Social Emotional Learning (SEL) for Your Child

GESD’s Commitment to Social and Emotional Learning Every Day

At Glendale Elementary School District (GESD), our teaching philosophy is in alignment with the idea of teaching to the whole-child. In addition to providing quality instruction, beginning this school year (2020-2021), teachers and staff will engage students in social and emotional learning each day for 20 minutes. GESD realizes and understands that before students can be ready to learn, they must first be in a state of mind where they feel safe, comfortable, and ultimately in a supportive environment. This new initiative will add another layer of skills that will help foster students to be effective communicators, establish and sustain positive relationships, and to be compassionate and caring adults.

The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL), is the leading organization for researching and providing evidenced based practices. CASEL defines SEL as, “the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions”. GESD staff will utilize CASEL’s Five SEL Competencies to drive their SEL instruction. The five competencies include Self-Awareness, Self-management, Social-awareness, Relationship skills, and Responsible decision-making.

GESD is committed to ensuring students flourish into socially responsible leaders.  Along with the classroom teachers, each school’s Social Emotional Learning Specialist (SELS), the newly added counselors and social workers will support students, families and staff with SEL.

You can learn more about CASEL and the Five SEL Competencies at https://casel.org/core-competencies/.