Journal of Social & Emotional Learning

Students experience transitions every day. Some are as straightforward as moving from recess to instructional time or school to home, while others are more complex, like starting a new school, entering a new grade level, or shifting to fully in-person learning for the first time in more than a year. What makes times of transition challenging? How can we best support our students in navigating change? In this issue, we offer strategies for finding social and emotional growth in times of change.

How do social-emotional skills support academic ones, especially when there have been delays or discontinuities in instruction? In this issue, we examine how building positive communities through social and emotional learning benefits students’ academic growth and success not only in the short term but for years and years to come. We also explain the science…

After 16 months of an educational experience marked by screens, masks, and social distance, what students have missed most can be summed up in one word: friendship. Learning to make and keep friends is a crucial social skill for all students. In this issue, we focus on helping students build and maintain healthy friendships and…

Contributing Editor: Emily Hemingway, Editor-in-Chief As the school year winds down, this special digest issue reviews what we’ve learned so far this year and the lessons we can take with us into the summer. We looked back at the past six months to see what ideas have captured your interest, what resources have offered you…

Contributing Editor: Michelle Gill – Director of Consulting and Certification In this issue, we celebrate the art of teaching. We honor the way educators have braved a worldwide pandemic, myriad online platforms, and in-person, hybrid, and concurrent teaching—all while learning a toolbox of new skills they never asked to become experts in. It was not…

Contributing Editor: Karen Poplawski, Director of Responsive Classroom Programs Chip Wood, a co-founder of the Responsive Classroom approach to education, noted: From its inception, nearly forty years ago, Responsive Classroom practices have centered on the inseparable connections between academic and social learning. The fact of the matter is that how children learn is just as…

Contributing Editor: Jazmine Franklin, Director of Fly Five Programs Before you begin reading this issue, find a moment of stillness. Feel your feet on the floor. Roll your shoulders back, and relax your jaw, hands, and the space between your eyes. Think of something that brings you joy. Take three intentional breaths while you focus…

Perhaps no month is more appropriate to consider cooperation than February 2021: two months into the new year, weeks into a new presidency, and days into Black History Month’s 95th celebration. February offers appreciation for other perspectives and the possibility of new beginnings, all growing from the power of cooperation. The C.A.R.E.S. Standards define cooperation…

In graduate school, while studying education, I remember taking a course titled “Critical Issues in Education.” Certainly, education in the United States has historically seen many critical issues—lack of government funding, class sizes too large, No Child Left Behind, inadequate and harmful disciplinary policies, segregation, standardized testing, poverty, safety issues, and the achievement gap, to…

Contributing Editor: Emily Hemingway, Director of Publications In this digest edition, we look back at lessons learned in 2020 and ahead to the possibilities of 2021. We start by learning more about the 7,000 educators who make up our SEL Professional Association and then take a look at the most popular articles, downloadable items, and…