Engaging Teachers, Staff, and Parents in Social and Emotional Learning in Palm Beach County: One of Six Case Studies of Schools and Out-of-School-Time Program Partners (Volume 2, Part 5)

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Leschitz, Jennifer T.

Contributor:

Augustine, Catherine H.

Schwartz, Heather L.

Language:

English

Other Title:

Engaging Teachers, Staff, and Parents in Social and Emotional Learning in Palm Beach County

Place of Publication:

RAND Corporation 2022

Summary:

The Wallace Foundation's Partnerships for Social and Emotional Learning Initiative is a six-year initiative that The Wallace Foundation launched in 2017 to explore whether and how children benefit when schools and their out-of-school-time programs partner to improve social and emotional learning (SEL), as well as what it takes to do this work. According to the Collaborative for Academic and Social and Emotional Learning, SEL is "the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions." This case study explores how Palm Beach County's Diamond View Elementary School and its out-of-school-time (OST) program, Diamond View Afterschool, increased adults' awareness of SEL practices to promote positive interactions with children throughout the day. In its effort to include all types of adults that interact with children, the school provided SEL training not just to teachers but also noninstructional staff, such as cafeteria staff, paraprofessionals, front office staff, and bus drivers, as well as parents. Teachers and OST program instructors delivered mutually reinforcing SEL lessons and short SEL rituals in both the school and afterschool day, which strengthened consistency for students across the day. The school provided meaningful ways for students to provide input about SEL activities.