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Developing a child’s social and emotional skills is as important as building his or her academic skills, but who is most responsible for doing this? There’s an emerging recognition that schools and educators will be more successful if they consider students’ social and emotional development as they teach lessons and craft school policies. Strengths in those areas translate to success—both in the classroom and in life, SEL advocates say. But there are some daunting gaps between that understanding and the reality of weaving SEL into the fabric of everyday schooling.
Education Week offers a big-picture look at how states, districts, and schools can reach their students through SEL strategies and other best practices for motivating and engaging students. In this virtual event, Education Week journalists and guests will staff online “discussion” rooms on a host of topics, including how districts and schools are incorporating social-emotional learning into classrooms, how principals and teachers are tending to their own SEL and work-life balance, the role that ed-tech is playing in the expanding use of SEL strategies, student voice, what research has shown to be effective strategies for building trust and respect between teachers and students, and how some district leaders are using flexible federal dollars to support efforts around improving school climate and student engagement. Join them on Wednesday, March 20, 2019, from 1 to 3 p.m. ET, for a deep dive into SEL in your schools.
This online summit provides you a unique opportunity:
- To directly interact with reporters and experts on social-emotional learning and school climate; and
- To watch a livestreamed series of interviews with the reporters after they’ve broken it down with you for final insights.
Event Video
Social-Emotional Learning in Schools: In Conversation With Education Week
Agenda
1:00–2:30 p.m. ET | #SELSummit Discussions Open
1:00–2:30 p.m. ET
Strategies for Social-Emotional Learning at the School and District Level
How does a school develop and integrate an SEL strategy schoolwide and work with teachers to carry it out? What role does the district need to play in helping schools weave SEL into their daily classroom teaching? What are the major hallmarks of a meaningful social-emotional learning strategy? In this discussion room, Blad, our lead reporter on SEL, talks with leading experts who will provide insights into best practices for district and school-level social-emotional learning strategies.
Melissa Schlinger
Vice President of Practice and Programs,
Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)
Karen VanAusdal
Senior Director of Practice,
CASEL
1:00–2:30 p.m. ET
Principals and Teachers Need Strong Social-Emotional Skills, Too
Happy principals lead to happy teachers and happy teachers lead to happy students, educators and researchers say. As schools across the country put more of a focus on social-emotional learning for their students, experts have come to realize that teachers' social-emotional competencies, especially their stress-management skills and their ability to regulate their emotions, are a vital piece of that puzzle. Principals play a huge role in creating a healthy climate for their teachers and staff. In this discussion room, Superville explores how schools are succeeding at this and how it can lead to better social-emotional instruction for students.
Denisa R. Superville was an assistant editor at Education Week who focused on principals and school leadership.
Elizabeth Congdon-McGee
Counselor,
Whaley School, Anchorage, Alaska
Korinne Engstrom
Assistant Principal,
Whaley School, Anchorage, Alaska
Robyn Harris
Principal,
Whaley School in Anchorage, Alaska
1:00–2:30 p.m. ET
Ed-Tech Companies Are Tracking Students' Emotions. The Promise and the Peril
There’s a growing presence of educational technology used in schools that can pinpoint when students are feeling happy, bored, or engaged, part of a broader push to leverage technology to help measure, monitor and modify students’ emotions and mindsets. But the ways in which ed-tech companies and researchers are building tools to understand the 'whole child' is sparking fears over privacy and surveillance. In this room, Herold and his guests explore what ed-tech tools do this, the promise that some believe this holds for improving student learning, and fears that critics have raised.
Benjamin Herold was a contributing writer who covered learning environments and ed-tech issues for Education Week, and a contributing writer for EdWeek Market Brief.
Wayee Chu
General Partner,
Reach Capital
Jaclyn Ocumpaugh
Associate Director,
Penn Center for Learning Analytics, University of Pennsylvania
1:00–2:30 p.m. ET
Amplifying Student Voice
Schools around the country say that they want student input and opinions, but how many education leaders use that input to shape their policies and practices? Advocates say that student voice can be a powerful tool for building a safe and welcoming school environment and that their efforts to gather students’ insights and use them to inform decision making send an important message to young people and encourage them to be more engaged in their schooling.
Alyson Klein is an assistant editor for Education Week.
Michelle Hammond
Student Voice Coordinator,
Washoe County School District, Reno, Nev.
1:00–2:30 p.m. ET
The Student-Teacher Relationship: What the Research Says About Empathy
In this room, assistant editor Sarah D. Sparks leads a conversation with leading researchers on how teachers can build relationships of empathy and respect with their students, which studies have shown have a strong, positive effect on how children feel about school and how hard they are willing to work in class. Emerging research suggests some small changes can create a healthier, more productive learning environment and drive down behavior issues.
Mary Helen Immordino-Yang
Professor of Education, Psychology and Neuroscience,
University of Southern California
Vicki Nishioka
Senior Research Advisor,
Education Northwest
Sarah D. Sparks covers the teaching profession and pedagogy for Education Week.
1:00–2:30 p.m. ET
Leveraging Federal Dollars (Title IV of ESSA) to Support School Climate and SEL
This $1.2 billion pot of federal money is intended to give school districts discretion to use on a wide range of student supports and academic enrichment. And a 2018 survey of district leaders showed that to help students become more well-rounded, 53 percent said they plan to spend Title IV money on social-emotional learning. And in general, 63 percent said they plan to use Title IV money to help create safe and drug-free schools. But what does that work look like? What are the strategies and initiatives district leaders are using with the support of Title IV money?
