Staff SEL modeling threads

Schools that want students to learn social and emotional skills are being told to start with the adults first, not with a student lesson plan. (casel.org) The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning says schools should build “a supportive staff environment” that strengthens adults’ own social and emotional competence and capacity alongside student work. Its School Guide says staff should model those skills with each other and use shared agreements about communication, meetings, and accountability. (casel.org 1) (casel.org 2) That advice mirrors a recent CASEL review of adult social and emotional learning approaches, which said many practitioners and program providers treat adult support as a precursor to student social and emotional learning implementation. The same report said adults need support to “deliver, model, and embed” social and emotional learning in schools. (casel.org 1) (casel.org 2) The basic idea is simple: students do not learn relationship skills, self-management, or responsible decision-making only from a curriculum. CASEL and the Learning Policy Institute both say school climate, staff relationships, and day-to-day adult behavior shape whether those skills take hold. (casel.org) (learningpolicyinstitute.org) Research cited across the field ties that adult side of the work to teacher stress and classroom conditions. A 2012 study indexed by ERIC found that teachers’ perceptions of school climate and social-emotional learning were linked to stress, teaching efficacy, and job satisfaction, and a 2017 review said teachers’ own social-emotional competence and wellbeing strongly influence students. (eric.ed.gov 1) (eric.ed.gov 2) CASEL’s more recent roundup of studies said teacher well-being and emotional regulation are foundational for supportive classroom climates and student engagement. Its School Guide also recommends concrete staff-first steps, including one- to three-hour sessions to create shared agreements and routines for how adults communicate and work together. (casel.org) (casel.org) The rollout CASEL describes is meant to scale through existing school structures, not just one-off workshops. Its district resource center says districtwide social and emotional learning works better when systems also cultivate adults’ social and emotional and cultural competence, and its public site now offers a six-part self-paced adult learning series for educators. (casel.org) (casel.org) The push comes as schools continue to look for ways to improve climate without adding separate programs to an already crowded day. Learning Policy Institute says well-implemented social and emotional learning is associated with better mental wellness, behavior, test scores, and graduation outcomes, but also says schools and educators need system support to implement it well. (learningpolicyinstitute.org) (learningpolicyinstitute.org) The through line in the current guidance is that adults are not just delivering social and emotional learning; they are part of the lesson students see every day. CASEL’s framing is that if schools want students to practice those competencies consistently, staff have to practice them first. (casel.org) (casel.org)