Social, Emotional, and Academic Development: A Practice Change Agenda for the Next Generation

Sheldon Berman, Ron Berger, John Deasy, and Joshua Garcia

April 24, 2018

Table of ContentsIntroduction 1-2

Principles to Guide the Integration of Social, Emotional, and Academic Development 2-4

Recommendations for a Practice Change Agenda 4-14 Faculty and staff need to attain the skills, attitudes and understandings to integrate

social, emotional, and academic learning for students, as well as to model these competencies in the daily life of the classroom and school 5-6

Districts and schools need to intentionally teach social, emotional, and academic competencies and embed them in the delivery of academic content. 6-8

Districts and schools need to create safe learning environments that generate a strong sense of community. 8-9

Social, emotional and academic development should be the foundation for achieving more equitable outcomes for students. 9-11

District and school leaders should communicate and act on the critical importance of social, emotional, and academic development and provide the support and resources necessary to ensure its integration 11-12

Districts and schools need to embrace families and community organizations as partners in student learning. 12-14

Conclusion 14

IntroductionThe researchers and educators involved in the work of the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development have shared many important findings. Underlying all of them is the basic fact that whether we recognize it or not, we—as educators, parents, and school partners—are inherently teaching our students how to act and respond socially and emotionally. We do this through

the way we teach, the way we manage classrooms and schools, and the way we model these skills in the presence of young people.

Teaching and learning are by their very nature social and emotional activities. Our social and emotional skills are on display every day and the students are watching and learning. The climate and culture of classrooms and schools speak volumes to our students, yet we are often unaware of the messages we are sending. In contrast to this incidental approach, by making the integration of social, emotional and academic development a conscious act—thought through and executed in a well-designed, coherent and consistent manner—educators have an opportunity to profoundly impact students’ learning of the social and emotional skills so critical to their future effectiveness in school, work and life.

The integration of social, emotional, and academic learning creates equitable and inclusive classrooms that serve as communities of support as students pursue academic excellence. A climate in which all students are known, valued, and respected fosters their positive development and enhances their ability to learn and to support other students. When healthy relationships are central to the school and classroom community, the potential for alienation or disaffection dissipates and students’ sense of belonging, agency and commitment grows. When we establish positive and responsive classroom and school cultures, students make connections and find the support they need to succeed.

Just as a strong literacy program with in-class supports builds the foundation for future success across academic disciplines, the integration of social, emotional and academic development is the foundation that enables students to tackle rigorous curriculum across all dimensions of school. While there will always be some students with special needs or particularly acute challenges who need additional tiered supports, the foundation laid by social, emotional and academic development equips all students with skills that enable them to successfully navigate the social and emotional challenges of learning within and outside the classroom. Many crucial life skills are taught in the context of rigorous academic instruction such as learning to work on a team and complete a group project, giving and receiving feedback without taking or causing offense, and taking the perspective of another to better understand historical and literary content.

The members of the Commission’s Council of Distinguished Educators and Council of Distinguished Scientists are passionate about the importance of integrating social, emotional, and academic development into instructional practices and programs, and into classroom and school culture nationwide. They have observed and documented the impact of integrating social, emotional, and academic development on student outcomes and school climate. Their investigations and observations provide a basis for effectively extending this work to a broad spectrum of schools and school settings. The recommendations in this document build on their insights and provide an avenue for moving this work forward, so that every school and district can access the benefits of integrating social, emotional and academic development. As noted by these esteemed scientists and educators, this work matters, and matters greatly, to every student and to the future of our society.

Principles to Guide the Integration of Social, Emotional, and Academic DevelopmentStudies on the effective implementation of instructional and curricular change in schools are as applicable to the integration of social, emotional and academic development as they are to the adoption of other innovations in education. Across this research lie some commonalities that are helpful for

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districts and schools to consider as they integrate social, emotional, and academic learning. Although the following is not an exclusive or exhaustive list, we offer these principles as a way to think about moving change forward.

