – Promote SEL for Students This brief spotlights SEL leaders in California, Virginia, and Texas as they share their stories about how their approach to promoting SEL for students took shape and integrated with stakeholder needs related to inclusion, discipline, and tiered supports. SOURCE: CASEL |
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The Academic Impact of Responsiveness to Student Voice A study of Chicago Public Schools found that academic performance is related to schools' responsiveness to student concerns. This research brief shares how outcomes were measured and why these may be connected. SOURCE: University/Nonprofit Research Institution |
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2011 to 2021: 10 Years of SEL in U.S. School Districts Ten years ago, CASEL began collaborating with school district SEL leaders to explore the question - Is it possible to implement SEL systemically to positively impact students across a large urban school district? Not only did districts demonstrate that it was possible, but every district has deepened and expanded SEL implementation since joining the collaborative. This anniversary report details 6 key insights from these districts about how they were able to sustain SEL over the long term, even as the people and contexts within the district changed. SOURCE: CASEL |
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Practices of Promise: Youth Voice in Washoe County School District, Nevada This case example offers a glimpse into WCSD’s process of creating structures to elevate and listen to students, before and through the pandemic. SOURCE: CASEL |
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Fostering Mental Health and Wellness with Universal Social-Emotional and Behavioral Supports A concise document describing how SEL supports mental health and academic performance, featuring the work of CASEL partner the School District of Palm Beach county to develop a Tier 1 approach to SEL to support the mental health of all students and staff. Includes links to the resources and tools the district provided to all schools. SOURCE: School District of Palm Beach County |
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How a District Integrates SEL With Academics (Nashville) Edutopia's collection of articles and video featuring how SEL has taken root over time in Nashville, with a focus on integrating SEL into daily classroom practices and supporting implementation. SOURCE: Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools |
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SEL Trends: Integrating with Academics From CASEL's SEL Trends series, this issue features DuPage County, Nashville, and Sacramento school districts process and strategies for integrating SEL deeply within academic approaches, and includes sample resources from each district. SOURCE: CASEL |
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Chicago Public Schools' model for how social and emotional learning should be integrated into a multi-tiered system of supports for all students. SOURCE: Chicago Public Schools |
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Giving Students a Voice in their Education (video) This video from Education Week features Washoe County School District's practices to promote student voice and agency in shaping policies and decisions that impact education. Youth voice and leadership is a central part of the social and emotional learning approach in the district. SOURCE: Washoe County School District |
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Oakland Mills Scholars SEL Integration (Video) A program collaboration between the district and a college that uses teacher collaborative inquiry to understand the intersection of SEL and academic learning. SOURCE: Oakland Unified School District |
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How Programs and Resources Support the Five SEL Competencies Chart that ties together Nashville's SEL related programs and services, describing how each contributes to development of the 5 core competencies. SOURCE: Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools |
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Retreat to Improve District Support of SEL Practice – Agenda and Challenge Areas Cleveland hosted a retreat with support from AIR, CASEL, PATHS, and their teachers' union to address challenge areas and improve how SEL is integrated into district priorities. SOURCE: Cleveland Metropolitan School District |
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SEL and CCSS: Core Tasks Lesson Development Training Part I Washoe's training collaboration between SEL and the Core Task Project, where participants learn about the intersections between SEL and the Common Core, specifically English Language Arts and close reading (part 1). SOURCE: Washoe County School District |
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Find ready-to-use tools
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Academic SEL and Mathematics Curriculum Materials From the University of Texas Charles A. Dana Center, this brief tool can help determine to what degree your district's math instructional materials and educator practices integrate SEL competencies. While focused on math, much can be applied to other core subjects. SOURCE: University/Nonprofit Research Institution |
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Integrating Equity and SEL: Classroom Visits and Look-Fors A Minnesota school district shares a set of learning experiences and classroom walk-through tools to develop a shared understanding of how SEL and equity initiatives intersect in classroom environments and instruction. SOURCE: ISD 197 - West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan Area Schools |
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Health Education/SEL Crosswalk Document aligning CASEL's 5 SEL competencies and related skills to the National Health Education Standards and Performance Indicators, to support educators in planning a skills-based health education curriculum. SOURCE: SHAPE America |
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These eleven vignette-style case studies share how educators may embed SEL into instruction and other interactions with students. The included reflection guide makes this a ready-to-use tool for individual, small, or large group professional learning. SOURCE: Transforming Education |
