Social-emotional learning

After a turbulent 2020-2021 school year, it is more important than ever that educators have feasible and effective options to support students’ foundational social-emotional skills. Prior studies have found that students who participate in social-emotional learning (SEL) programs improve their behavioral and academic functioning and reduce their challenging behaviors.1 When ...

Did you know? The recent influx of federal COVID-19 relief funds provides an opportunity to fund early childhood educational mental health supports and services! State agency leaders and early childhood educators can use infant and early childhood mental health consultation (IECMHC) to meet children’s social and emotional needs during and beyond ...

What strategies can educators use to facilitate safe and meaningful discussions on race, racial (in)justice and racism? This toolkit from Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance) offers specific strategies, as well as tips for managing student responses, in order to create a safe environment for difficult conversations. https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/spring-2015/toolkit-for-talking-about-racism-and-police-violence-with-students

As schools begin a post-pandemic transition, educators should consider how to strengthen the social, emotional, and behavioral supports for students. Three foundational components are important to keep at the forefront of efforts to support students, regardless of the learning environment…

We celebrated National School Social Worker week from March 7 – March 13, 2021 as part of Social Work Month. This school year provided unique challenges for school social workers (SSWs) as well as opportunities for innovation.

Due to COVID-19, educators have been tasked with finding new ways to continue teaching their students virtually with little time to prepare. In particular, since the start of the school closures, federal requirements for (IEP) compliance have changed

Spring 2020 school closures left teachers and district officials scrambling to restructure their classrooms with as few disruptions as possible. High school teachers faced the difficult task of trying to preserve their students’ motivation to finish strong and stay on track to graduate, despite the looming anxiety and uncertainty that ...

Teaching preschool is simultaneously joyous and challenging. Students differ widely in their temperaments and their experience sharing space and resources with peers. Although many children adapt quickly to a group care environment, for others it can be challenging. Some early educators can access related professional development or external specialists that ...

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we adapted strategies from the “Common trauma symptoms in students and helpful strategies for educators” handout to help educators address student’s social-emotional and mental health needs associated with trauma in virtual settings.

Measures taken to address the spread of COVID-19, from precautionary social distancing to shelter-in-place orders, have dramatically impacted children and their families. In addition to navigating their own stress during a period of uncertainty and change, parents are faced with addressing the questions and concerns of their children, many of ...