Coaching Project: Building New England School District Leaders’ Capacity to Use SEL Frameworks and Identify Evidence-based Interventions
This project built the capacity of New England school district leaders and Social and Emotional Learning Research Alliance members, to understand and use the information in systemic reviews on the effectiveness of SEL interventions. Over a five-session coaching series, participants learned how to review available SEL research literature, assess their local SEL needs, and combine the research with their local needs to select appropriate SEL programs for their districts and schools. Participants also learned how to monitor the progress of SEL program implementation and communicate with students, staff, parents, and the community about SEL outcomes and interventions. At the end of this project, REL Northeast & Islands developed the SEL Coaching Series Guide, a document that offers users access to the content of the virtual coaching series. Learn more

Continuous Improvement Professional Learning Community
This project will build the capacity of participating schools in the region to use continuous improvement to support SEL during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Participating teams will also come together to share and learn from one another as they implement a continuous improvement process over the course of the school year.

Tool: A Review of Instruments for Measuring Social and Emotional Learning Skills among Secondary School Students
This systematic review identifies instruments that have been used to measure three SEL skills: self-regulated learning, collaboration, and perseverance. The review includes whether or not evidence is available on the reliability and validity of each instrument and, if so, what type of evidence is provided. The report also offers questions that schools and districts should consider when reviewing reliability and validity information. The main partner for this project, the Champlain Valley School District in Vermont, was specifically interested in identifying rigorous measures of SEL skills and understanding how those measures have been used in order to inform the district’s approach to new competency-based graduation requirements. States and districts nationwide can use this report to identify and vet assessments for use with SEL programs and data collection covered under ESSA. Learn more.

Webinar: Measuring Students’ Social and Emotional Learning: A Review of Instruments and Implications for States and Districts (November 20, 2019)
This webinar featured the new resource A Review of Instruments for Measuring Social and Emotional Learning Skills among Secondary School Students, which supports state and local education agencies in identifying reliable and valid instruments for measuring social and emotional learning (SEL) skills. The event presented findings from the SEL instrument review, as well as implications for the field. A guest from Vermont’s Champlain Valley School District discussed the value of research-practice partnerships and how this report is informing the measurement of SEL in the district. View event details.

Webinar: The Role of Family and Community Partnerships in School-based Social and Emotional Learning Programs (Dec. 7, 2018)
This webinar helped practitioners and policymakers better understand research on school-based programs that partner with communities and families to support students’ social and emotional learning (SEL). Dr. Laura Hamilton presented findings from a recent RAND report, “Social and Emotional Learning Interventions Under the Every Student Succeeds Act: Evidence Review,” focusing specifically on what the review found related to family and community engagement. Tim Luff, from Natick Public Schools in Massachusetts, discussed his district’s experience building family and community partnerships to support students’ SEL, the challenges faced with these partnerships, and lessons learned. View event details.