Andrew Ujifusa was an assistant editor who covered national education policy and politics.
Amanda Fitzgerald
Director of Public Policy,
American School Counselor Association
1:00–2:30 p.m. ET
Using Data to Support SEL And Academic Growth for All Students
Content Provided by Panorama
Join Panorama Education to discover resources on social-emotional learning, MTSS and early warning systems, district case studies, and new research on the links between SEL, attendance, behavior and coursework. Connect with Research Director Sam Moulton to learn best practices on using data to support the academic and social-emotional needs of your students.
Join Panorama Education to discover resources on social-emotional learning, MTSS and early warning systems, district case studies, and new research on the links between SEL, attendance, behavior and coursework. Connect with Research Director Sam Moulton to learn best practices on using data to support the academic and social-emotional needs of your students.
Elizabeth Breese
Marketing Director,
Panorama Education
Samuel T. Moulton
Research Director,
Panorama Education
1:00–2:30 p.m. ET
Mental Health—The Forgotten Piece
Content provided by EVERFI
Stress and anxiety are constant companions for many of our students. Social-emotional learning helps us understand that these shadows can be managed, and that like our physical health, mental health can be strengthened or diminished through our daily habits. Join experts in student mental wellness for a conversation about finding and creating opportunities to promote mental well-being for all members of our school community.
Stress and anxiety are constant companions for many of our students. Social-emotional learning helps us understand that these shadows can be managed, and that like our physical health, mental health can be strengthened or diminished through our daily habits. Join experts in student mental wellness for a conversation about finding and creating opportunities to promote mental well-being for all members of our school community.
John Campo
Assistant Dean for Behavioral Health, Chief Behavioral Wellness Officer, and Professor of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry,,
West Virginia University and the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute;
Zach Wagner
Senior Vice President of Product,
EVERFI
1:00–2:30 p.m. ET
Creating Connections with SEL and Boys Town
Content Provided by Boys Town
For more than three decades, Boys Town education experts have partnered with educators to transform school culture; creating safer, more effective learning environments.
The Boys Town Education Model® puts research-proven methods to work in a variety of educational settings. Providing classroom teachers, administrators, and support staff the tools to implement a comprehensive multi-tiered system approach to creating and encouraging respectful staff-student relationships by changing the way schools address student behavior.
For more than three decades, Boys Town education experts have partnered with educators to transform school culture; creating safer, more effective learning environments.
The Boys Town Education Model® puts research-proven methods to work in a variety of educational settings. Providing classroom teachers, administrators, and support staff the tools to implement a comprehensive multi-tiered system approach to creating and encouraging respectful staff-student relationships by changing the way schools address student behavior.
Courtney Dealy
Senior National Trainer
Jo Ann Flaxbeard
National Trainer
Mike Meeks
National Training Manager
1:00–2:30 p.m. ET
Unlock limitless learning
Content Provided by Microsoft
Fewer than half of today’s students will be prepared for tomorrow’s fastest growing jobs. Research shows that personalized learning can maximize student success. Microsoft Education can free up as much as 30% of teachers’ time and provides the tools needed to enable personalized learning at scale. Affordable Windows 10 devices and free Office 365 support collaboration and individualized learning while built-in Learning Tools leverage proven techniques to help students of all abilities improve reading, writing, and numeracy skills.
Fewer than half of today’s students will be prepared for tomorrow’s fastest growing jobs. Research shows that personalized learning can maximize student success. Microsoft Education can free up as much as 30% of teachers’ time and provides the tools needed to enable personalized learning at scale. Affordable Windows 10 devices and free Office 365 support collaboration and individualized learning while built-in Learning Tools leverage proven techniques to help students of all abilities improve reading, writing, and numeracy skills.
1:00–2:30 p.m. ET
The Connection Between Student Motivation and Reading Intervention
Content Provided by Reading Plus
Research shows that students’ attitudes and mindsets play an important role in learning, but how do you gauge student motivation? Join Jenny Eisenman, Director of Education at Reading Plus, John Ferrara, Data/Research Analyst at Reading Plus, and Dr. Jeffrey Pascoe, Research Scientist at Reading Plus, in an open conversation centered around motivation and reading intervention.
Research shows that students’ attitudes and mindsets play an important role in learning, but how do you gauge student motivation? Join Jenny Eisenman, Director of Education at Reading Plus, John Ferrara, Data/Research Analyst at Reading Plus, and Dr. Jeffrey Pascoe, Research Scientist at Reading Plus, in an open conversation centered around motivation and reading intervention.
Jenny Eisenman
Director of Education,
Reading Plus
John Ferrara
Data/Research Analyst,
Reading Plus
Dr. Jeffrey Pascoe
Research Scientist,
Reading Plus
2:30–3:00 p.m. ET
Final Reporter Wrap-up
SEL: In Conversation With Education Week
Led by the reporters, the Education Week newsroom will close out the day with insights from the discussions they’ve had with you, the readers.
Led by the reporters, the Education Week newsroom will close out the day with insights from the discussions they’ve had with you, the readers.