What Policies and Conditions Support SEL and Academic Integration?

Key Takeaways from Igniting Lifelong Learning Webinar Series, Part 3

Key Points:

• A broad range of federal, state, and local policies can and do support SEL and academic integration.
• Close alignment between state-level policy and district-level implementation can drive fidelity of implementation and strong student outcomes.
• To translate policy into practice, our experts recommend providing professional learning, coaching, resources, and an asset-based approach (highlight what educators are already doing to support SEL and then build on it).

Our three-part webinar series, Igniting Lifelong Learning, has unpacked the research and explored effective strategies for integrating social and emotional learning (SEL) with academic instruction, an essential component of schoolwide SEL.

To wrap up the series, we asked:

What policies and other conditions support the integration of SEL and academics?

In the conclusion of our series, Andy Tucker, Director of Policy at CASEL, was joined by a panel of experts to answer this question and discuss how these policies can be operationalized at the district level.

• Colleen Galvin Labbe, Lead Social-Emotional & Academic Development Instructional Coach, Office of Health and Wellness, Boston Public Schools

• Kristen McKinnon, Assistant Director of Student and Family Support, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)

Watch the webinar recording below, or read on for key takeaways from the conversation.

What are some examples of policies that support SEL and academic instruction?

• Federal
  • Title IV-A (Student support and academic enrichment grants)
  • Education Innovation and Research Grant Program
• State
  • SEL Standards, especially when integrated into content area standards
  • Teacher preparation standards that include specific instruction on integrating SEL into academic content
• District
  • Intentional connections between core content standards/content/instruction and SEL
• School
  • Explicit expectations to incorporate SEL into classroom lessons

“At the state level, for example, Minnesota has an SEL crosswalk with academic standards, and Oregon has SEL embedded in standards for teacher preparation programs.”

—Tucker

The state strategic plan in Massachusetts includes health, safety, and social and emotional learning (SEL). How does this impact the work you do to support students in your district?

“We started with SEL, health, and safety as part of our strategic plan. We’ve gone deeper and built on that in the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)’s new educational vision, which promotes all aspects of SEL: opportunities for students to obtain academic knowledge and skills, understand and value themselves and others, and to be in and experience the world around them by having relevant learning opportunities. Those components of our new educational vision are SEL embodied, so it helps guide all the work we do and say, ‘These are integrated parts of how we get to these outcomes for students so they can be successful.’ SEL is one of the key levers for us in promoting student outcomes: attendance, health, well-being, and safety, and the academic knowledge and skills that we want all students to obtain by the end of their public education.”

—McKinnon

How is this state work amplified at the district level?

“For our professional learning and instructional coaching in skills, this is one of our biggest focus areas [in Boston]: integrating SEL into academic content areas. We always start with the Massachusetts frameworks. Especially in ELA, we’re supporting an equitable literacy focus and in reading, writing, listening, and speaking, the SEL competencies are so visible in the Massachusetts frameworks. It really leads into all the work we do districtwide and in schools especially.”

—Galvin Labbe

How did this integration work come about at the state level?

“We started by developing guiding principles in the ELA and math frameworks, which were the first to be revised. Those [SEL] guiding principles were included in the frameworks as a signal that we can’t do the work of education if students don’t develop these SEL skills. For example, guiding principle 8 in our ELA framework reads, ‘Students should practice recognizing aspects of themselves in text,’ so self-awareness, and it names the competency and it talks about an example of what that looks like in ELA. All of our frameworks now include guiding principles around equity, cultural responsiveness, and SEL.”

—McKinnon

How do you support your district and schools in operationalizing integration?

“Our professional development builds in practice time. Teachers and school staff sit down and look at the frameworks, highlight where they see SEL visible, and walk through the process of what SEL skills students need to be able to access the content. We work with schools for a full year through our coaching model, and we have also created districtwide tools on our website to support educators and schools.

“Sometimes when we talk about integrating SEL into academics, it sounds like it’s this big additional, heavy thing. But our work focuses on integration. … So, we highlight where you see self-management or self-awareness embedded in the Massachusetts frameworks. And then let’s visit your classroom and highlight all the things you’re already doing, because teachers are already doing it. It’s an asset-based approach that puts folks at ease…Let’s find out where we can make it stronger. Or let’s build on what you’re already doing to make it more explicit, meaningful, and authentic. That has been the beauty of having the Massachusetts frameworks to lean on; they show folks SEL is very much intertwined, you’re already doing it, and it’s not this other whole new thing that we all have to learn.”

—Galvin Labbe

“Our districts in Massachusetts have local control, so DESE does not tell districts what curricula and resources they need to use, but we provide lots of tools and resources so that districts don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Each of our content areas at DESE has a team that supports the work of translating and adopting those frameworks.

We’re using our Title IV-A money to support schools and districts to integrate SEL and the development of SEL competencies into existing high-quality instructional materials. … We use the strategy of service learning, where students are looking in their communities, thinking about what needs and problems exist, using their content knowledge and explicitly learning those SEL competencies while they’re addressing those problems. We’ve funded about thirty districts to develop their own units of study that do that work of integration. We initially used Title IV funds for that, and we are now using Stronger Connections grant funds to do some more of that work.”

—McKinnon

This kind of close collaboration from the state level down to the district is relatively infrequent, unfortunately. Why do you think this is, and what advice would you give to states and/or districts that have not embarked meaningfully on connecting SEL and academics?

“Teachers know how important these skills are, or most teachers know this…I think that often gets lost in translation at the policy level. Teacher voice should be a part of policy at every level. Nationally, there are misconceptions around what SEL is, never mind how to integrate it. That indicates that continued education and discussion and collaboration between policymakers and educators is so vitally important. Involving teacher voice in every aspect of policy is what I think informs the change that needs to continuously happen.”

—Galvin Labbe

If you missed the first two parts of this series, catch up with our Part 1 and Part 2 recaps.

Plus, join us November 12-14 in Chicago to explore the latest innovations and evidence for SEL and academic integration at the 2024 SEL Exchange, “Accelerate: Academic Thriving and Lifelong Learning.” Registration is now open!

Related Posts:

• What Does the Research Say About SEL and Academic Integration?
• What Strategies Can We Use to Integrate SEL and Academic Learning?
• Inquiry-Based Learning: What Happens When We Put Kids in Control of Their Learning?

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