To make SEL stick, align school and out-of-school time
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
FOCUS STARTING STRONG
To make SEL stick,
align school
and out-of-school time
BY SUZANNE BOUFFARD
F
or 20 years, Prime Time time programs typically strive to foster approach across the school day and out-
Palm Beach County, a in the young people they serve. Prime of-school time hours. Like Gopie, she
nonprofit organization in Time leaders believe you must foster believes that starts with adults’ skills.
Florida, has supported local the skills in adults first. As Katherine In 2017, when Rulison began
out-of-school time programs Gopie, the organization’s director of developing an SEL professional learning
with professional learning, capacity professional development, puts it, plan for a group of elementary schools,
building, and other resources. One of “Adults have to first understand what she kept hearing about Bringing
the organization’s most popular and SEL is, then they have to embody it, Yourself to Work from community
longest-running professional learning then they can model it.” partners. She brought it to the schools
offerings is called Bringing Yourself to That approach resonates with as the first professional learning offered
Work, which helps out-of-school time Kristen Rulison, social and emotional to school staff. It fit nicely with two of
practitioners develop self-awareness, learning manager for the School the core components in a framework
understand and facilitate positive District of Palm Beach County. Rulison of five SEL competencies from the
group dynamics, and strengthen their develops and oversees the district’s Collaborative for Academic, Social,
relationship-building strategies. approach to SEL and works with And Emotional Learning (CASEL):
Those are key social and emotional Prime Time to ensure that elementary self-awareness and self-management.
learning (SEL) skills that out-of-school students experience a consistent (The other three are social awareness,
30 The Learning Professional | www.learningforward.org August 2021 | Vol. 42 No. 4SPOTLIGHT ON TULSA
AND PALM BEACH COUNTY
P alm Beach County, Florida, and
Tulsa, Oklahoma, are two of
the six communities participating
in the Partnerships for Social and
Emotional Learning Initiative,
which is supported by The Wallace
Foundation. In each community, the
local school district and an out-of-
school time intermediary facilitate
the partnerships, bringing together
multiple schools and community-
based programs.
In Florida, Prime Time Palm
Beach County, a local nonprofit
intermediary organization, co-leads
the partnership with the School
District of Palm Beach County.
Prime Time had a longstanding
presence in the community, but its
relationship with the district had
relationship skills, and responsible different approaches, both communities been limited to the department of
decision-making.) Focusing on those are committed to professional learning afterschool programming.
skills, Rulison says, helps staff focus on for adults as the backbone of improving The partnership grant has
“being the best you” for students. practice and student outcomes. provided an opportunity to create
Prime Time and the School Their insights complement the more alignment across the school
District of Palm Beach County aren’t findings of an October 2020 interim day. Kristen Rulison, the school
the only organizations focusing on report by RAND, the project evaluator. district’s social and emotional
professional learning to develop adults’ Both communities are encouraged learning manager, says this “has
SEL skills. That strategy is one of the by the growth they see in staff and pushed us to be more explicit and
themes emerging from a study of six students. In fact, leaders in Tulsa intentional about SEL and well-
communities working to foster SEL are so pleased with the changes at being and to acknowledge that all
across school and out-of-school time their district’s pilot sites that they are educators are caregivers.”
settings. expanding the SEL supports to all Tulsa Public Schools is
The Partnerships for Social elementary schools in the district. partnering with The Opportunity
and Emotional Learning Initiative, Project, a citywide intermediary
supported by The Wallace Foundation, WHY SEL PARTNERSHIPS? for expanded learning. Previously,
is a six-year effort to prioritize social SEL, which includes skills and out-of-school time programs
and emotional learning in Boston, capacities such as empathy, self- across the city were scattered and
Dallas, Denver, Palm Beach County, regulation, and conflict resolution, is disconnected, according to Paige
Tacoma, and Tulsa. The initiative a key element of success in school and Kennedy, The Opportunity Project’s
focuses on simultaneously building life, according to decades of research associate director of professional
capacity in schools and out-of-school (Jones & Kahn, 2017). It develops in learning & quality improvement.
time programs. all of the places where children and Some programs had
Team members from two of the youth spend their time, not just at partnerships with individual
participating communities — Palm home, but also in school, after-school, schools, but the lack of a systemic
Beach County, Florida, and Tulsa, and community settings (Durlak et al., approach led to gaps in access and
Oklahoma — spoke with The Learning 2015). quality. The Opportunity Project
Professional to share what they’ve Research suggests that students team aims to change that so that all
learned during the first half of the grant benefit when all of those settings take students have equitable access to
period. Although they take slightly a consistent approach to fostering SEL high-quality experiences.
