Cultural Competence: The ability to examine the various social and cultural identities of one's own self and others, understand and appreciate diversity from a historically-grounded and strengths-focused lens, recognize and respond to cultural demands and opportunities, and build relationships across cultural backgrounds.
Reflecting on Personal SEL Skills
As staff use shared agreements to guide their interactions, it’s essential that they also reflect on their own social and emotional growth.
Schoolwide SEL is evidenced by indicators in the classroom, school, family, and community.
Examining Biases for Cultural Competence
Schools, like the greater society, are becoming increasingly more diverse in culture, ethnicity, race, language, values, and beliefs. This diversity has countless positive benefits, but it can also present challenges.
Foster a Supportive School Climate
Schoolwide norms help operationalize how all staff and students will contribute to a school culture that achieves their shared vision.
An important part of building staff skills around SEL is modeling by school leaders. These strategies can provide ideas for administrators and leadership teams to build relationships and show staff they are cared for and appreciated.
Adopt an Evidence-Based Program for SEL
Evidence-based SEL programs are grounded in research and principles of child and adolescent development, and scientifically evaluated and shown to produce positive student outcomes.
Aligning SEL and Academic Objectives
As your SEL team works with teachers to align SEL and academic objectives, it’s also important to consider how the content is delivered so that it supports the practice of social and emotional competencies.
A Supportive Classroom Environment
A supportive and equitable environment in all classrooms serves as a platform for all academic, social and emotional learning. At the core of a supportive classroom is a caring, engaging teacher who establishes authentic trusting relationships with each student.
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