SEL Center

Center to Improve Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety

Centering Equity in Data-Based Decision-Making: Considerations and Recommendations for Leadership Teams

Centering Equity in Data-Based Decision-Making: Considerations and Recommendations for Leadership Teams

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Equity and whole person initiatives focused on social, emotional and behavioral health are a top priority for school communities. Creating equitable, safe and supportive conditions for learning and wellbeing through systems change and continuous improvement processes involves leadership teams using data to make decisions.

The focus of this guide is on supporting school, district, and state education leadership teams in centering equity in their data-using culture and data-based decision-making processes to redesign and transform systems for equitable health and learning. It includes specific companion dialogue guides to support teams in implementing practices and practical strategies to center equity in all of their work—including the ways in which they gather, analyze, and use data in their schoolwide whole-person work.

Strategic Communications to Support Whole Child Work at State Education Agencies: A Fireside Chat with Steve Canavero, Former Nevada Superintendent of Public Instruction

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Through the Transforming Kindergarten Collaborative, the Center hosted a fireside chat on strategic communications, featuring Steve Canavero, a former Nevada Superintendent of Public Instruction, discussing his own experiences conducting strategic communications to achieve state-level education goals.  

This discussion draws on guidance from the workbook Aligned and Coherent Communications to Serve the Whole Person, which walks users through a step-by-step process to set communications goals, define their audience, identify key messages and desired actions that they’d like their audiences to take, and develop tactics for effective communication. 

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Social and Emotional Learning: An Essential Foundation for Post-Secondary Persistence and Success

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As part of on–going technical assistance to grantees of federal TRIO programs, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education, Student Services division, offered a webinar focused on Social Emotional Learning (SEL). The webinar provided an overview of SEL, the importance of SEL and why the development of SEL skills is needed now more than ever for postsecondary persistence and success. The webinar also shared research and evidence–based best practices for social and emotional learning for high school students and adults. Lastly, the webinar provided links and connections to resources for information and assistance.

Advancing and Sustaining Student and Staff Wellbeing Initiatives: A Resource Guide for States

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Student and staff wellbeing is essential to a range of outcomes associated with school success, from academic attainment to positive school engagement and motivation. While many state education agencies have been implementing wellbeing initiatives for years, other states are now recognizing the need to amplify these efforts in an era of growing inequities and intensifying needs, exacerbated by the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Council of Chief State School Officers’ new resource, developed in partnership with WestEd, provides state leaders an overview of five actions necessary to establish lasting, effective student and staff wellbeing initiatives. For each action, the guide includes relevant context, suggested strategies, additional considerations and resources to help carry out the action.

Shifting School Safety Paradigms with Students at the Center: Perspectives from Students at Bard Early College New Orleans

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In this 17-minute video, students and their teacher from Bard Early College in New Orleans discuss school safety and how it can be reimagined to promote positive elements like interconnection, belonging, and student voice and agency.

The students participated in a pre-college course in Leadership and Social Justice that used the Reimagining School Safety Guide from the national Center for Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety as a required text. The guide defines school safety; what it is (and is not), who gets to define it, how it is achieved, and at what cost to students, educators, and the communities they come from.

Accompanying Resources: 

Printable Transcript

Guiding Principles and Best Practices in School Discipline to Support Students’ Social, Emotional, Behavioral, and Academic Needs

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In March of 2023, the U.S. Department of Education released Guiding Principles for Creating Safe, Inclusive, Supportive, and Fair School Climates for students and school staff, featuring specific recommendations for evidence-based practices that allow students to learn, grow, and be successful. To enhance state and local implementation of these guiding principles, a collaborative of technical assistance centers serving the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Safe and Supportive Schools developed a series of four fact sheets. The series describes best practices and approaches to help support and respond to students’ social, emotional, behavioral, and academic needs, including practices designed to reduce the use of exclusionary discipline in schools. Each fact sheet is tailored to a specific audience at the school or district level: school and district leaders, student support teams, educators and school-based staff, and families. The fact sheets also feature resources to help support stakeholders in this important work.

Creating and Sustaining Discipline Policies That Support Students’ Social, Emotional, Behavioral, and Academic Well-Being and Success: Strategies for School and District Leaders

This fact sheet discusses approaches to create effective, evidence-based school discipline policies with a focus on responsive rather than punishment-based discipline practices. The fact sheet includes steps and resources to help school administrators and leaders examine the rationale driving existing discipline policies and to include students and community members in the conversation to develop revised approaches.

Supporting Students’ Social, Emotional, Behavioral, and Academic Well-Being and Success: Strategies for Student and Teacher Support Teams

This fact sheet highlights the important role student support teams (SSTs) can play in developing and enacting effective supports for students and ensuring that teachers also have the skills and support needed. It describes key elements for creating high-quality SSTs, identifying students who need additional support, and implementing Tier 2 (Targeted) and Tier 3 (Intensive) practices and procedures.

Supporting Students’ Social, Emotional, Behavioral, and Academic Well-Being and Success: Strategies for Educators and School-Based Staff

This fact sheet discusses actions educators and school-based staff can take to support and respond to students’ social, emotional, and behavioral needs in classrooms or other instructional settings. It highlights several key evidence-based practices staff can implement to make immediate, impactful changes and provides supporting tools and resources.

Supporting Students’ Social, Emotional, Behavioral, and Academic Well-Being and Success: Strategies for Schools to Enhance Relationships With Families

This fact sheet illustrates ways to improve communication and collaboration between schools and families to support students’ needs. Strategies described include engaging families in decision-making processes around student supports, discipline, and school climate; providing family engagement training to all district and school leaders and educators; and establishing family engagement councils.

Other Supporting Resources

The U.S. Department of Education also recommends the following resources for more information on topics related to creating positive and safe learning environments.

U.S. Department of Education School Climate and Student Discipline Resources

This Web page provides resources to assist stakeholders in addressing students’ social, emotional, behavioral, and mental health needs; understanding and complying with Federal laws (including those that prohibit discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, or disability); and promoting welcoming, safe schools.

Dear Colleague Letter Calling for End to Corporal Punishment in Schools and Guiding Principles on School Discipline

On March 24, 2023, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona issued a Dear Colleague Letter to governors, chief state school officers, and school district and school leaders urging them to end corporal punishment practices in schools. Secretary Cardona advocated replacing corporal punishment with evidence-based practices, such as multi-tiered systems of support, that create safe and healthy school environments.

Guiding Principles for Creating Safe, Inclusive, Supportive, and Fair School Climates

This resource describes five guiding principles as well as suggested actions schools and school districts can take to create inclusive, safe, supportive, and fair learning environments. It also lists additional Federal resources that can support these efforts.

Webinar Miniseries on Supporting Students’ Social, Emotional, Behavioral, and Academic Well-Being and Success

This miniseries, part of the Lessons from the Field Webinar Series, is designed to enhance state and local implementation of the Guiding Principles for Creating Safe, Inclusive, Supportive, and Fair School Climates to ensure that all students have the opportunity to learn in environments that are safe, inclusive, supportive, and fair. It will include five events aligned with the Guiding Principles and recently released fact sheets:

  • Guiding Principles for Creating Safe, Inclusive, Supportive, and Fair School Climates
    August 9, 2023
  • Strategies for School and District Leaders
    August 23, 2023
  • Strategies for Schools to Enhance Relationships with Families
    September 20, 2023
  • Strategies for Educators and School-Based Staff
    October 4, 2023
  • Strategies for Student and Teacher Support Teams
    October 18, 2023

For more information, and to register, please visit https://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/miniseries-supporting-students-social-emotional-behavioral-and-academic-well-being-and-success.