As part of CASEL’s Learning Series on Research-Practice Partnerships, this brief offers a case study focused on Guilford County Schools (GCS), a public school district in North Carolina, to illuminate the role of continuous improvement through a research-practice partnership (RPP).
We begin with a closer look at the definition of an RPP and then examine the process and outcomes of the RPP between CASEL and GCS. We record how this RPP offered an opportunity to explore how continuous improvement activities can be integrated across three stages of an SEL initiative: organization, implementation for adults and students, and improvement. We share insights we gleaned from this partnership and explore what supports are needed, the impact of the work, and the centrality of continuous improvement in sustaining the success of the initiative over the long term.