1. Districts and schools are the units of changeAlthough students benefit when individual teachers integrate social, emotional and academic development, the school and the district are the real units that drive change. Many implicit social and emotional messages that students receive derive from the culture and climate of the school, as well as from the consistency—or lack thereof— among adults at the school. Much of that consistency at the school level is either reinforced or undermined by the leadership, support systems, and policies of the district. Therefore, although change may start with a group of teachers piloting a program or working together to explore particular approaches or practices, the goal is to expand effective practices so that they are adopted throughout the school and district.

2. A systemic approach enhances successEffective, long-lasting change requires a systemic approach, one that is consistent and coherent throughout the school or district. Instead of disjointed, piecemeal efforts, systemic change considers the interrelatedness of the system from policy to leadership to daily practice and moves change forward in multiple areas that are mutually supportive and integrative. It requires coherent policies and strategies that align with program implementation, assessment, and professional development.

Systemic change considers the ways adults learn and grow professionally and how to best support them in that growth. Systemic change also builds incrementally over time toward the institutionalizing of practice and the continual reflection and improvement on that practice. Systemic change recognizes that change takes time and requires people to deeply understand and appreciate the rationale for the change, as well as the expectations that the change entails. It also acknowledges that change is not a one-year fad, but a central commitment until it becomes core to the culture of classrooms and schools and part of every staff member’s practice.

Therefore, the integration of social, emotional and academic development requires approaches that touch each element within the system, so that staff experience consistency and coherence across the approaches. And it requires providing staff members with sufficient supports to implement this integration effectively.

3. Approaches and practices are evidence-basedIneffective practices and programs will not produce the desired results that are critical to the well-being and development of students. As schools and districts examine approaches, practices and programs that support the integration of social, emotional, and academic development, it is important to review the evidence of how effectively they boost outcomes for students, increase student engagement and connectedness to school, and improve school culture and climate. Sufficient documentation and evaluation now exist so that most high-quality programs, approaches, and practices have a reliable evidence base, either for the program as a whole or for elements within the program that produced results. Newer programs and approaches that have not been fully evaluated can still be assessed based on the research and program evaluations that point to particular practices that are effective.

The field of social-emotional learning is growing in depth and sophistication. Although we can access a substantial amount of research and program evaluation that supports the field, we have much to learn

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and refine around implementation as we move forward. As the work of integration spreads, it is critical that practitioners partner with researchers so learning is synthesized and disseminated in a way that strengthens the field. Meanwhile, the research does inform us about the types of practices that are effective and those that are not. This information should be used as schools and districts set their direction.

4. Implementation must honor local conditions and student backgroundsEach community, school district and school possesses a different culture, works with a distinct local context and demographic student body, faces a different set of issues, and moves change forward in different ways. Change efforts need to respect and honor local conditions and recognize that no single policy, program, or initiative fits all communities. Change involves planning, but it also entails improvising and enabling local people to innovate and make the change their own. Change requires consistent follow-through but is not necessarily linear, as it must accommodate and work alongside other local needs and change efforts. It involves clear direction but also the flexibility to make adjustments. It involves fidelity of implementation, but also manageable and incremental steps that avoid overwhelming those who are making the change. Starting points, pacing, and levels of engagement by various constituencies will all vary to meet local circumstances.

This flexibility does not mean that change is chaotic, but rather that it has to be grounded in local circumstances and adjusted to leverage the assets the community has to offer. Like change within individuals, systemic change efforts are most successful when they build on assets and take an asset-based, rather than a deficit-based, approach.