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SEL 3 Signature Practices introductory video – Classroom version Video describing the SEL 3 Signature Practices (welcoming inclusion activity, engaging practices, and optimistic closure) and how to use them in a classroom setting. SOURCE: CASEL |
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SEL 3 Signature Practices Playbook The SEL 3 Signature Practices Playbook has been updated and is now online! It includes a growing library of sample practices, supporting research, examples from the field, and templates to help you incorporate the practices skillfully into your context. SOURCE: CASEL |
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Teaching Restorative Practices with Classroom Circles San Francisco's guide focused on the use of Circles as a proactive measure to build trust and community in a classroom. Includes sample activities and lesson plans for introducing students to restorative practices. SOURCE: San Francisco Unified School District |
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Cleveland Classroom Meetings resource page Classroom Meetings in Cleveland are used daily for community building and classroom level problem-solving and decision-making. This resource page has activities, best practices, handouts, samples that show integration with academic content, and other tools to help plan a larger scale rollout of class meetings. SOURCE: Cleveland Metropolitan School District |
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Chicago Public Schools Restorative Practices Guide and Toolkit A comprehensive mini-book that includes activities, lesson plans, and printable templates and tools to implement restorative practices, intended to be used along with other coaching and training. SOURCE: Chicago Public Schools |
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When fully implemented, schoolwide SEL contributes to more successful and equitable outcomes for young people, and is evidenced by the following indicators. SOURCE: CASEL |
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Oakland’s Restorative Justice Implementation Guide This guide/workbook is designed for a Restorative Practices Facilitator to support their school to create an implementation plan to introduce restorative practices in 11 well-defined stages. SOURCE: Oakland Unified School District |
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Social and Emotional Learning in Practice: Toolkit of Practical Strategies and Resources Ideal for OST programs, includes tools for equipping staff to teach SEL, creating the learning environment, designing impactful learning experiences, and using data for improvement. Special attention is paid to culturally responsive design. SOURCE: University/Nonprofit Research Institution |
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Brief powerpoint introduction to the similarities between PBIS and SEL, useful for schools that are committed to PBIS and beginning to explore more explit approaches to SEL. SOURCE: Washoe County School District |
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Orange County DOE Restorative Practices Resources The Orange County Department of Education maintains a collection of restorative practices resources to support implementation and integration with PBIS and other frameworks that may already be in place. SOURCE: Orange County DOE |
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Addressing the Root Causes of Disparities in School Discipline: An educator’s action planning guide A guide for digging into discipline data, analyzing root causes, and action planning, with checklists, decision trees, Excel worksheets, and planning templates. SOURCE: National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments |
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Venn Diagram showing similarities and differences between schoolwide PBIS and schoolwide SEL. SOURCE: CASEL |
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Affective Classroom Openings and Engagement Techniques Brief but powerful advice for facilitators of adult learning on leading engaging opening activities. Could easily be adapted for training for teachers who are learning to incorporate SEL structures into their lessons. SOURCE: CASEL |
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8th grade SEL/CCSS Integration Activities Nashville's chart of academic standards in English, Math, Science, and Social Studies paired with SEL standards, with sample classroom activities to achieve both objectives. SOURCE: Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools |
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CASEL’s Self-Reflection Tool for Instructional Practices that Promote SEL A self-reflection tool for teachers to consider ways in which they are already using practices that develop social and emotional skills in their classroom, and to expand their use of SEL integration strategies. SOURCE: CASEL |
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Schoolwide Observation Tool for Climate, Classroom Management, and Instruction Washoe County's 1 page tool for recording observations about how SEL is present in the school and classroom environment, instruction, and interactions, and a sample activity for debriefing observations in a circle setting. SOURCE: Washoe County School District |
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Oakland’s Teacher Self-Reflection: Instructional Practices that Promote SEL Adapted from CASEL's SEL integration self assessment tool, Oakland's more detailed reflection is organized around areas of SEL competency and has teachers identify their level of practice on a continuum. SOURCE: Oakland Unified School District |
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Teacher Self-Assessment: SEL in the Classroom Tool to reflect and set goals for bringing SEL into classroom practices and interactions. Focuses on the areas of explicit SEL instruction, SEL integration with academic instruction, and supportive classroom climate. SOURCE: CASEL |
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SEL-integrated Lesson Planning Checklist List of strategies to make any academic lesson plan integrate SEL themes and skill-building experiences. SOURCE: CASEL |
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Sample SEL Integrated Lesson Plans for each Grade Band Sample lesson plans from a variety of grade levels and subject areas that integrate SEL through instructional practices, discussion prompts, student reflection, and routines for interaction. SOURCE: CASEL |
