Social & Emotional Learning

What is SEL?

SEL, or social and emotional learning, is the process of acquiring and applying skills and attitudes that help us develop healthy identities, manage our emotions, achieve personal and collective goals, show empathy for others, build supportive relationships, and make responsible decisions. It promotes equity and excellence in education by fostering partnerships between schools, families, and communities to create learning environments that prioritize trust, collaboration, rigorous curriculum, and ongoing evaluation. SEL empowers individuals to contribute to thriving schools and create safe, healthy, and fair communities.

Students participating in SEL programs showed improved classroom behavior, an increased ability to manage stress and depression, and better attitudes about themselves, others, and school.

What SEL is not

We do not discuss societal issues that do not affect our daily lives. SEL curriculum promotes mental, social, and emotional development without introducing students to topics that may be inappropriate or that do not align to your family values. The best SEL curriculum is student-centered, interactive, and relies on the experiences, ideas, and input from students themselves.
We do not learn static definitions of emotions. Even as adults, what “happiness” feels like to one person may be different than how it feels to another. To help students understand their emotions, we invite them to explore how those emotions feel to them. We do not teach them rigid, static definitions that they must copy.
We do not define emotions as “good” or “bad.” We do not believe in forcing children to adopt a particular set of values, and so the best SEL curriculum does not prefer certain emotions over others. We want to help students be confident, capable learners, not teach them how they “should” or “should not” feel about certain things.

Self Awareness

Self awareness is the ability to understand one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts. This includes identifying one’s emotions, being honest, building confidence, having a growth mindset, and developing new interests.

Strategies to Increase Self Awareness

1. Role-play scenarios where your child can practice identifying and responding to different emotions

2. Create opportunities for your child to lead or take on responsibilities that align with their strengths, boosting their confidence and sense of self-worth.

Self Managment

Self-management is the ability to manage one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations and to achieve goals and aspirations. This includes the capacities to delay gratification, manage stress, and feel motivation to accomplish personal and collective goals.

Strategies to Increase Self Management

1. Encourage your child to set specific, achievable goals for themselves. Teach them how to break down larger goals into smaller, manageable tasks and to track their progress regularly.

2. Introduce your child to tools and techniques for effective time management, such as creating to-do lists, prioritizing tasks, and using calendars or planners to schedule activities and deadlines. that align with their strengths, boosting their confidence and sense of self-worth.

Responsible Decision Making

Responsible decision making is the ability to make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions across diverse situations.

Strategies to Increase Responsible Decision Making

Provide ongoing feedback and support to help your child improve their problem-solving skills.
Provide guiding questions or prompts to help your child reflect, helping them dive deeper into their thoughts and experiences.
Help your child identify resources and supports that can be helpful in times of need.

Relationship Skills

Relationship skills: The abilities to establish and maintain healthy and supportive relationships and to effectively navigate settings with diverse individuals and groups.

Strategies to Increase Relationship Skills

Clearly communicate your needs and goals, and actively listen to others. This can help build trust and understanding, and avoid misunderstandings.
Resolving conflicts constructively
Seeking or offering support and help when needed

Social Awareness

Social awareness: The abilities to understand the perspectives of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts.

Strategies to Increase Social Awareness Skills

Encouraging empathy and understanding of others’ feelings helps children develop compassion and kindness.
Setting clear expectations for respectful behavior at home reinforces the importance of social awareness.
Promoting diversity and cultural awareness helps children appreciate and respect different cultures and backgrounds.

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