August 2021 | Vol. 42 No. 4 www.learningforward.org | The Learning Professional 31FOCUS STARTING STRONG
(Jones et al., 2018; Jones & Bouffard,
WALLACE FOUNDATION SUPPORTS FOR THE PARTNERSHIPS
2012), just as children’s literacy skills
FOR SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING INITIATIVE GRANTEES
improve when they read not only at IN THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF IMPLEMENTATION
school but also at home, on the bus, at
the laundromat, and everywhere they Form of support 2017-18 2018-19
go. Annual implementation grants to districts and out-of-school 3 3
Schools and out-of-school time time intermediaries
programs can build that consistency.
Additional grant to expand out-of-school time enrollment and 3
They share students and often the same enhance the quality of out-of-school time services in Phase 1
physical space. Rulison describes out- sites
of-school time as “a continuation of
Weekly newsletter emailed to system-level managers 3 3
the school day experience” for many
students and says, “The more we can Annual daylong meetings with system leaders and Wallace 3 3
align those experiences, the more program staff to discuss the community plan for implementation
positive experience school will be for Technical assistance from CASEL, the Forum for Youth 3 3
students.” Investment, Crosby Marketing Communications, and Education
School and out-of-school time First
also offer complementary skill sets and Learning communities
resources from which each can benefit.
“SEL has always been a focal point For system leaders from the six communities (twice per 3 3
for us in the OST space,” says Prime year)
Time’s Gopie, because it “dovetails For staff from the 38 sites (once per year) 3
with positive youth development
practice, which is the grounding for Role-alike retreats for school principals, SEL coaches, and out-of- 3
school time site leaders*
much of our work.” Schools often have
more infrastructure for professional RAND formative feedback reports for each community 3 3
learning and access to financial and
Website that contains each community’s initiative-related data 3 3
human capital, as well as expertise (surveys, observations, SEL student assessment data, RAND
about student learning and curriculum. reports)
The Partnerships for Social and * Role-alike meetings or retreats bring together educators that hold similar positions or roles and
Emotional Learning Initiative is encourage professional learning and networking.
based on the idea of combining those Source: Schwartz et al., 2020.
strengths to weave a tight net of SEL
supports for students. The project on the following four elements, which (see table above), to each site’s ongoing
provides financial support, technical they are developing in a staged way: support for leaders’ SEL capacity, to
assistance from national experts, and • Create a positive climate in professional learning for frontline staff.
facilitated networking among the six school and out-of-school time After two years, some key themes and
communities to help educators across programs (including welcoming lessons have emerged.
settings use consistent SEL language, physical space, supportive
messaging, and strategies. culture, positive norms, goals, Focus on adult SEL.
In each community, the school and values); Like Palm Beach County, most
district and an out-of-school time • Offer SEL-specific instruction of the sites began their professional
intermediary organization lead the to students; learning with helping adults understand
partnership, working together to • Integrate SEL into academic SEL and build their own SEL skills
create consistency across five to seven instruction and enrichment (Schwartz et al., 2020). In Tulsa, Paige
elementary school sites with co-located activities; and Kennedy, The Opportunity Project’s
out-of-school time programs. A • Create consistent and mutually associate director of professional
research study is underway to determine reinforcing SEL practices. learning & quality improvement, says,
if the initiative results in better “Before we talk about students, we talk
implementation of SEL practices and PROFESSIONAL LEARNING about ‘what does this skill look like in
whether students benefit. Professional learning is a major myself?’ because it’s hard to teach a skill
Although the six participating focus of the initiative. It is prioritized at to students that you don’t have.”