5. Focus on relationshipsIntegrating social, emotional and academic development is relational work that does not respond well to compliance-driven reform efforts. The plan for change needs to reflect and model the very skills and attitudes that we want embodied in classrooms and schools. People need to fully understand why the change is necessary, how it will benefit students’ well-being and their academic learning, and how it will positively impact the culture and climate of the school. They need to be compelled by the vision, appreciate the coherence of the approach, and feel supported in making the changes to their instruction and classroom organization. Change efforts need to intentionally build trust and agency among those involved. Tapping motivation and engagement, inspiring people with the possibilities, and supporting them with resources enables them to take ownership of the change and pride in its results.

The five principles above offer a framework for effecting change in the practice of schools and districts. While speaking to change in general, they are particularly important for the integration of social, emotional and academic development—a change that is deeply personal and organizational as well as one that inspires and fulfills the people who pursue it.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A PRACTICE CHANGE AGENDA The integration of social, emotional and academic development provides an opportunity to think anew about the definitions of student success and leadership and how we recognize these qualities. It invites educators to enrich instruction and to expand the role of the learning environment. It reaches out to school partners, to parents and other family members, and to the community for their involvement in helping all students become the best possible versions of themselves. And, while social and emotional

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competencies cannot in and of themselves prevent school violence and bullying, they do constitute a significant and viable strategy for helping staff and students develop the strength of character, decision-making skills, and interpersonal relationships that foster appropriate ways of dealing with personal challenges.

The Council of Distinguished Educators reached consensus on the key conditions, presented below, that support the effective integration of social, emotional and academic development. The recommendations that follow each condition suggest ways that schools and districts can move forward in attaining these key conditions and the social, emotional and academic outcomes that support student success.

1. Faculty and staff need to attain the skills, attitudes and understandings to integrate social, emotional, and academic learning for students, as well as to model these competencies in the daily life of the classroom and school.To be effective, social, emotional and academic learning must begin with adults. The posters on school walls are less important than the way that staff members bring the words and concepts to life in their actions. If our goal is for students to learn to be reflective and self-aware, to show empathy and appreciate the perspective of others, to develop character and a sense of responsibility, and to demonstrate integrity and ethical behavior, school staff need to exemplify what those behaviors look like within the learning community.

Because adults model social and emotional skills in their interactions with students and other adults, student learning flourishes best when everyone in the school is involved. However, not all staff members are equipped to intentionally model social and emotional competencies for students, explicitly teach them, or cultivate them in students. Therefore, the professional learning community of the school must be organized to support and empower all staff to be leaders in this work.

Facilitating social, emotional, and academic development in students works best when adults across the community (e.g., teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, custodial staff, parents, community partners) share a common vision, framework, and language. For districts and schools, this commonality means prioritizing social and emotional competencies for all staff members as demonstrated through hiring practices, orientation processes, and ongoing professional learning. To realize the potential inherent in the integration of social, emotional, and academic development, educators and support staff require professional training and collegial support—both in understanding and modeling the competencies themselves and in teaching them to students. A critical part of effective adult involvement in students’ social and emotional development is reaching out to families and community partners to share thinking and to align language and support for students across school and out-of-school settings.

Recommendation 1: All staff members—from science teachers to cafeteria managers and from assistant principals to bus drivers—should contribute to a respectful, inclusive school culture that models positive behaviors for students through commitment to a shared vision and approach to social, emotional, and academic development.

Districts and schools need to adopt a shared vision and framework that supports all adults and students in a school community in demonstrating social and emotional competencies and positive behaviors.

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Staff and students should clearly define the elements of this framework (e.g., being respectful, responsible, compassionate) so they are involved in identifying and describing specific behaviors (e.g., what respect looks like in a staff meeting or social studies class) and the connection of this work to academic learning.

Schools should use the framework to create norms for considerate, collaborative, and productive staff and student interactions. Leaders and all staff members should hold each other accountable for exemplifying these norms.

The framework needs to be informed by and shared with families. Continuous engagement with families should result in a shared understanding of the interconnectedness of social, emotional, and academic development, as well as the importance of a respectful, inclusive culture in promoting student learning.

