Process

Although SEL expertise is important for a variety of central office leaders and staff, not all will need the same level of expertise. Before you begin planning engagement focused on SEL, think about the levels of engagement necessary for different groups of district staff.

You can use or adapt this Central Office Expertise Development Plan template as a starting point for mapping out who to engage and the level of expertise needed. Here is an example of Austin’s plan to develop SEL expertise, with differentiated learning plans for staff who are deeply, moderately, and least involved in strategic support for SEL implementation.

You’ll want to ensure you’ve planned professional learning that reaches leaders and staff from all departments, including foundational professional learning for all new staff. To further strengthen expertise, plan to convene SEL learning communities among central office staff.

There is a range of approaches you may choose to take when designing professional learning to meet the needs of the various groups you identified in Step 1. Reference the planning template and collection of resources as you prepare learning experiences for each group:

• Plan SEL Foundational Learning for your School District
• Strategies and Resources to Support Central Office Expertise
• An Introduction to Social and Emotional Learning – this free one-hour course can be taken individually online or facilitated with a small group. It includes videos, application activities, and discussion guides to follow up the initial learning experience.

If you plan to differentiate learning materials by student age to support the learning of leaders who focus on specific grade levels, reference this curated set of articles and videos organized by elementary, middle, and high school levels.

To ensure your professional learning program is strengthening central office expertise, you’ll want to regularly monitor how well central office staff understand their role in integrating SEL into their area of work and are able to speak clearly about the value of SEL. You may want to administer surveys or conduct interviews to help you collect this information.

Also consider whether key district leaders:

• Advocate for SEL even when dedicated SEL staff aren’t present.
• Can explain the impact and value of SEL to any audience.
• Can explain how SEL supports district priorities, equity, academic standards, and quality instructional practices.
• Ask questions about and provide ideas for integrating SEL into their work.

Use this information to differentiate engagement strategies, highlight the voices of the strongest SEL advocates, focus efforts on new leaders and groups who are less conversant about SEL, and improve engagement strategies that have not been effective.

As the district landscape changes, new leadership, strategies, and opportunities will call for renewed efforts to ensure SEL remains a priority among district leaders.

• Integrate SEL into conversations with funders, government officials, board members, and other potential supporters.
• Provide leaders with detailed statistics on implementation and metrics on student SEL outcomes in your district.
• Re-engage all leaders in advance of budgetary or strategic planning to keep SEL on the radar.
• Invite leaders to see SEL in action in your district or a district with more advanced implementation.
• Engage new leaders as they join the district or take on new roles.
• Report to the board of education about the district’s progress and impact of SEL implementation at least once annually.