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SEL in Middle School Social Studies Document describing ways middle grades social studies teachers can support each of the 5 SEL domains through specific lessons & activities and more general teaching practices. SOURCE: CASEL |
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SEL in High School English Language Arts Document describing ways secondary ELA teachers can support each of the 5 SEL domains through specific lessons & activities and more general teaching practices. SOURCE: CASEL |
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Document describing ways math teachers can support each of the 5 SEL domains through specific lessons & activities and more general teaching practices. SOURCE: CASEL |
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SEL in Elementary English Language Arts Document describing ways elementary ELA teachers can support each of the 5 SEL domains through specific lessons & activities and more general teaching practices. SOURCE: CASEL |
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Sample Teaching Activities to Support Core Competencies of SEL Document describing specific ways teachers can support each of the 5 SEL domains through lessons & instruction and ongoing teaching practices. SOURCE: CASEL |
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Tennessee guide showing how SEL is intertwined with existing initiatives and their teacher evaluation and development system. Reviews 10 teaching practices that promote SEL skills with videos, look-fors, and discussion prompts. SOURCE: Tennessee DOE |
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3 part tool to guide a school staff or district team to identify current instructional practices that support social and emotional development, and then learn about, prioritize, and plan to incorporate additional strategies. SOURCE: CASEL |
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Completed Sample – SEL Integrated Lesson Plan Template Sample of a brainstorming activity that could be used in any academic content area, with clear SEL skill building and teacher sentence stems to debrief. SOURCE: Washoe County School District |
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Find presentation templates that you can adapt and use
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The Case for SEL sample presentation CASEL's presentation introducing SEL and its evidence base can be adapted for a range of audiences, including district leaders and potential community partners or funders. SOURCE: CASEL |
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Social and Emotional Learning in the Daily Life of Classrooms Facilitator guide and materials for a 6 hour session aimed at state and district leaders, outlining ways to integrate an SEL emphasis into policy and planning, draw connections between SEL and instructional priorities, and support school leaders to guide teachers to reflect on their own teaching practices and SEL competencies. SOURCE: AIR |
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Restorative Practices: Day-Long Training to Deepen School Practice Sacramento City's interactive introduction to classroom-based restorative practices for a teacher audience, covering concepts of the social discipline window, fair process, affective language, restorative questions, and circles. SOURCE: Sacramento City Unified School District |
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See artifacts shared by districts and schools
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Integrating Equity and SEL: Classroom Visits and Look-Fors A Minnesota school district shares a set of learning experiences and classroom walk-through tools to develop a shared understanding of how SEL and equity initiatives intersect in classroom environments and instruction. SOURCE: ISD 197 - West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan Area Schools |
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Districts in Action – Promote SEL for Students This brief spotlights SEL leaders in California, Virginia, and Texas as they share their stories about how their approach to promoting SEL for students took shape and integrated with stakeholder needs related to inclusion, discipline, and tiered supports. SOURCE: CASEL |
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Student Voice Resources from Chicago Chicago Public Schools Department of Student Voice and Engagement shares resources for district schools to elevate student voice, learn from students, and build stronger student-adult partnerships. SOURCE: Chicago Public Schools |
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Practices of Promise: Youth Voice in Washoe County School District, Nevada This case example offers a glimpse into WCSD’s process of creating structures to elevate and listen to students, before and through the pandemic. SOURCE: CASEL |
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Fostering Mental Health and Wellness with Universal Social-Emotional and Behavioral Supports A concise document describing how SEL supports mental health and academic performance, featuring the work of CASEL partner the School District of Palm Beach county to develop a Tier 1 approach to SEL to support the mental health of all students and staff. Includes links to the resources and tools the district provided to all schools. SOURCE: School District of Palm Beach County |
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Peer Conferencing Class Teaches How to Resolve Conflict This article from the Chicago Public Schools blog describes a high school course where students learn to resolve conflict through restorative practices and provide an additional option for responding to disciplinary incidents. SOURCE: Chicago Public Schools |
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Metro Nashville Public Schools: Integrating Social, Emotional, and Academic Development (video) Part of Edutopia's larger feature on Nashville, this video provides an overview of the district's approach to supporting all schools to integrate SEL into school culture and instruction. SOURCE: Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools |
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A Restorative Approach to Discipline (video) From Chicago Public Schools' Office of Social and Emotional Learning, this video illustrates how restorative disciplinary practices have transformed school climate and relationships in 3 schools. SOURCE: Chicago Public Schools |