communities vary in their structure, every level, from the technical assistance She acknowledges that this can be a
needs, and approaches, all are focused provided to participating communities challenge: “People were so excited to
32 The Learning Professional | www.learningforward.org August 2021 | Vol. 42 No. 4To make SEL stick, align school and out-of-school time
get started with students, so we’ve had accomplishment, and future lot of expertise in SEL processes and in
to constantly go back” and maintain directions, such as a reflection building relationships with kids, and
the focus on adults as the foundation. prompt or “one-minute that can foster a more positive climate
Kennedy’s colleague Jessi Hicks, accolade.” and culture.”
the SEL continuous improvement In keeping with best practices One way that Hicks and Kennedy
coordinator for Tulsa Public Schools, of professional learning, and the bridged the gap is by facilitating a
says this focus on adults’ SEL capacity initiative’s core belief about the session with out-of-school time staff
has multiple benefits. “It helps the importance of adults’ own skills, leaders from different programs who work at
adults deal with their own stress model those practices in their meetings the same school site, along with the
management skills, build positive and in the professional learning they school principal, about what out-of-
climate and culture, and impacts their facilitate with staff. school time looks, sounds, and feels
practice,” Hicks says. Rulison says this has been an like. Kennedy says that having the
SEL skills enable other aspects of intentional approach with each site’s principal there was “a game changer,”
high-quality practice. “We plan to have implementation team — the group especially when she pointed out to
a big focus on culturally responsive of stakeholders who meet regularly the principal that her presence sent
leadership next year, and you need the to move the initiative forward that a message to the out-of-school time
self and social awareness to be able to includes the school principal, OST partners that she was invested in their
do the deep work on equity,” Hicks director, SEL lead (designated teacher, collaborative work.
says. school counselor, or administrator), To further strengthen connections,
The emphasis on adults’ SEL seems teacher representatives, and other SEL both communities are working to
to be paying off so far. According to “champions.” create shared professional learning
the RAND researchers, at the end of In Tulsa, Kennedy says this opportunities where out-of-school time
the planning year (spring 2018), three- willingness to reflect on and model the and school staff learn together. Specific
quarters of school and out-of-school skills has helped leaders understand strategies have included shared learning
time staff said that building their own the goals and led to a supportive and opportunities and communities of
SEL skills was a professional learning “highly functional” work environment. practice facilitated by local leadership
need. A year later, after the beginning She credits routines like ensuring teams that include representation from
of implementation, that proportion that meetings kick off with stating both sectors.
was down to two-thirds of staff, and the norms the group agreed to at the But creating shared professional
community leaders plan to continue beginning of the project and a closure learning opportunities poses a number
addressing that need in an ongoing way such as reflecting on participants’ of challenges, scheduling chief among
(Schwartz et al., 2020). feelings about the work or naming the them. “OST staff are going to work
next step they will take to move the when the school day staff are ending,
Model SEL signature practices. work forward. so you have to be creative,” Rulison
Another emphasis has been building says. She and her colleagues have found
staff members’ capacity to implement Prioritize collaboration. a summer service week to be helpful.
core SEL practices. Both Tulsa and One of the tenets of all the In Tulsa, Kennedy says that bringing
Palm Beach County are focusing professional learning is that school all the school and out-of-school time
on the three signature SEL practices and out-of-school time staff should leaders for a two-day kickoff over the
recommended by the Collaborative learn with and from one another. That summer “was a pivotal moment.”
for Academic, Social, and Emotional kind of collaboration has traditionally When shared professional
Learning (2019): been rare. As the RAND researchers learning time is not possible, Hicks
1. Open every class, meeting, or documented, there is a longstanding recommends ensuring alignment across
professional learning experience status differential between out-of-school the professional learning offered in
with a welcoming ritual such as time staff and school staff, with the each setting. She and Kennedy both
greeting each person by name former seen more as babysitters than as credit Tulsa project manager Jessica
or holding morning meetings; educators. Stittsworth — an employee of both The
2. Embed engaging strategies into Hicks attributes that Opportunity Project and Tulsa Public
the learning experience, such misinterpretation, in part, to the fact Schools — with serving as a linchpin
as interactive and reflective that “so many school folks don’t see for that kind of alignment.
