Connecticut State Department of Education

Social, Emotional, and Mental Health of the Students and of Our School Staff

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Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions (CASEL 2020). When doing this work, we have the opportunity to center equity, and create school communities that are grounded in inclusion, and fair and just systems of support.

16 Ways CSDE Is Supporting Social-Emotional Learning and Behavioral and Mental Health

  • Plays for Social Emotional Learning for Engagement

    Plays for Social Emotional Learning for Engagement

    Asset or Resource

    Highly Effective Practice

    Kindergarten through Grade 3 Subject Area Connections for Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Habits

    As a 3rd Grade teacher planning a social studies unit:

    I will utilize the Components of Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Habits K-3 Continuum and Connections in order to identify student growth areas. When planning individual social studies lessons, I will find the natural connections between the grade-level Social Studies Frameworks and the Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Habits so that the two are integrated into my social studies instruction. For example, I will assess where students are regarding empathy and embed strategies to support empathy as I teach the third grade social studies content.

    Reducing Chronic Absence in Connecticut's Schools: A Prevention and Intervention Guide for Schools and District

    Restorative Practices can build a collective community. Restorative Practices aim to develop community and to manage conflict and tensions by repairing harm and building relationships. This statement identifies both proactive (building relationships and developing community) and reactive (repairing harm and restoring relationships) approaches (IIRP). “Importance of relationships and the trust, mutual understanding, shared values and behaviors that bind us together and make cooperative action possible (Cohen & Prusak, 2001).” Restorative practices improve the connectedness of staff and students and develops a sense of community and belonging. This supports creating an inclusive school environment, where the climate is of belonging.

    Social-Emotional Learning Documents

    Indicators of Schoolwide SEL

    CASEL LSI Walkthrough

    As a building administrator:

    I need to be able to observe, measure, and track school wide SEL implementation as a foundation for learning acceleration. I will use these tools to asses current SEL systems, understand best practices related to SEL implementation and utilize the walk-through tool as a way gather evidence for strengths and weaknesses to plan for continued professional learning. Based upon the findings this will enable me to utilize available funding to improve SEL within the school as a means of addressing the whole child. I can further examine the data to determine if there is disproportionality represented which can be acted upon.

    Approved Educational Standards

    As a classroom teacher it is imperative to engage the disengaged and unmotivated learners.