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Chicago Student Code of Conduct (video) This short video helps students and their families understand Chicago's student code of conduct and highlights the district's SEL-infused approach to student discipline. SOURCE: Chicago Public Schools |
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Marcus Garvey Elementary: Exemplary Supportive School Chicago Public Schools recognizes schools for systemic SEL implementation through a Supportive Schools Certification process. Marcus Garvey Elementary is one of the schools that has earned the highest certification level, and this video illustrates the ways SEL has been integrated into systems and practices. SOURCE: Chicago Public Schools |
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Chicago Public Schools Restorative Practices Guide and Toolkit A comprehensive mini-book that includes activities, lesson plans, and printable templates and tools to implement restorative practices, intended to be used along with other coaching and training. SOURCE: Chicago Public Schools |
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Calming Areas Overview and Ideas A Calming Area is a quiet area of the room equipped with soothing materials and furnishings to help a |
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Oakland’s Restorative Justice Implementation Guide This guide/workbook is designed for a Restorative Practices Facilitator to support their school to create an implementation plan to introduce restorative practices in 11 well-defined stages. SOURCE: Oakland Unified School District |
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Chicago Public Schools' Restorative Re-entry Toolkit outlines how schools can welcome and support students returning to school after a serious incident or extended absence. Includes conversation protocols, sample communications, and a template for an individualized re-entry plan. SOURCE: Chicago Public Schools |
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Chicago Public Schools' model for how social and emotional learning should be integrated into a multi-tiered system of supports for all students. SOURCE: Chicago Public Schools |
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Chicago Public Schools Student Voice Committees Student Voice Committees (SVCs) are designed to form crucial student-adult partnerships to help address the issues schools and students are facing. Through engaging students in the decision making process, SVCs seek to improve school culture and climate and develop youth leadership skills. SOURCE: Chicago Public Schools |
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Oakland's video on how SEL is integrated with and enhances academic learning. A teacher describes her class' morning routine, students share, and the teacher models reflection for the class. SOURCE: Oakland Unified School District |
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Teacher Interview: Why debrief at the end of an SEL lesson? (video) A teacher describes how she sets aside time for students to process and debrief a class activity in order so students recognize that they're developing social and emotional skills. SOURCE: Anchorage Public Schools |
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SEL In Action In A Classroom (Video) 5th grade students and their teacher speak about what SEL means to them and how it plays out in their classroom through everyday practices and interactions. SOURCE: Anchorage Public Schools |
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Nashville’s SEL Multi-Tiered Systems of Support 1 pager showing specific programs, supports, and interventions that support students at all 3 levels of MTSS. SOURCE: Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools |
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Oakland Academic Social Emotional Learning Guidance Document Oakland's guidance document for school leaders describes the district's mission, vision, and tools for measuring success and describes how SEL is part of instructional priorities and multi-tiered systems of support. SOURCE: Oakland Unified School District |
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Washoe’s Four Fundamentals: Beginning of the Year Shared Visioning for Staff Washoe County used this presentation to summarize the district vision (curriculum & instruction, inclusive practice, climate & engagement, and multi-tiered systems of support) and engage in a process of reflection and planning. Presenter notes included. SOURCE: Washoe County School District |
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Oakland’s Teacher Growth and Development System Oakland's teacher evaluation and growth framework includes goals around equity, classroom community, growth mindset, culturally responsive teaching, student collaboration/communication/& choice. SOURCE: Oakland Unified School District |
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Oakland’s Leadership Growth and Development System Principal Handbook Handbook detailing each dimension of the principal evaluation framework, with categories including "Leadership for Healthy Relationships and Culture" and "Leadership for Equity". SOURCE: Oakland Unified School District |
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Chicago Public Schools Student Code of Conduct Chicago's Student Code of Conduct was revised to place a greater emphasis on restorative practices, reduce the length of suspensions, eliminate suspension as an option for low-level behaviors and PreK-2nd grade students, and adjust terms to reduce racial bias and subjectivity. SOURCE: Chicago Public Schools |
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SPARK Approach to Positive School Climate Guide and toolkit for Sacramento's comprehensive school climate model which intertwines principles of restorative disciplinary practices, social and emotional learning, and PBIS. Includes details on school teaming and training. SOURCE: Sacramento City Unified School District |
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Washoe County’s Student Voice Homepage and Student Voice Toolkit Students practice and strengthen social and emotional skills through leadership opportunities. By elevating students as leaders, districts both benefit from student perspective and ingenuity and support their skill development. This website provides a great example of a district-level approach. SOURCE: Washoe County School District |
