A National Principal Survey on How Social

and Emotional Learning Can Prepare

Children and Transform Schools

Civic Enterprises
with Hart Research Associates
A Report for CASEL
By Jennifer L. DePaoli, Matthew N. Atwell,
and John Bridgeland
Ready to Lead
A National Principal Survey on
How Social and Emotional Learning Can
Prepare Children and Transform Schools

A Report for CASEL

By Jennifer L. DePaoli,
Matthew N. Atwell,
and John Bridgeland

Civic Enterprises with Hart Research Associates

Civic Enterprises is a social enterprise firm that works with corporations, nonprofits, foundations,
universities and governments to develop innovative initiatives and public policies in the fields of
education, national service, civic engagement, conservation, public health and more. We work with
organizations that seek to challenge the status quo and grow their impact for the greater good.
Working closely with clients to determine what they need to better engage with their stakeholders
and serve their constituents, we specialize in research and policy development, strategy and coali-
tion building, state and federal policy analysis, and strategic communications. For more information
about Civic Enterprises, please visit their website at www.civicenterprises.net

Hart Research Associates is one of the leading research firms in the United States and has been
at the cutting edge of change in public opinion since our founding in 1971. During that time, we
have conducted more than 8,000 public opinion surveys and 7,500 focus groups and in-depth
interviews, talking with more than five million individuals across the United States and beyond. In
addition to conducting research among everyday Americans, voters, and consumers, we routinely
interview elite audiences. These include C-suite decision-makers, senior government officials, and
thought leaders across a full range of disciplines, both nationally and abroad. For more information
about Hart Research, please visit their website at www.hartresearch.com

Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) is the nation’s leading
organization advancing and promoting integrated Pre-K to 12 academic, social, and emotional
learning for all students. Our mission is to make social and emotional learning an integral part of
education from preschool through high school. Through research, practice, and policy, CASEL
collaborates to ensure all students become knowledgeable, responsible, caring, and contributing
members of society. Learn more about our work at www.casel.org
Table of Contents

Open Letter............................................................................................................................... 1

Executive Summary.................................................................................................................. 2

Introduction............................................................................................................................... 8

What is Social and Emotional Learning?............................................................................. 11

Survey Findings 1: Attitudes about SEL................................................................................. 13

Snapshot: Anchorage School District – Building on Grassroots SEL.................................. 17

Survey Findings 2: SEL Implementation................................................................................. 19

Snapshot: Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools –
Meeting Schools Where They Are to Advance SEL.............................................................. 27

Survey Findings 3: The Path to Increased SEL...................................................................... 28

Snapshot: Austin Independent School District – Providing Proof to Get Results................ 31

Survey Findings 4: Assessing SEL......................................................................................... 32

Snapshot: Washoe County School District – Factoring SEL into Student Success............... 39

Key Findings and Recommendations................................................................................... 41

Conclusion.............................................................................................................................. 45

Acknowledgements................................................................................................................ 46

Appendix I: Methodology........................................................................................................ 47

Appendix II: Findings from The Missing Piece: A National Teacher Survey on How
Social and Emotional Learning Can Empower Children and Transform Schools....................... 48

Appendix III: CASEL’s Collaborating Districts Initiative........................................................... 49

Appendix IV: Additional Graphs and Tables............................................................................ 50

References.............................................................................................................................. 51
Open Letter to the American People

T
he idea of integrating the social, emotional, and academic dimensions of learning – and the promise
of improving our children’s outcomes and unleashing the power of schools and communities as
spaces that nurture their full development – has galvanized the educational community’s interest with
an enthusiasm rarely seen in the history of American education.

It is our hope, as the Co-Chairs of the Aspen Institute’s National Commission on Social, Emotional and Academic
Development, that this report will help America better understand how social and emotional development
serves as a foundation for student learning. We also hope to connect readers to the perspectives of principals
and administrators who engage in the day-to-day rewarding and challenging work of educating our children.

Building from the breakthrough report, The Missing Piece, which captured the voice of teachers across
America, Civic Enterprises has now turned to principals and other administrators for their insights. In short,
these pioneering school leaders of today are strongly focused on a missing piece of American education: how
to support the social and emotional development of their students. Educators know that social and emotional
development improves student behavior, classroom management, school climate, and even student health.
They also know that social and emotional learning improves grades and standardized test scores, boosts
graduation rates and postsecondary completion rates, and leads to better employment outcomes. Given
these measurable benefits, there is great urgency to integrate social and emotional learning frameworks.

