1. Developing Safe and Civil Schools (DSACS) Initiative Putting the Pieces Together: Improving Academic Outcomes and School Climate, Safety and Civility Presented by Maurice J. Elias, Ph.D. Rutgers University and CASEL, Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning and Members of the DSACS Team A Program of the Rutgers Social-Emotional Learning Lab (www.rci.rutgers.edu/~melias/) and the Center for Applied Psychology, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology

2. Vision for Students’ Success That every student live a satisfying life and meet life’s challenges by: Achieving personal goals Fulfilling family responsibilities Enjoying good health Producing high-quality work Contributing to their community

3. the new challenges facing children Increased pace of life Greater economic demands on parents Alterations in family composition and stability Breakdown of neighborhoods and extended families Weakening of community institutions Unraveling of parent-child bonds due to work, school demands, time, drugs, mental health, and economic burdens Ongoing exposure to an array of digital media and pervasive advertising that encourage violence as a problem-solving tool and other health-damaging behaviors and unrealistic lifestyles

4. If You Had a Magic Wand, What Values Would You Wish for Children? Friendship Peace Wisdom Beauty Long Life Riches Popularity Family

5. Social and Emotional Learning (SEL): A Coordinated Framework Provides Synergy Prevention Programs without a Common Framework A Common Framework Provides Synergy SEL Health Ed Drug Ed Violence Ed Character EdService Learning Sex Ed Academic Skills SCHOOL-FAMILY-COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS Sex Ed Service Learning Health Ed Character Ed Violence Ed Drug Ed Academic Skills Families Community Involvement School-Wide Efforts

6. Most Efforts Are Not Coordinated This has two major results, especially in low- performing settings: 1. The whole is less than the sum of its parts; you do not get benefit in proportion to effort and expenditure. 2. Students’ emotional, behavioral, and attitudinal skills are not affected to the point where they can direct sufficient energy to academic learning to make real progress. Therefore, you also do not get benefit in proportion to your effort in academics.

7. What SEL Facilitates SEL refers to the skills, structure, and content necessary for all children to optimize their potential to be caring, competent, committed individuals. SEL is necessary because it promotes success behaviors, reduces safety concerns, positively impacts on academics, builds caring communities, prepares students to be ethical leaders, and provides resources and political capital in the community.

8. Social-Emotional Learning (SEL): Scope and Fundamental Principles Successful academic performance by students depends on:  students’ social-emotional skills,  their approaching education with a sense of positive purpose, and  the presence of a safe, supportive school climate that fosters a respectful, challenging, and engaging learning community These conditions are referred to collectively as social-emotional learning, or SEL

9. Fragmented, Uncoordinated Services Across Grades Within Grades Students Inconsistent messages with little reinforcement of them Confusion about expectations Decreased sense of common purpose Fewer connections to one another, to teachers, to school—less bonding Teachers Decreased sense of common purpose Frustration w/ inconsistent messages and eroded quality of teaching Decreased communication, less connected to staff and students Less holistic teaching School No unified mission Little sense of community Decreased cooperation and competition for resources Inefficient use of resources Duplication of services Across Schools

10. Outcomes of Fragmented, Uncoordinated Services Less engagement and attachment to school; lower participation in class and activities Higher disciplinary, drop-out, suspension, and expulsion rates; lower academic achievement Less satisfaction with teaching and higher levels of stress More confrontational means of resolving disputes; less empathy and caring behaviors Fewer student-teacher interactions

11. Teach SEL Competencies Teach SEL Competencies Provide Opportunities for Positive Contributions, Recognition, and A Sense of Purpose And Pride in Being Part of the School Provide Opportunities for Positive Contributions, Recognition, and A Sense of Purpose And Pride in Being Part of the School Less Risky Behavior, More Assets, & Positive Development Less Risky Behavior, More Assets, & Positive Development Greater Attachment, Engagement, & Commitment to School Greater Attachment, Engagement, & Commitment to School Better Academic Performance and Success in School and Life Better Academic Performance and Success in School and Life Evidence- Based SEL Programming Evidence- Based SEL Programming Safe, Caring, Cooperative, Well-Managed Learning Environments Safe, Caring, Cooperative, Well-Managed Learning Environments Paths to Success in School and in Life: Role of Evidence-Based SEL Programming

12. Fundamental Principles of SEL  Caring relationships provide the foundation for all lasting learning.  Emotions affect how and what we learn.  Goal setting and problem solving provide direction and energy for learning.