Districts and schools must ensure that all staff members in all positions, from all backgrounds and orientations, feel welcome, included, and respected as contributing colleagues.

Recommendation 2: The integration of social, emotional, and academic competencies needs to be a core priority in the recruitment, hiring, and orientation of all staff members, as well as in frequent and ongoing professional learning experiences focused on building staff skills in social and emotional development and in helping staff to engender these skills in students.

Districts and schools should prioritize skills in social, emotional, and academic development in job descriptions, recruitment, hiring, orientation, training, ongoing professional learning and career progress for both faculty and non-teaching staff members.

Professional learning needs to cultivate continuous adult learning for staff in their personal social and emotional competencies, for their own growth and as related to their school responsibilities. All adults in a school community must also receive training in the school’s comprehensive approach to students’ social and emotional development.

The integration of social, emotional, and academic development must be embedded and reinforced through a wide variety of professional learning opportunities such as professional development workshops, team and department meetings, coaching cycles, etc.

Teacher-leadership positions should be structured to draw on and extend the impact of teachers who are effective at integrating social, emotional, and academic development.

Professional learning must also include a focus on equity, diversity, and cultural responsiveness.

2. Districts and schools need to intentionally teach social, emotional, and academic competencies and embed them in the delivery of academic content. The integration of social, emotional, and academic development rests on aligned instructional efforts. First, it requires explicit instruction in social and emotional skills that develop students’ repertoire of competencies. Second, these same competencies need to be embedded in the delivery of academic content so that students experience how these competencies enhance their ability to learn and work with others.

Each strategy requires specific approaches and a clear focus. Teachers can best approach the explicit instruction of social skills through social skills curricula that have a developmental scope and sequence built upon a standards-based framework. Additionally, the parallel strategy of embedding social and emotional skills within classroom instruction requires teachers to integrate into their lessons a clear

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acknowledgment of and reflection on the social skills they are using to teach the content. For example, a teacher can design a math lesson using a group problem-solving activity and then have students reflect on how they were able to expand on each other’s suggestions and ideas.

These strategies benefit the classroom in many ways. For example, few teachers—whether they teach second grade or high school science—are fully satisfied with how independent, focused, resilient, reflective, and collaborative their students are in their work. When these dispositions and skills improve, the learning environment improves for all students. In turn, improved social and emotional competencies boost academic performance in all disciplines. For example, if “mathematical courage” is explicitly taught and valued, students are emboldened to take positive risks in their learning—e.g., raising their hands, asking questions, making mistakes, presenting their thinking, considering others’ perspectives, and receiving suggestions from peers—that help them become better at math.

The integration of social and emotional competencies is not limited to what we typically consider the core academic subject areas. Visual and performing arts, physical education and team sports, and extracurricular activities and clubs—from student government and Model United Nations to marching band and drama, from diversity clubs and gay-straight alliances to robotics and chess, from agricultural associations to entrepreneurship clubs—provide critical opportunities for learning and development, with special significance for strengthening social and emotional competencies that in turn support academic learning in the classroom. These experiences are not mere extras; they are essential elements of a well-rounded education and can provide significant support in advancing students’ social, emotional, and academic development.

Recommendation 3: Districts and schools need to support faculty in using explicit instruction and in integrating social and emotional development into students’ daily academic pursuits.

Districts and schools should create or select evidence-based instructional materials and resources that build social, emotional, and academic skills so that social, emotional, and academic development is taught explicitly and is seamlessly embedded in assignments and assessments.

Districts and schools should support teachers in integrating social, emotional, and academic skills into content-area lesson planning and instruction to increase student achievement.

Recommendation 4: Districts and schools have a responsibility to identify and implement standards, curriculum and instructional materials, and multiple assessment measures that facilitate the integration of social, emotional, and academic development.

Districts and schools should identify developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive social and emotional standards and learning targets that provide a learning progression from PreK through grade 12.