This report illustrates the motivation behind these school leaders’ commitment: they realize that developing the
whole student is the key to creating schools that are safe and challenging; is fundamental to shaping students
who are supported and inspired; is critical to ensuring that teachers can be effective and fulfilled; and is the
foundation of communities where citizenship, purpose, employment, and stability are possible for every child.
This report tells another story, too: although interest in social and emotional learning is overwhelmingly high,
principals and administrators are hungry for the expertise necessary to adopt new strategies. In some ways,
there is a tension in the data: while the vast majority of leaders believe that social and emotional development
is essential to education, the pathway to change is not always clear; moreover, the time and training to make
the necessary changes are in short supply. These experts tell us that there is a lot of will, but not as much clarity
and support, along the way.

We believe, as our fellow Co-Chair Linda Darling-Hammond wrote, that “the survival of the human race depends
at least as much on the cultivation of social and emotional intelligence as it does on the development of
technical knowledge and skills.” We can – and should – integrate academic learning with the social, emotional
and cognitive dimensions of healthy human development, as well as retain high standards for all our children.
As the following report so compellingly illustrates, our school leaders advise that we have no time to waste.

Dr. Timothy P. Shriver Governor John Engler Dr. Linda Darling Hammond
Co-Chair Co-Chair Co-Chair

Ready to Lead | 1
Executive Summary

T
he central message of this report is that principals across the United States understand how fundamen-
tal social and emotional learning (SEL) is to the development of students and their success in and out
of school, but they need more guidance, training, and support to make solid and effective school-wide
implementation a reality. Principals understand that SEL competencies are teachable, believe they should be
developed in all students, and know that young people equipped with SEL skills will become better students
now and better adults in the future. In today’s environment of increasingly demanding jobs and the fraying of
American communities, nothing could be more important than to foster, teach, and promote the competencies
of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
Some call it empathy, discipline, character, collaborative problem solving, or other names – but regardless of
the name, they are the attitudes and skills that provide the glue of a functioning society, robust economy, and
vibrant democracy.
Most principals see how SEL boosts student academic achievement, but they want more evidence of those
impacts to strengthen the case for action. Although support among principals for embedding SEL in the cul-
ture and classrooms of schools is high, implementation varies widely across schools with about one in three
principals implementing it school-wide, and only one in four meeting benchmarks for high-quality implemen-
tation. Encouragingly, when principals and teachers attempting to implement SEL are well supported by their
district leadership, they have better outcomes, and when state policymakers back district leaders, the results
are even more pronounced.
These and other findings come from a nationally representative survey of 884 Pre-K to 12 public school
principals and interviews with 16 superintendents and 10 district-level research and evaluation specialists
representing diverse school districts and with varying levels of experience in implementing SEL programming.
Despite representing different grade spans, student populations, and geographic areas, the administrators in
this report see the potential in social and emotional learning and provide key insights into the factors that can
either slow SEL implementation at the school and district levels or help it grow and flourish. This strong support
for SEL among our nation’s principals builds on similar levels of support from teachers across the United States,
as reported in the 2013 report, The Missing Piece. While our educational leaders and practitioners see the value
of SEL, they need support, resources, and tools to help them fully implement systemic SEL initiatives that can
improve students’ SEL knowledge, skills, and attitudes, as well as their college, career, and life readiness.

