Celebrating SEL Success Stories Around the World

Contributing Editor: Allison Henry, Director of Business Development and Customer Care at CRS

When I started teaching in 2001, there were three box-like Macs in my classroom, each one loaded with age-appropriate activities for students and hardwired to the Internet for email use only. This was about the extent of the technology used in my elementary classroom then, when all of our work as a class happened through personal interactions. And now, here we are: completely immersed in helping educators, students, and families “going virtual” for education. Does that mean we are still a community? How do we keep our relationships intact? What about academic work? And social-emotional learning? How do we stay connected and maintain the learning communities developed in an age of technology that allows us—by necessity, now—to be virtually connected each day?

The educator stories in our May issue, collected from around the world, show the importance of social-emotional learning, building and maintaining positive relationships, setting clear expectations, and reinforcing our sense of community in our school environments. These educators have invested their time and resources to ensure that everyone is involved—educators, students, and families. Social-emotional learning is the foundation for great teaching and engaged learning, helping to create a community of learners who can carry their sense of significance and belonging with them wherever they go. And this especially applies now. Since the writing of these articles, we have been hit by a worldwide pandemic, and our writers have provided updates on how they are continuing to maintain their relationships via distance learning.

I hope that you enjoy reading the accounts of these incredible educators and perhaps feel inspired to take your first or next steps in implementing social-emotional learning in your school.