LINKS FOR YOU
📻 A 5-Step Process for Producing a School or District Podcast Up your communication game and share district news with a podcast.
💻 Explore whether AI tools are doing students more harm than good. New AI Tools are Promoted as Study Aids for Students
❤️ Embracing Social Emotional Learning. Using PBL to Teach SEL Skills
📝 Students Need Learning Opportunities Beyond Core Subjects. Here's Why.
Diving into something different.
💵 Introducing students to the importance of financial literacy. Teaching Financial Literacy at Any Grade Level
GRANTS FOR PD
⬆️ Early Childhood Provisionally Licensed Teacher Incentive Program Virginia Offers $30K to Help Your Provisionally Licensed PreK Teachers Level Up
📚 Addressing learning loss and teacher shortages in Iowa with the Teacher Para Educator Registered Apprenticeship Program 2.0
🌳 Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative 2024/2025 expansion 2024-2025 Empowering ECSE Educators to Improve Student Outcomes Grant Texas launches funding for specialized training and dual certification
💻 FP 282 - Adaptive & Inclusive Technology (FY 25) Transform Your Classroom with New Adaptive Tech Funding: From Communication Boards to 3D-Printed Tools
💰 Idaho Teachers: Your Big STEM Idea Could Win $15K to Transform Student Learning. Idaho National Laboratory (INL) STEM Impact / Classroom Grant
JOBS
💻 Support El Dorado County Office of Education as a Business Services Manager in California
🏃🏾♂️ Physical Education Teacher. Run rings around your students in Glenolden, PA.
📚 Shape young minds as an Elementary Principal at Hays Consolidated Independent School District, Hays County, Texas
🎨 Help students discover their love of art in Tracy USD, CA. Art Teacher West High School
🌟 Create cultural connections and transform lives in Lakewood, NJ. Spanish Teacher, Lakewood Board of Education
ONE BIG IDEA
What if the key to student success isn't in new curriculums or costly programs, but already part of your school day?
Leading districts find it's about enhancing what's already there.
Enter SEL – Social Emotional Learning.
It's not just another program; it's a mindset that turns classrooms into growth spaces.
SEL equips students with essential emotional skills for life's challenges, helping them manage stress, build lasting friendships, and make confident decisions.
Most importantly, it teaches them that their feelings, and those of others, matter.
Let's talk numbers first.
The research speaks volumes. A 2018 meta-analysis by Mahoney, Durlak, and Weissberg revealed remarkable results:
But the real magic goes beyond the numbers.
SEL prepares students for the real world.
It gives them tools for job interviews. Skills for relationships. Strategies for workplace success.
These aren't just school skills. They're life skills.
Picture your ideal classroom.
Students solving their own conflicts. Kids helping kids. Everyone engaged and learning.
SEL makes this possible.
Teachers using SEL spend less time managing behavior. More time actually teaching.
Students listen better. Participate more. Care deeper.
SEL gives you tools for tough moments. Strategies for struggling students. Ways to build classroom community. Methods to prevent problems before they start.
Your teaching becomes more effective. Your relationships with students grow stronger. Your classroom culture transforms. Your job satisfaction increases.
Students with strong SEL skills stand out.
Picture students who calmly manage stress, stay focused, and easily make friends.
But how can you introduce SEL to your students? Take a look below.
Start Your Day Together
Turn Reading Time into Feeling Time
Make Space for Big Feelings
Build Community Through Sharing
Turn Conflicts into Learning
The Power of Daily Practice
This is SEL in action – real skills for real life.
⛈️ Emotion Weather Report
⭕ Solution Circle
🎨 Gratitude Graffiti Wall
Creating a whole-school SEL approach transforms the learning environment by strengthening our social-emotional community.
Here's how each role uniquely contributes:
School Counselors as SEL Champions
Counselors integrate SEL into sessions, fostering emotional growth and empathy.
Group activities boost listening and conflict resolution, while lunch groups offer safe spaces for friendship and anxiety relief.
The Social Hub: Our Cafeteria Team
Lunchtime is a key moment for social growth.
Cafeteria staff turn interactions into meaningful experiences, greeting students warmly and guiding them through conflicts.
They highlight positive behaviors, reinforcing essential social skills.
Front Office: The Heart of School Culture
Administrative staff set the community tone, greeting students and parents with patience and understanding.
Their approach teaches emotional regulation and models handling challenges gracefully.
Bus Drivers: Journey Leaders
Our drivers create mobile SEL communities, building relationships and guiding students through conflicts.
Their interactions reinforce problem-solving skills used throughout the day.
Security and Custodial Staff: Community Builders
These team members engage with students positively, demonstrating respect and community care.
They offer encouragement and show that every role in our community matters.
District leaders face unique challenges in implementing SEL with educators and staff.
❗Risk: Time Investment - Adding SEL takes away from core academic instruction
❗Risk: Measurable Results - How do we know it's working?
❗Risk: Parent Pushback - Parents might view SEL as non-essential
UNTIL NEXT WEEK
Alludo - we have helped district leaders across the country increase capacity in thousands of schools by successfully delivering millions of evidence-based professional learning lessons to their educators and staff members.
See you next Saturday!
Damon