Districts and schools should identify curricula and select evidence-based instructional materials that match the standards and learning progression for social and emotional development.

Districts and schools should identify and implement an assessment system that allows students to demonstrate mastery in multiple ways, such as through performance-based assessment, portfolios, and web-based tools.

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Recommendation 5: Districts and schools should embed instruction that fosters social, emotional, and academic development into all classroom environments and across all academic content/subject areas.

Districts and schools should identify and disseminate key instructional strategies that foster responsible decision making, self-awareness, agency, character development and community building across classrooms and that lead to a unified culture among the greater school community and aligned out-of-school-time partners.

Districts and schools should align their integration of social, emotional, and academic development with other district initiatives to enhance the effectiveness of those initiatives and provide coherency for staff and students.

Districts and schools should incorporate practices, programs, and instructional materials that value diversity, support the development of cultural competence in students, and create a culturally responsive environment, and should review existing materials to ensure they meet the same standards.

3. Districts and schools need to create safe learning environments that generate a strong sense of community. Creating an inclusive and supportive school or classroom incorporates both direct instruction and embedded approaches, but focuses primary attention on community building. Community building is an ongoing process in which students develop positive relationships and solve classroom problems together through such strategies as morning meetings, class meetings, advisory meetings, and community-building events. This culture enables students to feel known, valued and supported by both adults and peers and, as a result, able to take the risks necessary to learn and grow. An inclusive community also models appreciation for the diversity of cultural identity, experience, ability, gender, race, or other distinguishing characteristics of the students in the classroom and school.

In order to focus on learning, both students and adults must feel safe in school settings. Within this safe climate, problems are identified and addressed before they fester into deeper and more troubling behavior that can impede students’ ability to learn. In light of the incidence of bullying and school shootings in recent years and the growing awareness of the need to address students’ mental and behavioral health, the building of safe learning environments that generate a strong sense of community serves as a critical and primary prevention strategy.

This sense of community is also reflected in models of discipline and classroom management. Classroom management strategies that strive to heal relationships and provide reflective learning opportunities when a conflict or discipline issue emerges ultimately enable students to reenter the classroom and regain the respect of peers and adults. Such models as developmental discipline, logical consequences and restorative practices provide effective vehicles not only for managing the classroom, but also for fostering a sense of responsibility among students.

In addition to modeling social and emotional competencies within the classroom, students need opportunities to demonstrate and extend those skills in the wider community. Community service and service learning enable young people to exhibit and strengthen their competencies and have them validated by others outside the school. These experiences provide students with confidence that they can make a meaningful difference to others, thereby developing a sense of responsibility to the community as a whole.

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Recommendation 6: Districts and schools need to support faculty in applying community-building strategies to create learning environments that reflect and enhance social, emotional, and academic competencies.

Districts and schools should support teachers in the use of classroom community-building strategies that reinforce social, emotional, and academic skills, and create an inclusive and respectful classroom environment that promotes student learning and development.

Districts and schools should incorporate classroom management strategies that are restorative and reflective in nature.

Districts and schools should provide professional development in cultural responsiveness and equity.

Recommendation 7: Districts and schools need to provide students with multiple opportunities for community service and service-learning projects that develop, demonstrate, and refine their social, emotional, and academic competencies, while applying their learning in ways that contribute to the community.

4. Social, emotional and academic development should be the foundation for achieving more equitable outcomes for students. The schoolhouse achievements of every individual child both foreshadow and underpin the prosperity of America’s economy and the vitality of our democracy. However, schools face a rising tide of systemic gaps and social opportunity gaps that jeopardize the likelihood of student success—and with it, our nation’s economic competitiveness and commitment to justice for all. These gaps in attendance rates, assessment scores, and graduation rates are especially evident for students growing up in poverty, students of color, immigrants, and students with special needs. Given the growing diversity and inequity within our country, persistent educational disparities, particularly for historically disadvantaged populations, cost everyone in lost economic output and increased human suffering. Educational equity is the essential tool that can enable the nation to advance economically, technologically and culturally. Providing an equitable classroom and school environment means that each student receives the necessary resources to thrive in school, regardless of family income, national origin, race, gender, sexual orientation, differently-abled status, first language, or other distinguishing characteristic.

