Abstract
School leaders play a significant role in shaping education, and their leadership practices are key in conveying professional learning priorities for districts and schools. Concurrently, the benefits of adult social emotional learning (SEL) on creating conditions for educator effectiveness, wellbeing, and success have been demonstrated in the literature. This chapter chronicles initiatives undertaken by the Nevada Department of Education (NDE) to establish a systemic, sustainable, multi-tiered professional development structure and infrastructure aimed to foster adult SEL across the teaching and learning continuum, and ultimately to positively change student outcomes. Four initiatives are described, including the innovative approach of bringing together multiple projects to provide a virtual comprehensive support system in response to increased educator need.
TopBackground
The NDE Office for a Safe and Respectful Learning Environment (OSRLE) has spearheaded the development of SEAD in Nevada. In cooperation and collaboration with partners, such as the Office of Educator Development, Licensure, and Family Engagement (EDLiFE), SEAD has become an important priority. The mission of OSRLE is: We collaborate to ensure that all work and learn in a safe and respectful environment. OSRLE’s teams include: Health and Wellness, SEAD/SEL, School Climate and Safety, and Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS).
The NDE Office of Educator Development, Licensure, and Family Engagement (EDLiFE) leverages and strengthens human resources to improve student outcomes. The mission of EDLiFE is aligned with that of the Department: To improve student achievement and educator effectiveness by ensuring opportunities, facilitating learning, and promoting excellence. Developing adult SEL and SEAD for school leaders and educators was prioritized as a high-impact approach for increased effective instructional practices.
Therefore, Adult SEL and SEAD emerged as a common interest for the OSRLE and EDLiFE offices, establishing a cross-office collaboration. Researchers were illuminating the systemic approach for coordinating strategies, resources, and supports as critical in efforts aimed to highlight SEL practices for the benefit of school leaders, educators, and ultimately student outcomes (Meyers et al., 2019; Allensworth et al., 2018; Aspen Institute, 2019; Jones et al., 2017; Shriver & Weissberg, 2020).
The opportunities identified at the intersecting priorities of the two offices were almost directly aligned to recommendations emerging from research focused on the effects of SEL on educators (Hamilton & Doss, 2020). Examples of findings from the research of Hamilton and Doss (2020) and Thessin and Louis (2020) strongly related to the eventual goals of the SEAD initiatives and include:
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Teacher burnout as impacted by the degree of job satisfaction and happiness, and work-related social and emotional wellbeing;
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Teacher sentiment regarding the importance of SEL-focused school leadership related to the impact that principals have on school climate; and
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Building instructional leadership capacity to address the expanding role of school leaders beyond the focus on academic development to include social and emotional development.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Community Of Practice: A group of like-minded individuals coming together for a common purpose or goal in support of one another.
Social Emotional Learning (SEL): The process by which one gains the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully navigate society and the world.
Critical Friend: The role of facilitating reflection and growth by creating opportunities for deep and honest examination aimed to improve outcomes, and encouraging actionable steps to realize change.
Systemic: Considering the effect on the whole, such as state-level decisions that affect all districts, and district-level decisions that affect all schools.
COVID-19 Pandemic: The global outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that caused major disruptions in everyday life where society came to a standstill for several months.
Equity: The ability to recognize that each person is an individual who may have different needs, values, or beliefs that should be respected, understood, and accommodated.
Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS): A structure that provides and defines three levels of supports. The first level is global supports, the next level is targeted supports, and the final level is personalized supports.
Social Emotional Academic Development (SEAD): The connection between academics and social emotional skills that emphasize whole-child development in support of positive outcomes for students.
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Competencies: A set of five qualities developed by the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) that seek to develop one’s capacity to understand, relate, and regulate oneself and one’s interactions with others.
Transformative SEL: Focuses on being more reflective and increasing understanding of the history of the dominant culture and society, and how it impacts and affects equity and racial justice today in order to be more responsive in advocating for change.