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

Austin’s MAPS Course for Freshmen (video)

MAPS (Methods for Academic and Personal Success) is a credit-bearing course for freshmen at Austin High School and other district high schools to support the transition into high school by teaching students how to organize for success, manage their emotions, resolve conflicts, build and maintain positive relationships, and other critical social and emotional learning and student success skills.

TAGS advisory/homeroom high school grades college and career readiness

SEL Inventory – Elementary Interview

This interview protocol was used by evaluators at elementary school sites in Sacramento City to gather baseline data on the implementation of SEL programs and practices. Includes handouts that were provided to interviewees.

TAGS assessment evidence-based programs school visit/observation tool elementary school grades data dashboards conducting local SEL research implementation monitoring implementation evaluation

Enacting Social-Emotional Learning: Lessons from “Outlier Schools” in California’s CORE Districts

This research brief looks at the commonalities among California middle schools that reported stronger-than-typical social emotional learning outcomes. These 6 characteristics are elaborated into recommendations for school districts supporting SEL at scale.

TAGS model SEL schools implementation plan restorative practices advisory/homeroom community relations instructional practices culture and climate building community out of school student discipline

Funding Case Study: Washoe County School District

CASEL's case study of Washoe Country describes funding sources for their SEL work, budget strategies that other districts can apply, and graphs of SEL expenditures (mid-sized budget).

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

The Case for PreSchool through High School State Learning Standards for SEL

Chapter providing a research review about the importance of state SEL standards for all grade levels, components of high quality standards, examples from states, and areas of overlap with other standards.

TAGS school board SEL standards board policies research brief PK-12 integrate with district priorities building buy-in for SEL

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.

TAGS school board SEL standards board policies assessment college and career readiness culture and climate professional learning integrate with district priorities SEL leadership

The Impact of Enhancing Students’ Social Emotional Learning: A Meta-Analysis of School-Based Universal Interventions

Meta-analysis showing that compared to controls, participants in school-based SEL programs demonstrated improved skills and an 11 percentile point gain in achievement.

TAGS journal article reading lists - staff SEL competence evidence-based programs district SEL expertise building buy-in for SEL

Webinar: The Role of Family and Community Partnerships in School-based Social and Emotional Learning Programs

Includes findings from the Social and Emotional Learning Interventions Under the ESSA: Evidence Review, focusing specifically on what the review found related to family and community engagement, and a presentation from a district administrator. Hosted by REL Northeast & Islands

TAGS family partnerships community partnerships SEL partnerships parent leadership evidence-based programs community relations out of school family and community engagement

SEL Partnership between Denver Public Schools and the Denver After-school Alliance

2 page flyer summarizing the plan for infusing evidence-based SEL throughout all grade levels in schools, afterschool, and in summer programs throughout Denver.

TAGS community partnerships SEL partnerships SEL overview out of school family and community engagement