Alexandria, Va. – AASA, The School Superintendents Association, and the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) are releasing a new resource, the Districtwide SEL Essentials for Superintendents to support top district leadership in their role in shaping a school district’s SEL vision and aligning district organizational structures to sustain high-quality SEL implementation.
Today’s announcement comes just prior to the AASA’s 2020 National Conference on Education, where hundreds of superintendents are convening in San Diego, Calif. to discuss the most critical issues in public education and how these issues impact the more than 50 million students learning and growing in our public schools.
The toolkit contains resources and guidance curated from CASEL’s District Resource Center that is accessed by thousands worldwide and aligns with CASEL’s comprehensive framework for systemic implementation of SEL, based on research and the learnings from CASEL’s Collaborating Districts Initiative (CDI).
AASA and CASEL are collaborating to leverage the expertise, networks and resources from both organizations to advance SEL and bolster safe, inclusive and positive learning environments for all students. AASA serves as the nation’s premier organization for school system leadership while CASEL is the expert in quality, evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL).
“The AASA family is proud to collaborate with CASEL—an organization laying the groundwork for social and emotional learning, research, policy and practice on behalf of public education and the communities our school systems are serving,” said Daniel A. Domenech, executive director, AASA. “This collaboration will accelerate engagement opportunities among superintendents and other administrators by fostering a long-term commitment for SEL.”
“SEL should be part of every child’s education,” said Karen Niemi, president & CEO, CASEL. “Together with AASA, we are reaching the top leaders in districts who are critical to supporting and sustaining SEL in schools. We are thrilled to partner with AASA—the nation’s top source for public school district leadership.”
The announcement of the AASA-CASEL partnership serves as a follow up to Leading Social and Emotional Learning: A National Summit on Superintendent SEL Leadership, a three-day meeting held in Alexandria, Va. last fall when superintendents and other administrators gathered to explore and strengthen policies and programs to advance social and emotional learning outcomes for students nationwide. Click here to view a short video (1:30) containing highlights of the meeting.
Interested in learning more? AASA and CASEL would be happy to connect media with experts at our organizations or with superintendents that can speak to the impact of SEL and the value of the toolkit.
