Name: Social-Emotional Learning 2025: Examining Priorities and Practices
Start: 2025-02-13T14:00:00ZEST
End: 2025-02-13T16:00:00ZEST

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Social-emotional learning programs have now been in schools for several years, and in many cases, even longer. They aim to teach kids how to regulate their emotions, empathize with peers, make responsible decisions, and build other life skills. A little more than half of the states have adopted standards for the use of SEL in K-12. But in many places, parents and community members have pushed back against the integration of SEL into district curricula, citing concerns that the programs have a liberal political agenda. Even so, growing concerns about students’ declining social skills due to the overuse of cellphones and social media are prompting many schools to use SEL programs to address those concerns.

Join us to:
• Get insights from leading experts on the continued use and expansion of SEL programs in K-12 schools
• Discover which SEL strategies are working best and which are not working
• Find out which SEL skills need the most attention at this moment in time

First time K-12 Essentials Forum attendee? Learn more about our free virtual forums.

Event Agenda

We’ll highlight key insights from recent reporting on social-emotional learning.

Kevin Bushweller

Deputy Managing Editor, Education Week

Kevin Bushweller oversees coverage of educational technology and learning environments for Education Week.

Participants will hear a mix of perspectives about SEL from teachers, principals, and district leaders. They will then be asked to react to those perspectives, and we will share the reactions with the audience.

Kevin Bushweller

Deputy Managing Editor, Education Week

Kevin Bushweller oversees coverage of educational technology and learning environments for Education Week.

Sponsor content provided by Committee for Children

More details coming soon.

The emphasis on teaching social-emotional learning continues to expand across K-12 schools, especially at the high school level. Eighty-three percent of principals reported in 2024 that their schools use an SEL curriculum or program, up from 73 percent in the 2021-22 school year, according to a nationally representative survey by RAND and the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. But critics say its inclusion in the curriculum de-emphasizes academic learning and often promotes a politically liberal agenda that does not align with the beliefs of many parents and educators. During this session, experts and educators will discuss the SEL approaches that work best, and those that don’t, and predict how SEL programs might change in the years ahead.

Alyson Klein

Assistant Editor, Education Week

Alyson Klein is an assistant editor for Education Week.

Being able to manage emotions, behavior, and attention are skills that humans acquire and develop over time, and the early elementary period is the prime time for learning and practicing these skills. But elementary educators are noticing that older elementary students—those in grades 3-5—are still struggling to develop those skills. That puts them at a disadvantage when they move on to secondary school and could explain why a good number of teachers and principals in middle and high school report that their students are struggling to direct their own learning, advocate for themselves, and take responsibility for their education. We will explore what steps elementary schools can take to help students learn to regulate their emotions and what secondary schools can do to help students become more independent thinkers and decision makers.

Lauraine Langreo

Staff Writer, Education Week

Lauraine Langreo is an Education Week staff writer, covering education technology and learning environments.

This session will address key questions about the impact of SEL on student academic outcomes; on so-called “soft skills,” such as the ability to collaborate, communicate, be creative, and think critically; and the major challenges educators face when it comes to the use of social-emotional learning efforts. Participants will be asked to respond to a series of questions related to survey data of teachers, principals, and district leaders from the EdWeek Research Center about SEL programs in K-12 schools.

Lauraine Langreo

Staff Writer, Education Week

Lauraine Langreo is an Education Week staff writer, covering education technology and learning environments.

We will review key takeaways from the forum.

Kevin Bushweller

Deputy Managing Editor, Education Week

Kevin Bushweller oversees coverage of educational technology and learning environments for Education Week.

Social-Emotional Learning 2025: Examining Priorities and Practices

Event Agenda

Welcome & Introduction

Interactive Session: What Educators Really Think About SEL

Industry Perspective

Panel Discussion: What Works, What Doesn’t, and a Look Ahead

Panel Discussion: Building Independent Thinkers Who Can Manage Their Emotions

Interactive Session: SEL Impact on Academic Achievement and ‘Soft Skills’

Closing Thoughts

Event sponsored by

Events

Social-Emotional Learning 2025: Examining Priorities and Practices

Event Agenda

Welcome & Introduction

Interactive Session: What Educators Really Think About SEL

Industry Perspective

Panel Discussion: What Works, What Doesn’t, and a Look Ahead

Panel Discussion: Building Independent Thinkers Who Can Manage Their Emotions

Interactive Session: SEL Impact on Academic Achievement and ‘Soft Skills’

Closing Thoughts

Event sponsored by

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