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Social and Emotional Learning Workshop: Exploring the Delaware Landscape

By on November 11, 2017

Participants in the Social and Emotional Learning Workshop: Exploring the Delaware Landscape session of the 10th Annual Conference learned about the national landscape of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) from a Ila Deshmukh Towery at Education First and learned firsthand about SEL efforts across the state from a Delaware panel.

Delaware panelists included voices from Wendy Turner at the classroom level, Michele Marinucci at the district level, and Dorrell Green at the state level. Panelists focused on work underway and shared their thoughts on the future of SEL in Delaware.

OBJECTIVES:
1) Learn about the national and Delaware landscape for SEL
2) Connect SEL to Social Determinants of Health
3) Demonstrate the urgency for addressing social and emotional development of students

THEMES FROM THE DISCUSSION WITH ATTENDEES:
1) Educators and participants recognized a need to address trauma and issues of equity using SEL
2) Educators perceive time limits, schedule constraints, and inflexible school practices to be barriers in practicing SEL
3) The ability of adults (including but not limited to educators) to develop their own social and emotional skills is foundational for developing these skills in students
4) SEL should be integrated into academic curricula throughout the day. It will not work for students to separate these social and emotional learning from academic learning because they occur together