Research demonstrates that human development and student learning are highly dependent on interpersonal relationships and positive learning environments (Eccles et al., 1993). However, school improvement efforts often focus on students' mastery of academic skills with much less emphasis on students' social and emotional skills, which are integral to human development and are a contributing factor to school culture. Human development is a continuous process from birth throughout adulthood and contains multiple domains of development, including cognitive, social, and emotional domains. It is thus important to create learner expectations that (1) reflect the way that learners develop their skills and competencies across age bands; (2) are strengthened and built upon so that learning is supported systematically over time; (3) complement the multiple domains of development; (4) honor and value the culture of all learners; and (5) recognize that the use and application of skills and competencies are dependent upon context. The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) collaborated with the Great Lakes Comprehensive Center (GLCC) and the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders (GTL Center) to develop this Guide. It is intended to support administrators, school leadership teams, and educators (e.g., early childhood educators, caregivers, teachers, support staff, and afterschool educators) in the implementation and integration of the Michigan's Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Competencies into the structure and daily routines of their schools. The Guide reinforces and extends the belief that students' development of social and emotional competencies is something educators already focus on, demonstrating that SEL is not "one more thing," but rather a part of daily practice. This Guide provides activities, tools and resources to promote competency development and demonstrates explicit connections to MDE's School Improvement Framework (SIF) so that schools and educators can leverage both initiatives to advance learner knowledge and skills. Seven appendices are included. [Great Lakes Comprehensive Center at American Institutes for Research contributed to the report.]