The integration of social, emotional, and academic development is a central strategy for supporting equity and access for all students, in large part because it emphasizes the role of learning environments in enabling students to realize their potential. Because school and classroom environments have a powerful influence on learning, the sense of community and inclusiveness created in classrooms can motivate and empower every student to be fully present and engaged and enable schools to build on the assets that each student possesses. School is a place where students develop a sense of their own identity and agency and learn to navigate challenges inside and outside the classroom. Inclusive environments enable all students to grow socially, emotionally and academically with a sense of safety and support.

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The integration of social, emotional, and academic development will not address all the equity disparities, many of which spring from inequitable funding, inequitable distribution of talent and other resources, and historic institutional bias. However, the integration of social, emotional, and academic development helps build an asset-based approach that affirms students’ strengths and cultural identities and appreciates the experiences they bring to the classroom. It creates fair and just environments where all students are valued and where students who have experienced trauma or the stress of growing up in poverty or who learn differently are fully included and supported. Through the relationships that students develop, the competencies they acquire, and the support they experience, the integration of social, emotional, and academic development not only serves these students, but models how an inclusive and respectful community can help everyone achieve common and important goals.

In reviewing student outcomes, educators must also consciously examine the equity of their own efforts. In the case of existing educational policies and practices and the design of new ones, schools can promote equity by first uncovering and acknowledging the achievement disparities that may be arising in part due to the way those policies and practices treat students’ or staff members’ race, ethnicity, native language, disability, documentation status, or economic disadvantage. Establishing an equity policy enables schools and districts to better target areas for intervention and investment.

Recommendation 8: Districts and schools need to promote inclusive and equitable classroom and school climates and cultures that ensure a sense of safety, engagement, connectedness, and community for all students.

Districts and schools should not apply social, emotional, and academic development as a targeted intervention for the few, but as classroom and school community-building strategies that support the growth of all students and affirm the assets each student brings to the classroom.

To ensure classrooms are equitable and inclusive, schools and districts need to draft policies that acknowledge the value that differences in culture, race, ethnicity and background play in promoting learning and development within classrooms, and then provide relevant instructional materials and professional development that incorporate strategies for integrating cultural responsiveness and social skill development.

Districts and schools need to acknowledge the shared role students can have in developing equitable and inclusive classrooms through embracing student voice and experience.

Recommendation 9: Districts and schools need to ensure that every student has equitable access to rigorous and high-quality academic content through customized instructional strategies and evidence-based supports that address social, emotional and academic development.

Because difference, not uniformity, is common in today’s classrooms, districts and schools need to support all students’ access to rigorous curriculum through instructional strategies that incorporate universal design for learning and through individualized supports that integrate social, emotional and academic development. This work may require engaging community partners who are integrated into the school community and bring additional capacity to accelerate these efforts.

Districts and schools need to provide teachers with professional development in planning for and using individualized and customized strategies, as well as evidence-based supports and universal design for learning strategies.

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For students who have suffered from adverse childhood experiences, districts and schools need to integrate social, emotional, and academic development strategies, while recognizing that these students will also need additional trauma-informed services to support their learning and development.

Recommendation 10: Districts and schools need to develop an equity policy for social, emotional, and academic development and then monitor its impact to confirm that its intended efforts are reaching all students.

Districts and schools need to assess to what degree policies, instructional materials, programs and practices eliminate or accentuate existing disparities or produce other unintended consequences. Districts and schools need to review social, emotional and academic progress

monitoring and learning environment data—explicitly focusing on the disparities due to family income, race, ethnicity, and native language—in order to better target areas for action, intervention and investment.