exercises and “brain breaks”; what happens on the OST side.” In Palm Beach County, Gopie
and Correcting that is a priority for her believes that such efforts to collaborate
3. Include an optimistic closure to and others in the initiative. She says are beginning to change the lopsided
provide a sense of collaboration, out-of-school time providers have “a power dynamic between schools and
August 2021 | Vol. 42 No. 4 www.learningforward.org | The Learning Professional 33FOCUS STARTING STRONG
out-of-school time staff. Out-of-school "This grant has really helped and are able to “take their experience
time practitioners report that they feel us see how SEL goes across the in positive youth development practice
more seen, heard, and respected by (which includes SEL) from the OST
school staff, she says. school day, and it doesn’t just setting and apply it to classroom
On the school district side, Rulison happen at one time and place teaching very successfully,” according
said she is seeing stronger relationships to Gopie.
where you explicitly teach it."
not only between school and out-of-
school time staff, but also among school MOVING FORWARD
staff who don’t typically work together. fully implement direct SEL instruction As the six communities’ 38 sites in
“Often in the school day professional for students and academic integration the first phase of the project continue
development, you meet by grade level strategies. But the leaders involved to deepen their work, each community
or subject area. By intentionally mixing say they are seeing a range of positive is adding five to seven sites. The
people up, we really saw relationships developments, including decreases in expansion phase was originally planned
strengthen, which has impacted the discipline referrals at schools. to begin in the 2021-22 school year,
climate” in a positive way. Tulsa Public Schools’ Kennedy but The Wallace Foundation gave
She says the district has also believes that is related to collaboration sites permission to begin a year earlier
been intentional about including between the out-of-school time and because of the many SEL-related needs
noninstructional staff, who don’t school staff. For example, she says, caused or exacerbated by COVID-19.
typically have opportunities to engage “One day, the OST director said at a Leaders and staff have been grateful
in professional learning but who need meeting that the 4th graders had a lot for the support during the pandemic.
the SEL skills for interacting with of challenges the previous day. The “Principals said they were so grateful
students just as much as teachers do. assistant principal said, ‘Oh, I should for the SEL foundations they had
have told you something happened in developed to keep things going strong”
A SEAMLESS APPROACH the last part of our school day.’ ” for staff and students, according to
FOR STUDENTS As a result, the assistant principal Rulison. “Because we’ve been doing a
A goal of the initiative is to change planned to find the out-of-school time lot of work around handling stress, they
the culture of and practices in schools director at the end of every day to give were better equipped to handle it,” she
and out-of-school time programs so her a five-minute update to equip the said.
that SEL is woven throughout the day. out-of-school time staff with information Gopie says Prime Time’s SEL
For that to happen, all staff need to feel to help them support students. specialist also conducted a lot of check-
a sense of ownership and responsibility There are also some benefits ins with leaders and staff, “almost like a
for SEL. from a staffing perspective that can wellness check.” In Tulsa, leaders have
Rulison says this has been a shift ultimately benefit students. In Palm prioritized responding to “many asks
for many staff. “Before this partnership, Beach County, many out-of-school for self-care recommendations,” and
we’ve always had school counselors, and time practitioners are working in their Kennedy has offered 30-minute Zoom
often they did explicit instruction of positions while going to school at night sessions about stress management,
SEL with students. This grant has really to get degrees in education. They are “pint-sized” professional learning
helped us see how SEL goes across the supported by a system that Prime Time sessions such as “mindful Mondays”
school day, and it doesn’t just happen has built intentionally to professionalize and “read and reflect Fridays,” and
at one time and place where you the out-of-school time field through other strategies.
explicitly teach it.” partnerships with local colleges, a career Leaders from both communities
She says school leaders now advising model to support progression also believe the focus on SEL has
take what they call a “robust SEL along degree pathways, a scholarship helped students during the pandemic.
implementation” approach, which program to pay for the cost of classes In Palm Beach County, Rulison said
draws from a Multi-Tiered System of and books, and an educational incentive that morning meeting — one of the
Support framework, in which educators program that rewards attainment of signature SEL practices her district’s
explicitly focus on SEL with all students educational milestones. schools use — helped students feel
but engage counselors, interventionists, When these practitioners attain connected at a time of uncertainty and
and others to provide additional education certificates and degrees, isolation.