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10th grade Social Studies/SEL Lesson Plans Two American History lesson plans (WWI and Isolationism, Women's Suffrage, Harlem Renaissance) including all handouts, that include learning structures that strengthen SEL as well as explicit connections to SEL objectives. SOURCE: Cleveland Metropolitan School District |
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Oakland School Board Policy on SEL Policy stating that SEL underlies all district priorities in Oakland, and intent to implement SEL standards, change the mission statement, provide PD, adopt curricula, and measure SEL growth. SOURCE: Oakland Unified School District |
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Find resources to help you learn more on this topic
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The guide provides practical advice, curated resources, and action steps for school leaders to improve the student experience, calling out specific equity implications in every section to give these issues priority in planning. SOURCE: The Aspen Institute |
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Primer on the interconnections of social and emotional development and ambitious academic goals in achieving college and career readiness. Includes examples of how SEL is relevant in ELA, Math, and Science and recommendations for action. SOURCE: The Aspen Institute |
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A Case for School Connectedness Short article from Educational Leadership describing the impact of strong school connectedness on academic achievement, behavior, absenteeism, and school completion, as well as and practices that enhance it. SOURCE: Magazine/Newsletter |
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Suspending Chicago’s Students – Differences in Discipline Practices across Schools This report from the University of Chicago provides an example of how to analyze district discipline data to pinpoint factors that lead to inequity. SOURCE: University/Nonprofit Research Institution |
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Guiding Principles – A Resource Guide for Improving School Climate and Discipline These guiding principles from the U.S. Department of Education are organized around concepts of creating positive school climate, providing evidence-based supports, promoting social and emotional learning, providing training on positive engagement with students and equitable practices, and adopting an instructional approach to school discipline. SOURCE: United States DOE |
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TransformEd’s SEL Integration Approach for Classroom Educators (infographic) Transforming Education's SEL integration framework infographic offers guidance on how to integrate SEL into everyday classroom culture, curriculum, and activities. By focusing on six key components of this approach, educators can support students in developing stronger social-emotional skills in meaningful, transferable, and equitable ways. SOURCE: Transforming Education |
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School Climate Improvement: What do Teachers Believe, Need and Want? A research report from the National School Climate Center shows 90% of educators believe that a positive school climate is very important, and educators wanted tools and "roadmaps" for improving school climate. SOURCE: National School Climate Center |
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Encouraging Social and Emotional Learning: Next Steps for States This brief from the Learning Policy Institute provides recommendations for how state agencies can measure and promote SEL in their accountability and continuous improvement plans. SOURCE: Learning Policy Institute |
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Social and Emotional Skills for Life and Career: Policy Levers that Focus on the Whole Child This Policy Snapshot identifies 4 main categories of state and district policy considerations for integrating SEL and preparing teachers and administrators to focus on the whole child. SOURCE: AIR |
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Webinar: Looking at the Intersection of Student Agency and School Discipline Practices An in-depth discussion of the connections between student agency and school discipline from the Center for the Collaborative Classroom and Transforming Education. Presenters share ways schools can use student-centered disciplinary practices to cultivate social and emotional skills and empower student voice. SOURCE: Transforming Education |
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Restorative Practices: Fostering Healthy Relationships & Promoting Positive Discipline in Schools Definitions and demonstrations of the impact of restorative practices with guidance for implementing at the classroom and school level, sponsored by the NEA and AFT. SOURCE: University/Nonprofit Research Institution |
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Edutopia’s How Learning Happens Video Series Videos that combine the science of brain development and real examples of practices explicitly designed to integrate social & emotional skills in classrooms and schoolwide settings, including trauma-informed practices, co-developed class norms, Socratic circles, makerspaces, student-led conferences and more. SOURCE: Edutopia |
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Integrating Social and Emotional Learning and the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics A brief from the University of Texas Charles A. Dana Center outlines how the CCSS for Mathematical Practice and SEL are inextricably linked, and includes an appendix that crosswalks the standards with SEL competencies. SOURCE: University/Nonprofit Research Institution |
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Summary – The SEL 3 Signature Practices One-pager describing and providing examples of 3 signature practices that bring SEL experiences into any learning setting and build a foundation of safety, consistency, and belonging. SOURCE: CASEL |
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This research brief describes 10 teaching practices that promote SEL, and highlights how these practices are promoted in the CLASS, Danielson, and Marzano teaching frameworks. SOURCE: AIR |
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How to Integrate Social-Emotional Learning into Common Core Brief article describes how SEL goals are implicitly woven into the Common Core Standards, with several specific examples from math and ELA. Useful for teacher/administrator audiences. SOURCE: Magazine/Newsletter |
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