2 | Ready to Lead
Survey Findings Principals Believe SEL Should Be Taught
to ALL Students
Findings from the principal survey are presented in
four major areas: (1) Attitudes about SEL, (2) SEL Nearly all principals (98 percent) believe students
implementation, (3) The path to increased SEL, and from all types of backgrounds – both affluent and
(4) Assessing SEL. This report combines these find- poor – would benefit from learning social and emo-
ings with SEL research from the past two decades tional skills in schools, and this belief holds true for
to offer an understanding of how SEL is perceived a large majority of principals, regardless of whether
by school and district leaders and where we stand they lead high- or low-poverty schools.
in terms of systemic, school-wide implementation
Principals Believe in SEL’s Benefits,
and assessment. The results are supported by
but Are Less Convinced of Its Impact
findings from the 2013 teacher survey, as well as
on Academic Achievement
case studies from school districts implementing
social and emotional learning district-wide. Together, Nearly all principals believe that an increased focus
these insights and key findings helped produce on social and emotional learning would have a
recommendations to bring forth greater evidence somewhat major or very major benefit on promoting
and assessments and strategically advance sys- a positive school climate (99 percent), helping stu-
temic SEL in schools nationwide through enhanced dents become good citizens as adults (98 percent),
research, training, and evaluation. improving relationships between students and their
teachers (98 percent), and decreasing bullying
(96 percent). Similarly, most principals say that an
Survey Findings 1 increased focus on developing SEL skills would help
Attitudes about SEL prepare students for the workforce (98 percent) and
Among principals and district administrators, there believe it would have a positive impact on students
is a high level of commitment to developing all moving successfully through K-12 and graduating
students’ social and emotional competencies and from high school (97 percent). Principals also believe
a belief in the potential benefits that will follow from SEL can have a major benefit on students’ academic
doing so. achievement in their coursework (97 percent) and
preparing students to get to and through college
Principals Understand, Value, and Are (97 percent).
Committed to Developing SEL Skills
These results show that principals see clear benefits
Principals strongly endorse social and emotional of placing a larger focus on SEL, but it should be
learning (see definition below), and most (83 percent) noted that fewer are fully convinced of a large-scale
consider it to be very important for schools to benefit on academics. Most principals (83 percent)
promote the development of these competencies see the largest benefits of SEL as improving school
in their students. Almost all principals believe that climate, citizenship, and relationships; 78 percent
SEL is teachable in school (99 percent) and are believe a greater focus on SEL would have a very
committed to developing their students’ social and major benefit on students becoming good citizens
emotional skills (95 percent).

What is SEL?
For the purposes of this report, SEL is defined as the process through which people
acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand
and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others,
establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. SEL focuses
on knowledge, attitudes, and skills in five competency areas: self-awareness, self-manage-
ment, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

Ready to Lead | 3
as adults, while approximately three in four say while just slightly more (38 percent) have a plan for
there would be a very major benefit on relationships SEL that has been partially implemented. School-
between teachers and students (77 percent) and wide implementation was more likely to be reported
relationships among students (74 percent). However, by elementary school principals (41 percent vs 31
while virtually all principals believe there would percent in middle school and 25 percent in high
be at least a somewhat major benefit on students’ school) and those in urban schools (41 percent vs
academic achievement and preparation for college 32 percent in suburban and 31 percent small town/
(both 97 percent as noted above), there is a clear rural). Almost 70 percent of principals said they
drop off in those that believe these benefits will be expect all teachers in their school to teach students
very major (61 percent and 58 percent, respectively). social and emotional skills, though the percentage
Superintendents and research and evaluation spe- of principals who reported that this is fully realized
cialists reinforced the need to better communicate in their school, either through integration into the
research findings regarding SEL’s benefits, especially academic curriculum or a separate curriculum, is
on raising academic achievement. much lower (25 percent).

Principals Believe SEL Can Positively Affect Few Schools Fully Meet SEL
Students’ In-School Experience Implementation Benchmarks
Nearly all principals believe it is definitely or probably CASEL has developed a set of benchmarks to help
true that teaching SEL skills in school will improve guide school-wide SEL implementation, from devel-
student behavior and reduce the need for discipline oping a clear vision statement to creating long-term
referrals (97 percent, including 56 percent definitely plans for student support, professional development,
true) and help students take more responsibility for program evaluation, and developmentally-appropri-
their own learning and development (97 percent, ate learning standards. When principals were asked
including 51 percent definitely true). They also feel it if their school was meeting those benchmarks,
will either definitely or probably make learning more few were. Just 25 percent of principals could be
engaging and enjoyable for students (95 percent, considered high implementers of SEL based on the
including 46 percent definitely true). While most benchmarks, while 39 percent are moderate SEL
principals are inclined overall to believe SEL will implementers and 36 percent low SEL implement-
improve students’ academic achievement (93 percent ers. In school districts where district leaders place a
say this is definitely or probably true), less than half high level of emphasis on SEL, principals are more
are entirely convinced of its effects on academic likely to score high on SEL implementation.
performance (40 percent definitely true) and improv-
ing student attendance (40 percent definitely true). District Leadership Plays a Large Role
in Driving SEL

