This Month's SEL Conversation / October 2022

This month’s SEL-inspired art: "Weaving a New Tapestry: Schools, Families, Communities Together"

Dear Carolina,

Where does student learning happen? In a word, everywhere!

Each experience with a teacher, family member, coach, or friend is a key opportunity for young people to develop the way they understand themselves, learn about others, engage with different types of people, and navigate their world. So if it takes a village, how can the whole village work together to fully support the social, emotional, and academic growth of every child?

This month, CASEL hosted our annual SEL Exchange Virtual Summit to explore this question. We brought together 1,100+ people from 27 countries to engage around the theme, “Weaving a New Tapestry: Schools, Families, and Communities Together.”

As CASEL CEO Aaliyah Samuel said, "We know that families have incredible expertise. That communities create bridges and connections. That educators make the seemingly impossible, possible. And that young people bring incredible strengths and potential." 

Read on for key takeaways from the event around engaging the whole community to benefit every child. Did you miss the live virtual summit on October 13? Register for on-demand access to the sessions.

Trust Is Essential: Engaging Families for SEL

Education is shared work. But while families and educators often want to work together, most school systems don’t support authentic, deep collaboration between schools and homes. Many structures assume that families need to change, not schools. Parents who don’t reflect the mainstream school culture are often treated as spectators and families’ own cultural backgrounds are sometimes neglected. The key to bridging this gap, according to Virtual Summit speaker Dr. Eyal Bergman, is to build meaningful solidarity between families and schools. Schools can cultivate parent-teacher trust and relationships by 1) placing trust and teamwork at the center of family engagement, 2) focusing on student learning and well-being, and 3) building the infrastructure for adults to learn how to do this work better.

Collaboration Is Power: Engaging the Community for SEL

Weaving a tapestry that brings schools and communities together requires both effort and artistry. As Virtual Summit host Dr. Bloodine Barthelus explained, “When we build partnerships, there's a commitment to a process that is dependent upon tension that eventually yields beautiful results.” Speakers shared many stories of the beauty and power of collaboration:

• Byron Sanders showed us that partnership is power when working with young people: "If we build ecosystems embedded with SEL, then you are lighting up something very, very special—the belief that tomorrow can be better than today and by acting upon it makes it so, and that is hope."

• Makayla Reeves, a high school senior, shared her story of listening to her school community’s needs and creating a zen garden project to provide a retreat for students and educators: “I learned to use my eyes to hear … I understand compassion to be the ability to understand and share the feelings of others and transform that into action. We want to encourage others to plant seeds of compassion.”

• Ciara Lowery and Dorothy Styles inspired us with a cross-country collaboration to develop, share, and pilot a new approach for supporting adult SEL: “To change outcomes for youth, the adults serving them must first know themselves. Programs don’t change children; relationships with caring adults do.”



• Dr. Jane Quinn presented evidence of Community Schools as a proven model for integrating holistic supports that remove barriers to student learning: “To make Community Schools work, you have to keep the word ‘yes’ written in your heart.”

Public Education Is a Right: Engaging Policymakers for SEL

Today, states in the U.S. have a legal mandate to provide a quality education to students. This right only exists because parents, educators, and others fought together and made their voices heard. In the current political climate, parents and educators are calling on decision-makers to lead with SEL and live up to the promise of quality education. Parents have a vested interest in supporting educators and education leaders, Keri Rodrigues of the National Parents Union pointed out. “But along with that, we want to make sure that we're being engaged with the dignity and respect that we deserve as critical stakeholders at that table.” Meaningful family and school partnerships require investment and resources, as well as systems of accountability so families can provide their feedback. When it comes to quality education, it’s time to listen to parents—not politics.

Community Spotlight

Ink Factory illustration of Dr. Eyal Bergman's session

Share With Your Network

• Education Week: Families Are Students’ First SEL Teachers. Here’s How to Engage Them. 

• USA Today: Alarm on Children's Mental Health Has Been Ringing for Decades. Too Few Have Listened.

• November 7-11: National School Psychology Awareness Week

• November 18: Demystifying Systemic SEL Webinar: Community Partnerships

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