Giving Compass' Take:

•  The author offers a list of ways that parents can engage with their children and be more involved in social-emotional learning programs by incorporating SEL learning tasks at home. 

• Are there resources available for parents to educate themselves about social-emotional learning? Should parents also be simultaneously building stronger relationships with the teachers?

• Read more about the importance of promoting family engagement in student's academic lives. 

In their separate domains, educators and parents both understand the importance of social-emotional skills—that the ability to manage emotions, to empathize, and to collaborate is key to fulfillment and success, in school and in life.  But schools and families are not always in sync on how to develop those competencies. As schools implement large-scale, research-backed SEL curricula, caregivers at home often have little guidance on how to help their children become resilient, mindful, and kind.

When schools and families have shared behavioral expectations and a common language for social and emotional skills, it can be “easier for kids to transition smoothly and be successful across multiple settings with many different adults,” she says. To engage families in social-emotional development, teachers and school administrators can’t just send home packets and to-do lists. They need to create strong relationships, partner with families on goals for their children, and receive and provide ongoing support. Here are a few SEL practices that will engage students:

  1. Start by learning about families. Use surveys, open houses, or phone calls to find out about family composition, special skills, concerns, and likes and dislikes. This knowledge can help teachers connect with families on a personal level throughout the year.
  2. Invite families to generate SEL goals for their children. Ask families to identify what specific skills they would like their children to develop, and what kind of characteristics they would like their child to personify.
  3. Designate internal capacity focused on SEL and family engagement. Have a designated staff person—an SEL or school-family partnership coordinator—who not only oversees SEL program development, implementation, and evaluation, but also serves as a liaison between educators and families.

Read the full article about social emotional learning by Leah Shafer at EdSurge