Safety and connection are prerequisites for learning. As Chicago Public Schools transitions to remote learning during the coronavirus health crisis, intentionally creating a sense of stability, fostering cohesion and support with and among students, and integrating social emotional learning are essential components of creating a safe and supportive remote learning environment.
As much as possible, work with your students to find ways to establish and maintain predictable routines built on what was familiar to students in your classroom. This will help to bridge the gap from in-person to remote learning and provide a greater sense of stability in a time of upheaval across the globe. At the same time, approaching yourself and your students with compassion will allow everyone in your classroom community the flexibility needed to process, adjust, and access their own coping strategies and resilience through this difficult period.
This website provides guidance and resources for teachers to remotely integrate social emotional learning and attend to students’ and educators’ social and emotional needs. The site will be continually updated by the Chicago Public Schools Office of Social Emotional Learning.
Building a sense of community and connection through virtual platforms remains as critical to student success as it is in brick and mortar classrooms. Through deliberate and consistent virtual interactions, we can help students connect not only with their teachers, but also with one another.
Teaching SEL skills provides students with tools for adapting to a new way of learning and for coping with the stress of uncertainty and change. Find links to social and emotional learning curricula, programs, and additional resources that can be used by teachers and counselors.
As teachers and staff begin to remotely restore classroom connections, it’s important that we have a plan that honors our shared commitment to our students, families, communities, and each other. Find guidance on building community and re-establishing a sense of unity and solidarity with students as they re-entry classroom environments through remote learning.
Caregivers and family members can infuse social and emotional learning into their supports for students' at-home learning. Access online resources and strategies for developing children and adolescents' SEL skills at home.
Students may have questions or express concern about the coronavirus health crisis, the impact it has had on them or their loved ones, or its impact on their education. Students may share feelings of anxiety, depression Find resources on providing students with information, emotional support, and connections to additional SEL supports.
Teachers may encounter situations in which they need to respond to challenging student behaviors in the remote learning environment. Access guidance and resources for responding to such behaviors using supportive and restorative approaches to discipline.
In order to support students' remote learning during this time of transition and uncertainty, adults will need to draw on their own SEL skills and contribute to the collective well-being of their school teams. Find guidance and resources to care for your own social and emotional needs and those of your colleagues from your own home.
Professional learning opportunities to enhance your skills and practice during remote learning. Information on upcoming training sessions from OSEL and approved providers registered in the Learning Hub . Recorded webinars available for future reference.