SEL

Jan 6 2019

Bridging Research & Practice to Expand the Definition of Student Success

By |2023-05-09T12:32:37-04:00January 6th, 2019|

A large and growing body of research demonstrates that success in life requires both academic and social-emotional skills. When young people develop these interconnected sets of competencies, they are more likely to be healthy, engaged in their communities, financially secure, and empowered to pursue goals of their own choosing. Inspired by this body of research, Transforming Education (TransformEd) and NewSchools Venture Fund (NewSchools) have embarked on a multi-year partnership to support schools in expanding their definition of student success to include academics, social-emotional competencies, and the positive learning environments that support students’ development in both of these domains.

Oct 13 2017

Rubber Bracelets, Birthdays, and Wonder

By |2023-05-09T12:32:44-04:00October 13th, 2017|

What does social emotional learning look like in the elementary school classroom? How do students develop the mindsets, essential skills and habits necessary for success in school, and in life? Social emotional learning is everywhere. It is all the time. It is invisible, yet you can see it everywhere you turn. And it is essential. Social emotional learning unfolded during the first 20 days of the school year for me and my 3rd graders in Wilmington, Delaware in many ways.

Oct 20 2015

MESH and Students Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Can they learn these essential life ingredients?

By |2023-05-09T12:32:46-04:00October 20th, 2015|

Students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be the last group of students one would think of when thinking about teaching MESH (Mindsets, Essential Skills & Habits) or the first depending upon one’s perspective. For me, the answer to the question, “Can we students’ diagnosed with ASD learn MESH is a resounding YES!  Therefore, we must teach MESH to all students! MESH involves teaching children about the mindsets, essential skills and habits they need to succeed in school, work and life...

Oct 2 2015

The Imperfect Student: It’s Time to Destigmatize Mental Illness

By |2023-05-09T12:32:46-04:00October 2nd, 2015|

I racked my brain on deciding what anecdote I could share that would illustrate what’s been on my mind lately. Like the vivid memory I have as a six year old of waking up in the morning and not understanding why I felt a sudden sensation of desperation. I also thought about the time in high school when...

Sep 9 2015

Growth Mindset: Embracing Struggle

By |2023-05-09T12:32:46-04:00September 9th, 2015|

Around the end of May of last year, when spring seemed it might actually be arriving, Kate found herself in the midst of a heated conference with one of our students, Jordan. The 7th graders were drafting their responses to personal essay questions commonly seen on independent school applications. The question they were working on that day was, “Considering all your classes, what has been the most difficult topic that you studied this year? Why was it difficult and what did you learn from the experience?”

Jul 31 2015

Social-Emotional Learning: A Toolkit For Equity

By |2023-05-09T12:32:47-04:00July 31st, 2015|

This isn’t going to be polished, because the process of thinking through issues of equity is messy. This isn’t going to be definitive, because no one has all the answers, least of all me. And it isn’t going to be confident, because writing about this feels very risky. But it is going to be authentic and, to the degree possible, self-aware.

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