support to students who need it. many of them are hired by schools In Tulsa, school leaders were
It is too soon to make quantitative in the district. That’s a benefit for surprised when a spring survey of
claims about the specific benefits of everyone involved, because the new elementary students showed that
the initiative for students, especially teachers already know the students, the teacher-student relationships had
because most communities have yet to community, and the SEL approaches, actually increased from the previous
34 The Learning Professional | www.learningforward.org August 2021 | Vol. 42 No. 4To make SEL stick, align school and out-of-school time
year. The number of students who said the path to success. Jones, S.M. & Kahn, J.
they would be excited to have the same When her community embarked (2017). The evidence base for how
teacher next year increased as well. on the project four years ago, she says, we learn: Supporting students’ social,
Those findings are encouraging at a “a lot of folks were saying, ‘We don’t emotional, and academic development.
time when national studies are finding have the time,’ and we were saying, ‘We Consensus Statements of Evidence
many students feeling disconnected don’t have the time not to do this.’ ” from the Council of Distinguished
and struggling with anxiety and other The collaboration takes time and effort, Scientists. National Commission on
mental health issues (Sparks, 2021). she says, but “we’re seeing that it’s really Social, Emotional, and Academic
Still, there is work to do. As paying off for both kids and adults.” Development. Aspen Institute.
students returned to school buildings nationathope.org/wp-content/uploads/
in spring 2021, educators in Tulsa saw REFERENCES final_cds-evidence-base.pdf
more peer conflicts than they expected, CASEL. (2019). Social and Schwartz, H.L., Hamilton,
as well as regression in social skills like emotional learning 3 signature practices L.S., Faxon-Mills, S., Gomez, C.J.,
self-regulation and coping with stress, playbook. Collaborative for Academic, Huguet, A., Jaycox, L.H., Leschitz,
according to Hicks. Kennedy points Social, and Emotional Learning. J.T., Tuma, A.P., Tosh, K., Whitaker,
out that it may be a difficult transition schoolguide.casel.org/uploads/ A.A., & Wrabel, S.L. (2020). Early
for some students to be surrounded by sites/2/2018/12/SEL-3-Signature- lessons from schools and out-of-school
large groups of people and cope with Practices-Playbook-10.21.19.pdf time programs implementing social and
other changes. Durlak, J.A., Domitrovich, C.E., emotional learning: Lessons from the
Both leaders say their organizations Weissberg, R.P., & Gullotta, T.P. Partnerships for Social and Emotional
are well aware that they will need to (Eds.). (2015). Handbook of social Learning Initiative (Volume 1: Technical
continue focusing on those skills, not and emotional learning: Research and Appendix) [Research Report RR-A379-
only in the pilot sites but at all schools practice. Guilford Press. 1]. RAND Corporation.
and programs. The district has set an Jones, S., Bailey, R., Brush, K., & Sparks, S. (2021, March 31).
expectation that next year all schools Kahn, J. (2018). Preparing for effective Data: What we know about student
will implement the signature practices, SEL implementation. Harvard Graduate mental health and the pandemic.
regardless of where students are School of Education Easel Lab. www. Education Week. www.edweek.org/
learning. wallacefoundation.org/knowledge- leadership/data-what-we-know-
Leaders in both Tulsa and Palm center/Documents/Preparing-for- about-student-mental-health-and-the-
Beach County are grateful that they Effective-SEL-Implementation.pdf pandemic/2021/03
have laid a foundation for SEL across Jones, S.M. & Bouffard, S.M. •
schools and out-of-school time (2012). Social and emotional learning Suzanne Bouffard (suzanne.
programs. The collaboration across in schools: From programs to strategies bouffard@learningforward.
sectors, says Kennedy, “illustrates that it and commentaries. Social Policy Report, org) is editor of The Learning
takes a village” to support students on 26(4), 1-33. Professional. ■
August 2021 | Vol. 42 No. 4 www.learningforward.org | The Learning Professional 35You can also read
