The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

Social and Emotional Learning

To:

Members of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

From:

Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D., Commissioner

Date:

April 15, 2016

The special meeting on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) on April 25 is intended to provide an opportunity for Board of Elementary and Secondary Education members to hear a number of key ideas, information, and examples from experts in research, policy, and practice, and have the opportunity to discuss the topic of SEL.

Definition of Social and Emotional Learning

Many terms and definitions are used to refer to social and emotional and related competencies and learning needs of students. Attachment 1 includes the definition referenced most frequently by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, as well as a selection of additional descriptors and definitions, including MESH: Mindsets, Essential Skills and Habits; and Agency: the capacity and propensity to take purposeful initiative.

The definition used frequently by the Department is from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL):

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.

Further, CASEL has identified five competency clusters that are interrelated sets of cognitive, affective, and behavioral competencies:

self-awareness
self-management
social awareness
relationship skills, and
responsible decision making.

Context

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is committed to preparing all students for success in the world that awaits them after high school. One of our five core strategies to achieve that goal is supporting the social, emotional, and health needs of students and families. As noted in the Department's Strategic Plan (May 2015), in order to have opportunities to be successful after high school, students need to have healthy social/emotional skills. Furthermore, developing students' social and emotional competencies helps schools create safe learning environments that contribute to academic achievement for all.

Providing these supports, while challenging, is crucial to students' success. A variety of recent studies and policy documents have shown the importance of supporting students' social and emotional needs. For your information, attached are a position paper from the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents as well as several papers by speakers who will be joining us at the April 25 special meeting.

Next Steps

In Massachusetts and across the U.S., there is increasing interest in providing effective social and emotional learning support to students. Concurrently, through our organizational review, the Department will be giving more attention and focus to the fifth core strategy of supporting the social, emotional, and health needs of students and families, in service of our overarching goal to prepare all students for success in the world that awaits them after high school.

We have invited the following people to present at the special meeting on April 25 and engage in discussion with the Board.

To discuss policy and research:

Chad d'Entremont, Ph.D., Executive Director, Rennie Center
Linda Dusenbury, Ph.D., Research Consultant, CASEL
Ronald F. Ferguson, Ph.D., Professor and Achievement Gap Initiative Co-Chair and Director, Harvard University; Co-Founder, Tripod
Sara Bartolino Krachman, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Transforming Education

To share examples of practice in Massachusetts schools:

Meg Mayo Brown, Superintendent, Fall River Public Schools
Dana Brown, Principal, Malden High School
Audrey Jackson, 5^th grade teacher, Joseph P. Manning School; 2016 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year

Rachelle Engler Bennett, Director of the Department's Office of Learning Supports and Early Learning, will help provide context. I look forward to discussing this important topic with the Board.

Enclosures:

Definitions of SEL
Examples of Current SEL Related Work at the Department
Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents: Position Paper on Behavioral Health and Social-Emotional Learning: Executive Summary and Full Document
Social Emotional Learning PowerPoint Presentation

Select research and policy articles and reports by Board meeting presenters (and colleagues):

Chad D'Entremont, Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy: Condition of Education in the Commonwealth: 2016 - 2016 Action Guide—Toward a More Comprehensive Vision of Student Learning and Social and Emotional Learning: Opportunities for Massachusetts, Lessons for the Nation
Linda Dusenbury, CASEL: What Does Evidence-Based Instruction in Social and Emotional Learning Actually Look Like in Practice?
Ron Ferguson, Harvard University and Tripod: The Influence of Teaching Beyond Standardized Test Scores: Engagement, Mindsets, and Agency
Sara Bartolino Krachman, Transforming Education: Ready To Be Counted: The Research Case for Education Policy Action on Non-Cognitive Skills