98
%
of school principals surveyed in a 2017 research study believe that their students would benefit from being taught social and emotional skills.
Introducing SEL Social and Emotional Learning at Valley School by Carole Wright THE WORLD CHANGES RAPIDLY around our children and families. At Valley School, we recognize that our role as educators must also change as we strive to improve our capacity to support the community we serve. We know that children need classroom instruction and guidance that cultivates relationship-building, self-awareness, and resilience. In response to the needs of our students and families, Valley School is embarking on a journey to implement a comprehensive Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) program for our entire community. SEL is a pedagogical framework through which children and adults learn to recognize and manage emotions, care about one other, make good decisions, behave ethically and responsibly, develop positive relationships, and avoid negative behavior patterns. Thanks to a generous grant from the Ligonier Valley Endowment, Valley School faculty and staff will introduce and pilot customized SEL in the upcoming school year. Long-term nationwide research demonstrates that when SEL is purposefully implemented in a comprehensive and integrated way, positive outcomes include improved school attitude, behavior, academic performance, and confidence. SEL is not a stand-alone program, but a philosophy that is integrated within a community and woven into the fabric of a vast array of learning experiences. Thus, Valley School’s SEL will include direct classroom instruction, activities, community events, parent programming, professional development for teachers, and unique experiential learning opportunities for students. Programs addressing SEL include developmentally and culturally appropriate instruction for learning and applying constructive emotion-management skills in everyday situations.
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Students emerge from their school years with varying interests and broad aspirations. The request from employers across professional disciplines is that young people be prepared to work in teams, think creatively, communicate effectively, advocate for their ideas, and respectfully participate as members of a diverse community. The implementation of SEL at Valley School will prepare our students holistically for their careers and lives. We recognize that accomplishing this requires us to invest in the education and development of families and community partners, too. Therefore, Valley School’s SEL will have a scope that extends through every portion of our learning community. Valley School will begin to implement SEL in the 2019-2020 school year, and will expand upon those foundations in 20202021. One of the most attractive features of SEL is its evidencebased approach. In keeping with SEL’s insistence on critical self-reflection and analysis, Valley School will be rigorous when evaluating the efficacy of this new program. We will conduct student and parent assessments, as well as systematic reviews of the created curriculum (including cross-referencing to current research), to gauge our community’s experience, determine the success of the SEL initiatives, and identify new and relevant topics for inclusion. We are thrilled to provide our school community with this truly holistic educational opportunity. You can expect to hear more about our plans over the course of the coming months. In the meantime, to learn more about SEL, the research that supports it, and how it is implemented in schools around the world, please visit the CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) website at www.casel.org.