13. SEL Skill Competencies Recognize and manage own emotions Be aware of feelings and circumstances of others Organize and manage oneself and one’s time effectively Develop positive relationships in school, family, community, team, and leadership roles Communicate appropriately and effectively Make responsible decisions, solve problems thoughtfully, and resolve conflicts non-violently Show empathy, active caring and compassion for others Behave ethically, responsibly, and respectfully Avoid negative, high-risk, unhealthy behaviors

14. Academic Performance and Learning Studies Wang et al. (1997) examined 28 categories of influences on learning based on 179 handbook chapters, 91 research syntheses, and surveys of 61 national experts

15. Findings Among top 11 most influential categories, 8 involved SEL (e.g., student-teacher social interactions, classroom climate, peer group) Conclusion: “direct intervention in the psychological determinants of learning promise the most effective avenues of reform” (p. 210)

16. Outcomes of Integrated and Coordinated Services More empathy and social awareness Higher engagement and participation in classroom and school activities including community service Better attendance, fewer drop-outs; increased requests for assistance; higher achievement Higher teacher retention and satisfaction Greater attachment and commitment; improved care for facilities Fewer disruptive behaviors; greater sense of safety

17. Short-Term, Measurable Outcomes of SEL Interventions Fewer decreases in student academic performance More interactions/more inclusion among diverse groups including special education Improved understanding on the part of students of expectations and of their value as members of the community More involvement in community service efforts (e.g., Katrina) Better care of the building and books Additional volunteering by parents Fewer teacher absences Reduced time spent on correcting negative behaviors More class time devoted to academic tasks

18. www.CASEL.org “Working to put the pieces of the puzzle together to reduce fragmentation, increase synergy, and enhance social, emotional, and academic learning for all children.”

19. Integrated, Coordinated Services Across Grades Within Grades Students Improved climate; view school as supportive and safe Closer connections to students, teachers, school; greater bonding Consistent messages and common purpose; mutual support Teachers Common sense of purpose, higher morale and mutual support More efficient use of classroom time Better communication among staff and with students and families Address needs of whole child School Commitment to unified mission Greater sense of community, higher morale, increased cooperation More efficient use of resources and expanded roles Fewer marginalized services Across Schools

20. Value Added by Coordination of SEL SEL Coordination adds value to schools by building success skills, developing character, and preventing harmful and hurtful behavior in young people

21. Success Skills Builds academic, career, and relationship skills Meets NCLB mandates Builds caring communities of learners with connections to adults in the building to peers, and to the school as a valued place to which to belong

22. Character Fosters good citizenship, teaches how to make sound choices, and develops purpose and sense of optimism about the future Increases likelihood of students’ making realistic means-ends connections Builds skills and values through community service and service learning in and out of school

23. Prevention Provides a safe environment free from bullying, intimidation, peer harassment, and victimization Reduces likelihood of problem behaviors such as violence, bullying, substance abuse, truancy, school dropout, depression, apathy, disaffection

24. Our Vision for Safe and Civil Schools Through SEL We envision a time when all students entering schools in New Jersey will feel they have a positive purpose in being there. They will feel engaged, attached, and connected and see the schools as a place they can learn and do things to contribute to the world around them, advance their sense of purpose, and become more literate in academic, media, artistic, technology, and civic areas. This will be accomplished in part because the students will experience coordinated and continuous efforts to build their social- emotional skills, positive character, service-learning contributions, and health, and to prevent substance abuse and violent/bullying behavior in a safe, caring, supportive, healthy, and ethical environment.

25. How will fragmentation get reduced? Ask yourself what efforts are being made in your schools and districts to reduce fragmentation Consider the financial costs of programs, personnel involved-- is the whole greater than the sum of its parts? Are some of your professional colleagues operating heroically to try to solve these problems?

26. Coordination Requires Coordinators How will coordination take place if no one is qualified, competent, supported, and, ultimately, certified to lead it and take responsibility for it on an everyday basis?