IMPLEMENTation
All Learning is Social and Emotional!
A schoolwide approach embeds and infuses SEL into every aspect of students’ learning—across all classrooms, during all parts of the school day (and after school), among administrators, teachers, and staff, and in partnership with families and the
community. When fully implemented, schoolwide SEL creates an equitable learning environment
where all students can learn, thrive, and experience joy.
Implementing SEL in our schools and classrooms is standards-based, and addresses three essential areas—climate and culture, explicit SEL instruction, and integration with academics.
3 Legs of SEL
Three essential areas for high-quality SEL implementation:
A supportive classroom environment
Explicit SEL instruction
Integration of SEL into academic instruction
Adult SEL Resources
The Adult SEL Resources include:
Critical Practices
Reflection Tool
Strengthening Practices
OUSD SEL
Welcoming inclusion activities/routines, engaging strategies and brain breaks, and optimistic closures are three signature practices that help integrate SEL skills and competencies into the day- and after-school learning environments, adult workspaces, and professional learning engagements. When intentionally used, the practices contribute to promoting community-building, a strong sense of belonging, and deeper engagement.
OUSD preK-Adult SEL Standards
OUSD's preK-adult SEL Standards are equity-centered and based upon CASEL’s integrated framework that promotes intrapersonal, interpersonal, and cognitive competence.
Creating a Class Contract with Students Leading the Way
Allison Grill, 3rd Grade, Emerson Elementary
When it comes to classroom agreements or norms, teachers often find themselves playing the role of being the enforcer or compliance officer. How can students hold themselves and their peers accountable. How can a teacher make classroom agreements stick?
One approach is to honor and empower student voice. Allison worked with her 3rd graders to create a class contract:
Day One—Students worked in groups to come up with a list of feeling words to describe how they want to feel at school. The class then created a big list of all the words, voted and discussed until the list was pared down to 6 feeling words.
Day Two—The student groups generated a list of actions each student should do to make sure that everyone will feel the 6 feeling words. "This was a little harder, but we had some good conversations as a class. We voted and then pared down the list again," commented Allison.
Day Three—Each student signs the contract and it's on the classroom wall for the rest of the school year.
I know a lot of classes do a version of this, but I really liked the connection between if we want to feel a certain way, what do we have to do?
