Social-Emotional Learning: The Missing Piece

Communicator
February 2018, Volume 41, Issue 6

Social-emotional learning (SEL) is critical to student success in school, work, and life. However, many schools struggle with making it a key component of the schooling experience. NAESP’s recent #WebinarWednesday addressed ways schools discover the missing pieces that many students need to achieve school and life success. The webinar, “Social-Emotional Learning: The Missing Piece,” featured internationally known psychologist and New York Times best-selling author, Daniel Goleman.

Principals play an important role in school culture establishing as well as implementing and encouraging a quality social-emotional learning program. Here is a quick checklist to help assess or jumpstart a quality social-emotional learning program at your school.

  • Support teacher training. Provide training to teachers so they feel comfortable managing and implementing SEL curriculum.
  • Examine your leadership style. Ensure that you are setting the tone that inspires a culture change in order for staff and students to support/understand social emotional learning.
  • Build relationship skills by modeling empathy. Encourage the staff to display empathy by making it a part of the school day, to help students identify and embody it.
  • Use research-based recommendations. The CASEL guide gives principals guidelines to help choose the best quality SEL program.

Download the presentation or view the full webinar here. This webinar is in part of NAESP’s Webinar Wednesday series each month.

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