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.
By making the time to build the relationships that allow learners to feel a sense of community- that they are “in this together”- teachers create a safer, more equitable environment where all students participate and achieve.
Define Team Member Roles and Responsibilities
To ensure meetings are productive, it’s a good idea to define team roles and responsibilities, and strive to share work equitably.
When each staff member models social awareness by expressing their appreciation for their peers’ efforts, a culture of appreciation is created.
By building an SEL team that reflects the school community and incorporates many points of view, the school will be better able to meet its needs and build commitment to SEL.
Carol Dweck is a psychologist who researches achievement and success. Her major finding is that those who have a “growth mindset”—those who believe that their abilities are developed through dedication and hard work, not innate talent—are more likely to be resilient when things get tough and persevere to achieve goals (Dweck, 2006).
Belonging and Emotional Safety
When teachers build the structures that support belonging and emotional safety, they lay the groundwork for students to focus on learning (Sergiovanni, 1994 in Darling-Hammond et al., 2017).
Just as it’s important to model SEL for students in the classroom, it’s also important for adults to consistently model social-emotional competencies with each other.
Create a stable budget for SEL resources, professional learning, and staffing to support the sustainability of SEL efforts.
Review your current level of implementation, identify needs and resources, set goals, and develop concrete action steps for SEL implementation.
Academic mindsets are beliefs or ways of perceiving oneself in relation to learning, and lay the groundwork for deep academic, social and emotional learning.