CHICAGO – Educational leaders representing 44 school districts and regional offices of education will join a national fellowship focused on social and emotional learning (SEL), organized by the CASEL field leader.
Selected from an impressive pool of applicants, the 2023 cohort of the SEL Scholars Academy Participate in a 10-month commitment to deepen your SEL leadership and build systemic implementation strategies in support of your students, educators, and communities. The 46 SEL Scholars in the 2023-2024 cohort represent 26 states that together serve more than 2.7 million students from preschool through high school. These districts range in size from 325 students to some of the largest urban districts in the country. The full list of the 2023 cohort can be found. here.
A convergence of challenges amplified attention on SEL, bringing with it a demand from educators for more guidance on how to promote SEL for millions of youth. Launched in 2020, the SEL Fellows Academy is a unique opportunity for educational leaders in rural, suburban, and urban communities to develop SEL expertise and develop action plans alongside a growing network of peers and CASEL experts.
“CASEL launched the SEL Fellows Academy, the first of its kind, to bring people together to share best practices and grow the implementation of social and emotional learning across the country. Two years later, we have seen how implementing strong SEL implementation plans, building coalitions within and across districts, and implementing fellows’ capstone projects have impacted communities across the country serving millions of students. ”said Karen VanAusdal, vice president of practice at CASEL. . “Our new cohort is an impressive group of committed leaders who will join those ranks, and I can’t wait to see the great things they will implement on behalf of the adults and youth of their communities.”
This new group joins 83 leaders from the first two groups of SEL Scholars, which collectively serve more than four million students. SEL Fellow alumni have shared about the impact of their experience, with 100% of the previous two cohorts reporting their desire to engage others in the work and participate more deeply. Each scholarship recipient participates in a capstone project to raise SEL in their community, for example:
- Melissa Pointer at Highline (WA) Public Schools led a community advisory process that brought together students, staff, families, and community members to learn about their hopes for SEL and ways the district could build an SEL approach that reflects and represents the community.
- LaTrayl Adams in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (NORTH CAROLINA) hosted SEL fairs throughout their district to increase awareness and shared ownership of SEL throughout the district. At these fairs, students and staff had opportunities to participate in interactive activities related to the 5 core competencies of SEL.
- Santina Plottner of Ohio Valley (KY) Educational Cooperative launched “SEL Within,” a vodcast series dedicated to SEL and how it can be integrated into teaching and supporting students, educators, families and communities.
For more than a decade, CASEL has partnered with districts across the country to study and expand high-quality SEL. The SEL Fellows Academy is an opportunity to support more leaders in addressing the social and emotional development of their students and educators and scaling high-quality practices in their districts across the country.
ABOUT CASEL
CASEL is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that founded the field of social and emotional learning. Today, we collaborate with leading experts and districts, schools, and states across the country to advance research, guide practice, and inform policy.
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