A ballroom full of superintendents and other educators gathering from across the country just returned from lunch break when they were asked to stand up for a stretch.

“We are family!” the group of district leaders, dressed in business attire, began singing loudly and swaying to their steady clap. “I got my family with me!”

Superintendents and experts were in a Washington, D.C., suburb this week for the AASA | The School Superintendents Association Fall 2019 Social and Emotional Learning Cohort meeting, and taking a meaningful and mindful break from the three-day conference was a way to put into practice what they had been discussing: social-emotional learning.

With leaders' interest in the practice growing, SEL integration is still in its infancy in many districts, while others are a few years into full implementation.

Here are considerations discussed by leaders nationwide who have implemented SEL initiatives.

  • Make SEL practices culturally considerate for far-reaching impact:
  • Get stakeholder buy-in, especially in initial stages
  • Start by educating the educators
  • Shift language to establish a formative narrative

Read the full article about successful SEL integration in schools by Naaz Modan at Education Dive.