5. District and school leaders should communicate and act on the critical importance of social, emotional, and academic development and provide the support and resources necessary to ensure its integration. Strong leadership is central to the successful integration of social, emotional and academic development throughout PreK-12 education. School and district leaders must provide a clear vision, mission and strategic plan. They also need to communicate this work broadly and consistently across schools and communities, demonstrating their support through their actions and their allocation of resources. One of their key responsibilities is helping the school and larger community understand what social, emotional, and academic development is, and how it is embedded in all aspects of the work of schools. To effectively embed social, emotional, and academic development into policy, curriculum, student support systems, professional development, accountability, and equity, leaders must help everyone understand that this work is not a program, a department, or an initiative. It is not something quickly and easily completed, but rather is foundational to all actions, policies, and programs.

Leaders also know that paying attention to the needs and interests of the adults who interact with students is as critical as caring for the needs and interests of the young people themselves. Establishing leadership positions specifically committed to the integration of social, emotional, and academic development can have a major impact on strengthening and speeding the implementation process schoolwide and districtwide. These dedicated positions play a pivotal role in communicating and coordinating integration efforts between the district and school levels, while also monitoring progress and sharing the results of that monitoring with staff to promote continuous improvement.

However, leadership in social, emotional and academic development is not correlated with formal titles and is not limited to superintendents, principals and other administrators. Leaders include anyone exercising the skills and responsibilities to strongly affect the social, emotional, and academic development of the members of the school community. Teachers, principals, superintendents, support staff, parents, students and community partners can all lead. Indeed, the integration of social, emotional, and academic development requires leadership broadly embedded at all levels—in classrooms, across school roles, district offices, and community spaces—in order to create the

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conditions where students and adults can thrive. Distributed leadership in schools is critical to advancing change because teachers need to co-own responsibility and to augment the capacity of school leaders; likewise, districts need to engage as genuine partners with schools.

Recommendation 11: Leaders must ensure that school and district vision, mission, values, strategic action plans, and budget priorities are aligned and explicitly incorporate social, emotional, and academic development.

Leaders must communicate—internally and externally—the value and importance of social, emotional, and academic development.

Leaders should ensure the integration of social, emotional, and academic development is evident in all strategies and significant bodies of work, including but not limited to: human capital, curriculum and assessment, professional development, teaching and learning, support programs in English language learning, special education, gifted and talented education, Title I, etc., and in internal and external partnerships with families, community organizations, businesses, and postsecondary educational institutions.

Leaders must develop a leadership structure among administrators and teachers that clearly identifies responsibility and support for this work.

Leaders should build competencies in social, emotional, and academic development among students and families by engaging their participation in governance and decision making.

Recommendation 12: Knowledge and skilled implementation of social, emotional, and academic development must be an explicit part of leadership preparation and ongoing leadership development.

Leaders must embody and model social and emotional competencies. Decisions to hire or retain people for leadership positions should consider their skills in planning,

implementing, and being accountable for social, emotional, and academic development.

Recommendation 13: Districts and schools should implement progress monitoring measures that facilitate capacity building and continuous improvement of the integration of social, emotional, and academic development, but such measures should not be used for individual or school accountability.

6. Districts and schools need to embrace families and community organizations as partners in student learning. Advancing the work of social, emotional, and academic development requires a network of support beyond the school, in order to enhance and sustain student learning and development across settings. Parents, families, and caregivers are partners in extending social, emotional, and academic development. As the primary care providers, parents’ connection to the work of social, emotional and academic development creates a bridge of support between home and school. Meaningful inclusion of parents entails engaging them early, giving them voice, and involving them in opportunities to learn and lead. Their understanding of social, emotional, and academic development and their investment and collaboration in fulfilling the vision of their children’s growth and development creates coherency and consistency for students. Including parents also provides an opportunity for them to receive support and

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learning opportunities that will strengthen their relationships with their children and their confidence in the school.

