Presented by Josh King, Third-Grade Teacher, Independence Elementary School (CA); John Burnett, Middle School Counselor, Spring Branch ISD (TX); and Jessie Stone Fox, M.Ed., Sr. Director, K12 Community Engagement, EVERFI
Presented by Amy Walker, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Committee for Children; and Tara Shelton, School Climate Coordinator, Atlanta Public Schools (GA)
Presented by Laura Wendelin, Senior Program Manager, Move This World; and Hollie Panchik, Program Manager, Move This World
Presented by Dr. Samina Hadi-Tabassum, Clinical Associate Professor, Erikson Institute; Lisa McManus, US Partnership and Program Manager, Worldreader; and Kristen Walter, US Director of Programs, Worldreader
While school leaders are increasingly recognizing the need to integrate social-emotional learning into the school day, they’re still getting pushback from teachers and sometimes the community. With teachers already responsible for fitting many skills into a brief period of time, adding SEL doesn’t seem possible.
Over the past two years, America’s children have experienced historic challenges due to the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. For children entering second grade this academic year, it is highly likely that it was their first time in school as they spent kindergarten and first grade learning via Zoom.
For years, educators were talking about social-emotional learning (SEL) and how to boost students’ skills. But after the lockdown and a year out of the classroom, SEL has become the favorite buzzword outside of school walls. SEL isn’t mental health services for students or a one-time fix to help with learning loss, though.
