How can districts weave social and emotional learning throughout their work to foster a systemwide culture of connection and trust? This was a key question for district leaders of Atlanta Public Schools (APS), which serves 87 schools and 52,000 students. When a districtwide cheating scandal in 2011 was uncovered, it may have been the expected…

The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) has been a leader in the field of social and emotional learning (SEL) for over two decades. CASEL collaborates with thought leaders to equip educators, policymakers, and researchers with the knowledge and resources to make evidence-based SEL an integral part of equitable…

At the start of the unprecedented 2020-2021 school year, many schools prioritized or re-prioritized social and emotional learning (SEL) to foster the competencies and learning environments that students and adults need to reunite, renew, and thrive. Entering the second half of the school year, many students will make new transitions -- from…

This brief offers a case study focused on Guilford County Schools (GCS), a public school district in North Carolina, to illuminate the role of continuous improvement through a "research-practice partnership" (RPP). RPPs offer a unique collaborative experience with a dual benefit: practitioners get the chance to collaborate in research…

An important way for young people to practice social and emotional learning (SEL) is by sharing their perspectives, leading discussions, and contributing to decision-making. By listening closely to students' perspectives, educators better understand students' strengths and needs, build stronger relationships with them, and can offer more…

As school systems across the country continue to wrestle with persistent inequities in students' opportunities and outcomes, they are exploring how SEL [Social and Emotional Learning] can be used as a lever to advance equity. They are asking questions such as: How can we help individuals, groups, and institutions examine and interrupt inequitable…

The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) has produced a five-brief series documenting insights from their efforts to understand how educators and researchers can build relationships that support a shared action research agenda around social and emotional learning (SEL). It shares the perspectives of researchers and…

This brief is one in a five-part series in which the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) documents insights from their efforts to understand how educators and researchers can build relationships that support a shared action research agenda around social and emotional learning (SEL). CASEL has developed three theories…

Since the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) started working with state education agencies in 2003, the level of activity to advance social and emotional learning (SEL) has accelerated significantly, particularly in the past few years. State education leaders and policymakers are taking numerous steps to help…

Since the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) launched the Collaborating States Initiative (CSI) to support social and emotional learning (SEL) in 2016, participation has grown dramatically. CASEL initially planned to work with five states. In the past two years, the CSI team and its partners have worked with 25,…

Since the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) launched the Collaborating States Initiative (CSI) to support social and emotional learning (SEL) in 2016, participation has grown dramatically. CASEL initially planned to work with five states. In the past two years, the CSI team and its partners have worked with 25,…

The purpose of the Collaborating States Initiative (CSI) is to help state education agencies (SEAs) create statewide conditions that facilitate and encourage implementation of evidence-based approaches to social and emotional learning (SEL) in schools and districts. Because each state is unique, state teams must develop their own customized plans…

Six years ago the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) took the unprecedented step of launching an effort to study and scale high-quality, evidence-based academic, social, and emotional learning in eight of the largest and most complex school systems in the country: Anchorage, Austin, Chicago, Cleveland, Nashville,…

Developing and articulating clear goals for student social and emotional learning (SEL) involves a number of important steps. This document focuses specifically on the articulation of learning goals (sometimes called "competencies" or "standards" in state and district policy) and suggests a process for those state teams that…