Community partnerships provide support for social, emotional, and academic development during the school day and beyond the schoolhouse doors. Many organizations touch the lives of students both during and outside the school day, from in-school mentoring to classroom and schoolwide support to after-school and summer programs. When these organizations join in partnership with schools, they enhance and extend the capacity of the school and expand the opportunities for young people. These partnerships provide wraparound support for students, adding valuable capacity to schools. Partners can deliver messages consistent with those of the school about the social, emotional, and academic competencies students need to be successful. Schools and partner organizations can come together to design mutually supportive strategies focused on these competencies. This work requires collaborative planning, open communication, effective coordination, and a strong commitment to the multi-dimensional support that places students at the center of this effort. This network of support fosters student agency in both structured and non-structured settings during the school day, as well as in out-of-school-time partnerships. It brings consistency in language and approach, leverages a diversity of resources, and creates a strong safety net for students and adults.

Recommendation 14: Districts and schools need to collaborate with parents, families, and caregivers in the development and implementation of social and emotional initiatives that foster consistency and mutual support.

Districts and schools should undertake an open and collaborative process inclusive of parents and community leaders to assess, plan, align, implement, and evaluate social, emotional, and academic learning strategies for all students.

Districts and schools should involve parents and caregivers in activities that are designed to help them understand the core concepts of social and emotional development and its value for their children. Districts and schools must recognize and affirm the diverse cultures, beliefs and backgrounds that are present within the school and broader community, as well as ensure that programs are inclusive of the diverse cultural identities in the community.

Recommendation 15: Districts and schools need to identify and incorporate community and non-profit partner organizations that can reinforce social, emotional, and academic goals and augment school capacity.

Districts and schools should identify and select partners that show evidence of effectiveness and alignment with district goals, priorities, and vision for promoting social, emotional and academic development.

Districts and schools should leverage partners in ways that augment teacher and administrator capacity, improve both classroom learning and school culture and climate, fill potential gaps in services, and capitalize on partners’ strengths to meet students’ needs and accelerate their social, emotional and academic development.

Districts and schools should devote resources, define roles and responsibilities, and designate staff to focus on coordinating, prioritizing and integrating partners into the design, planning, implementation and ongoing improvement of students’ social, emotional and academic development.

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Recommendation 16: Districts and schools need to collaborate with out-of-school time and during the school day and in out-of-school-time partners, to provide critical additional capacity to schools in support of student learning and growth, in order to develop a shared language and approach that provide consistency and common expectations for students and adults.

Districts and schools should collaborate and coordinate with partners to identify common frameworks, language, and expectations and, where possible, participate in common professional learning experiences to create a consistent, coherent experience and reinforce common skills throughout a student’s life in and outside of school.

Districts and schools should incorporate partners into school improvement plans, systemic strategies, and decision making relative to the integration of social, emotional, and academic skills.

Districts and schools should work with community partners to engage families in an array of activities that intentionally model the same behaviors and language that are being emphasized at school, such as collaboration and respectful listening.

Districts, schools, and partners should develop and codify common goals and metrics around social, emotional and academic development, and should leverage common data and open communication to continuously improve, reinforce, and maintain mutual accountability for development of these skills.

ConclusionChange is necessarily incremental and each district and school will begin at a different point along the path. We offer these recommendations as launching pads for some and, for others, as guidance toward the next steps in moving the integration of social, emotional, and academic development forward. The goal is to build upon the foundations that are already in place and to strengthen and improve with time.

We welcome the opportunity and we accept the responsibility to consciously and intentionally foster the growth and development not only of social, emotional and academic competence but also of character, work ethic, and civic commitment as students take their school experience and apply it well beyond the schoolhouse doors. As educators, the national call for the integration of social, emotional, and academic development gives us hope and excitement that we can better create engaging and enriching school environments that inspire and support students in becoming their best personal selves as well as productive and responsive citizens within the global community.

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