Spotlight on Indiana: Updating SEL Competencies with an Equity Lens
In October 2020, CISELSS was invited by the Region 8 Comprehensive Center and the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) to participate in a series of stakeholder meetings to update Indiana’s SEL competencies. IDOE developed its PK-12 competencies and indicators in 2018, but following the renewed nationwide energy around social justice and human rights, IDOE leaders realized that they could be more explicit about how SEL can advance educational equity.
The stakeholder group — consisting of teachers, local subject matter experts, other school personnel, and community members — was convened to center the voices of the people most intimately involved in school communities. The purpose of the group was to provide suggestions for revisions of SEL competencies and indicators to reflect a greater focus on educational equity and cultural responsiveness.
A draft of the updated competencies was shared at Indiana’s Whole Child Summit on February 2021, with a request for additional feedback from those in attendance. Next, IDOE will be sharing the updated competencies with Indiana’s first-ever Equity and Inclusion Officer, and then release the final version publicly thereafter.
With the CISELSS peer-to-peer collaborative, the Indiana team will continue on with their strategic communications focus, highlighting these updated SEL competencies as a key initiative for communicating with both internal and external stakeholders.
