SEL Toolkit for School Boards

A quick guide for school board members to help ground SEL conversations in the best interests of students and families, including tools to dispel misinformation with facts and data, then take action to support the social, emotional, and academic learning of every child.

TAGS school board board policies community relations

Classroom SEL Message Map

This example comes from a school division in southeastern Virginia. These key messages and supporting points can be used by classroom teachers to describe how and why they integrate SEL into their classroom, or can be shared as a summary with classroom teachers as the basis for staff discussion.

TAGS teacher tool communications family and community engagement

Reflecting on Equity-Centered SEL Leadership Practices

Use this tool as a personal reflection on your leadership habits. These prompts are intended to spark your curiosity about your current practices and how you can be intentional about developing equity-centered leadership skills.

TAGS equity SEL leadership

Monthly Newsletter – SEL, Restorative Practices and more

Grand Rapids Public Schools' Department of Social and Emotional Learning sends a monthly newsletter to all schools and administrators to share information, spotlight schools and educators, and strengthen interest in and prioritization of SEL.

TAGS communications

Funding Case Study: Chicago Public Schools

CASEL's case study of Chicago describes funding sources for their SEL work, budget strategies that other districts can apply, and graphs of SEL expenditures (large budget).

TAGS budgeting implementation support district organizational charts SEL partnerships fundraising human and financial resource alignment

Supporting Social-Emotional Learning With Evidence-Based Programs

Annie E. Casey Foundation guide for funding evidence-based SEL programs, for district administrators, funding partners, and providers. Includes real examples/ strategies for funding, implementing, and sustaining.

TAGS budgeting implementation support SEL partnerships fundraising implementation plan evidence-based programs SEL leadership

Washoe County Student Data Summits

Washoe's Student-led Data Symposiums bring high interest district data to students for analysis, problem-solving, and taking action. The 2016 event covered school climate & SEL, poverty, and CTE programs.

TAGS student assessment SEL partnerships student leadership data dashboards conducting local SEL research continuous improvement youth voice

Social and Emotional Learning, Explained (video)

Education Week staff writer Evie Blad briefly and humorously explains some of the core ideas of SEL, how districts approach implementation, and the challenge of measuring SEL -- a simple and neutral video summary for district stakeholders beginning to think about SEL implementation.

What is Social and Emotional Learning? (video)

From CASEL and school district leadership, this video conceptualizes social and emotional learning and describes what it looks, feels and sounds like in educational spaces.

TAGS videos SEL overview building buy-in for SEL SEL leadership

The Impact of Social and Emotional Learning (video)

The research is clear: SEL is essential for academic and life success. In this video, district and CASEL leadership highlight data that demonstrates improvements in attendance, drop out rates, suspensions, expulsions, and academic growth.

TAGS videos define SEL metrics continuous improvement building buy-in for SEL