To Make SEL Stick, Align School And Out-of-school Time

FOCUS

To make SEL stick, align school and out-of-school time

By Suzanne Bouffard

Categories: Collaboration, Social & emotional learning

For 20 years, Prime Time Palm Beach County, a nonprofit organization in Florida, has supported local out-of-school time programs with professional learning, capacity building, and other resources. One of the organization’s most popular and longest-running professional learning offerings is called Bringing Yourself to Work, which helps out-of-school time practitioners develop self-awareness, understand and facilitate positive group dynamics, and strengthen their relationship-building strategies. Those are key social and emotional learning (SEL) skills that out-of-school time programs typically strive to foster in the young people they serve. Prime Time leaders believe you must foster the skills in adults first. As Katherine Gopie, the organization’s director of professional development, puts it, “Adults have to first understand what SEL is, then they have to embody it, then they can

Read the remaining content with membership access. Join or log in below to continue.

Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem.

References

CASEL. (2019). Social and emotional learning 3 signature practices playbook. Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. schoolguide.casel.org/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/SEL-3-Signature-Practices-Playbook-10.21.19.pdf

Durlak, J.A., Domitrovich, C.E., Weissberg, R.P., & Gullotta, T.P. (Eds.). (2015). Handbook of social and emotional learning: Research and practice. Guilford Press.

Jones, S., Bailey, R., Brush, K., & Kahn, J. (2018). Preparing for effective SEL implementation. Harvard Graduate School of Education Easel Lab. www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/Documents/Preparing-for-Effective-SEL-Implementation.pdf

Jones, S.M. & Bouffard, S.M. (2012). Social and emotional learning in schools: From programs to strategies and commentaries. Social Policy Report, 26(4), 1-33.

Jones, S.M. & Kahn, J. (2017). The evidence base for how we learn: Supporting students’ social, emotional, and academic development. Consensus Statements of Evidence from the Council of Distinguished Scientists. National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development. Aspen Institute. nationathope.org/wp-content/uploads/final_cds-evidence-base.pdf

Schwartz, H.L., Hamilton, L.S., Faxon-Mills, S., Gomez, C.J., Huguet, A., Jaycox, L.H., Leschitz, J.T., Tuma, A.P., Tosh, K., Whitaker, A.A., & Wrabel, S.L. (2020). Early lessons from schools and out-of-school time programs implementing social and emotional learning: Lessons from the Partnerships for Social and Emotional Learning Initiative (Volume 1: Technical Appendix) [Research Report RR-A379-1]. RAND Corporation.

Sparks, S. (2021, March 31). Data: What we know about student mental health and the pandemic. Education Week. www.edweek.org/leadership/data-what-we-know-about-student-mental-health-and-the-pandemic/2021/03

Suzanne Bouffard

Senior Vice President, Communications & Publications | + posts

Suzanne Bouffard is senior vice president of communications and publications at Learning Forward. She is the editor of The Learning Professional, Learning Forward’s flagship publication. She also contributes to the Learning Forward blog and webinars. With a background in child development, she has a passion for making research and best practices accessible to educators, policymakers, and families. She has written for many national publications including The New York Times and the Atlantic, and previously worked as a writer and researcher at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Duke University and a B.A. from Wesleyan University. She loves working with authors to help them develop their ideas and voices for publication.