Ready to Add an SEL-Enriched Program to Your School?

Social-emotional learning isn’t an entirely novel practice for most schools and educators. Many passionate instructors aim to prepare children to be responsible, productive, caring, and engaged as they teach traditional curricula. However, as schools focus more on standardized assessments and work within the parameters of district standards, it can be difficult for educators to fully incorporate the foundations of effective SEL programming into their existing curriculum. 

With the development of CASEL (the Collaborative to Advance Social and Emotional Learning) in 1994, guidelines were developed to help educators advocate and champion the work, support, and resources required to establish SEL in their own schools. For most schools, SEL is an essential part of education, especially in our post-COVID climate. As students integrate back into classrooms after several years of remote and hybrid learning, students need school programming that cultivates social and emotional competence to ensure their success for the rest of their educational careers.

One of the most popular ways schools can bring SEL to the classroom is by leveraging partners specializing in this programming. Educators are one of the most valuable and under-sourced resources in a school. They are often times at capacity managing standard curriculum that it becomes difficult for them to also manage and facilitate a specific SEL curriculum and the classes that come with that. This is where a strong SEL partner comes into play. Schools have the opportunity to build partnerships with outside vendors who can enhance their year-long programming and, in some cases, educate their on-staff educators to elevate SEL objectives for all students. 

If you’re ready to bring SEL programming to your school this year, here are a few considerations to keep in mind during your consideration process.

Why is CASEL’s SEL framework important?

CASEL’s framework addresses five broad and interrelated areas of competence that fulfill SEL instruction. These include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. These areas can be taught and applied at various developmental stages from childhood to adulthood across diverse cultural contexts. 

Effective SEL curriculum should be designed to reflect students’ social, emotional, and cognitive development levels and include age-appropriate tasks and challenges. This approach informs the design of SEL standards, instruction, and assessment. 

What should I look for in an SEL partner?

A strong SEL partner will have programming developed around CASEL’s standards. These guidelines are the gold standard for what schools and educators can expect from the right programming partner. It also makes it easier for administrators to measure these outcomes through student and educator assessments. Measurable outcomes from programming can help schools make the case to keep SEL programming beyond a single-year engagement.

Working with an SEL partner is a long-term commitment, especially if you want to see measurable outcomes from your students. SEL is difficult to realize with few or limited touchpoints with your students. You should incorporate SEL curriculum into year-long planning to help your students develop the skills and build healthy relationships that foster their social-emotional development.

Is my school ready for SEL programming?

Selecting the right SEL programming partner will determine on the needs of your school and students. Other factors to remember are budget and resources on hand to support this partner. Fortunately, there are federal grants available for schools that want to incorporate SEL programming in their schools.

Here are a few other things to consider: 

• Do you have support from your staff and admins to support an SEL partner?
  Working with an SEL partner requires true partnership and transparent communication. As a vendor that comes into your classrooms a few times a week, it’s important they are kept in the loop with the changes happening in your school and with your students. Their success is dependent on the relationship you have with them. A strong relationship with an SEL programming provider will also enable them to tailor the programming to your students’ specific needs. If you have certain age groups, guidelines, or reservations, the right partner can work closely to bespoke their programming to your needs. 

• Do you have the right resources (space, supplies, materials) to support an SEL partner?
  The cost to bring on an SEL partner may vary, but you want to ensure you have the right resources within your school to support them. This can include classroom space and materials for students. Some SEL partners will bring their own supplies and equipment to facilitate their curriculum. You’ll want to identify this early on to ensure you’re aligned or can acquire the means necessary for a successful program.

• What are the needs of your students?
  This is the most important consideration when selecting an SEL partner. SEL partners have specific methods and approaches to how they fulfill CASEL’s standards. It’s important to understand the social-emotional needs of your students. Some things to consider are if they need trauma-informed instruction, adaptive experiences for special needs, or multilingual support to ensure the best outcomes for your students. Don’t be afraid to ask the providers you’re considering - they should be able to answer these questions for you or point you in the right direction. 

How to get started with SEL programming? 

• Get your educators onboard
  Ensure that your educators and staff are involved in the process. It’s important for them to understand what a potential SEL programming partner can provide and, if possible, meet with their provider’s team to ensure a culture fit. Your educators are a big part of championing the need of your students and sharing this with SEL partners. Strong collaboration between your educators and providers can create integrated programming supporting other areas of your students’ education. 

• Start small
  It is important to ensure that the programming you select is a year-long engagement, but you may only choose to do one type of program for each age group in your school rather than provide varying options. Starting small allows you to build a routine with a provider and measure the outcomes of those initiatives. 

• Be patient
  The outcomes of SEL programming take time and consistency. The core of any SEL programming is relationship building, especially the relationships between students and SEL educators. These relationships aren’t cultivated overnight, so it’s important to have patience and provide the space for these outcomes to come to fruition.

Want to learn more about the outcomes of SEL programming? Check out our blog post here. 

How can The Brainchild Collective help your school with SEL?

The Brainchild Collective is a team of experienced educators and social-emotional learning experts who can help you implement an effective SEL program in your school. We have a proven track record of success, and we can work with you to create a program that is tailored to the needs of your school and your students.

Our approach to success depends on the deep relationships we build with schools, admins, educators, and students. We are focused on making it easy for schools to plan, implement, and evaluate the progress of their SEL programming. We are intentionally responsive, flexible, and experienced to ensure that each school’s needs are met.

If you’re ready to get started with an SEL program this year, contact us today.