SEL Field Notes | October 18

This newsletter is curated by the American Institutes for Research and CASEL for the MeasuringSEL Collaborator Network and aims to keep you engaged with news, research, and resources relevant to measurement and data in the field of social and emotional learning.
Please let us know what you are reading, doing and seeing in the field that’s worth sharing. Tell us about it here!

Measurement in Practice
American Institutes for Research: Are you ready to assess social and emotional learning and development? (2019 Edition)
Helping youth develop social and emotional competencies can put them on the road to success – not only in school but also in their lives. It is crucial to have strong connections for learning to enable social and emotional learning and development. How can you assess conditions for learning and development, as well as social and emotional competencies? The Stop, Think, Act: Ready to Assess toolkit helps educators, practitioners, and policymakers decide if and when they are ready to take those next steps.

Education Dive: 4 key practices for successful district-wide SEL integration
Superintendents and experts were in a Washington, D.C., suburb this week for the AASA | The School Superintendents Association Fall 2019 Social and Emotional Learning Cohort meeting, and taking a meaningful and mindful break from the three-day conference was a way to put into practice what they had been discussing: social-emotional learning. With leaders’ interest in the practice growing, SEL integration is still in its infancy in many districts, while others are a few years into full implementation.

Research and Deep Dives
Brookings: Curriculum provides a learning pathway, but what do students see in the classroom? Business-as-usual schooling in many countries is not engaging the hearts and minds of most children. Textbook-focused, rote learning and a focus on exams that measure cognitive, but not behavioral or social-emotional learning mean that the education Sustainable Development Goal – that is, all children achieving basic levels of reading and writing at the primary level – is unlikely to be met. In a response to this global education challenge, a new publication from the global nonprofit networking organization NISSEM is turning this dynamic on its head.

Commentary
The Press Herald: Superintendent’s Notebook: Behavioral health continuum helps all students
Social and emotional health goes hand in hand with academic learning. Teachers are very aware that one or two students with significant disruptive behavior can take an inordinate amount of time away from classroom instruction. Having clear expectations and making sure that everyone understands them is an important part of a high performing environment in all walks of life. In this monthly series, Xavier Botana of Portland Public Schools outlines the Portland Promise Goals: Equity, Whole Student, Achievement, and People.