Survey Findings 2
A large majority of principals (72 percent) said their
school district places a fair amount or a great deal
SEL Implementation of emphasis on developing students’ SEL skills, but
Many principals have the recognition and under- only 40 percent reported that their district leadership
standing of the importance of developing students’ requires all schools to have a clear plan for teaching
social and emotional competencies, but imple- social and emotional skills. Principals were far more
mentation of SEL programming – especially at a likely to report having a plan for SEL and systematic
systemic level – has a long way to go. implementation in school districts where central
office leadership places a great deal of emphasis
Support for SEL is High, but Implementation on teaching SEL than in those where emphasis from
Varies Greatly district leaders is less. Superintendents bolstered
A little more than one-third of principals (35 percent) these findings, saying that when district leaders
reported having a plan for teaching SEL and were are invested in SEL, buy-in is greater and systemic
currently systematically implementing it school-wide, implementation is more extensive.

4 | Ready to Lead
Schools that are Systemically Implementing are able to successfully teach SEL. Seventy-eight
SEL Involve More People, See More Success percent of principals who said their district places a
Most principals said they involve teachers in great deal of emphasis on SEL said that their teach-
developing students’ SEL skills, but those in schools ers are well prepared to teach social and emotional
reporting high implementation of SEL are more likely skills, compared to just 21 percent of principals
to involve a more diverse group of in- and out-of- where emphasis on SEL is minimal. Similarly, 80
school stakeholders. In a self-report of how their percent of high-implementing principals – opposed
schools are faring at developing students’ social and to just 15 percent of low-implementing principals
emotional competencies, 23 percent say they are – report that their teachers are prepared to success-
very successful, while 48 percent say their efforts fully teach SEL.
are fairly successful. High-implementing principals
Lack of Time, Funding Also Seen as Barriers
report greater overall success at developing
students’ SEL skills than either moderate- or low- Nearly three-quarters of principals (71 percent)
implementing principals. Principals considered high say that teachers “not having enough time” is a big
SEL implementers also report greater academic suc- challenge in implementing the teaching of social and
cess and are more likely to believe SEL can improve emotional skills. A majority of principals also cited
school climate and students’ in-school experience. a lack of funding dedicated to SEL as a barrier to
implementation.

Survey Findings 3
Survey Findings 4
The Path to Increased SEL
School and district leaders are receptive to a greater
Assessing SEL
emphasis on social and emotional learning, but they Although school and district administrators are
still see several barriers to full implementation. They optimistic about measuring SEL skills and using the
also identify strategies, including increased training, data that could come from it, many are unfamiliar with
that can enhance implementation of effective SEL available measurement tools and how they and their
programming. staff can use them to guide planning and practice.

Principals Want More SEL Training for Teachers, Most Principals Believe SEL Skills Can
Access to Research-Based Strategies Be Accurately Measured and Assessed
Sixty percent of principals pointed to a lack of Most principals (71 percent) believe it is definitely or
teacher training to support students’ social and probably true that students’ development and acqui-
emotional development as a big challenge, and sition of SEL skills can be accurately measured and
less than half (45 percent) feel that teachers in their assessed. More than half of principals (58 percent)
schools are either very or fairly prepared to success- believe social and emotional learning should be part
fully teach SEL. When asked to choose from a list of students’ annual assessments.
provided, what would help ensure schools are suc-
Few Administrators are Familiar with
cessful at developing students’ social and emotional
Current SEL Assessments, Understand
skills, more than half of principals (54 percent) chose
What Measures Count in Assessing SEL
additional professional development for teachers.
Sharing research-based strategies about effective Only 17 percent of principals are very or fairly famil-
ways to promote students’ social and emotional skills iar with current assessments for measuring students’
also scored high (44 percent of principals). SEL skills, but as with other aspects of SEL, high-
implementing principals report greater familiarity
High Implementers of SEL are More Likely to with SEL assessments. Principals’ knowledge of
Report Better Trained Teachers assessment is correlated with their level of imple-
A key takeaway is that in districts that emphasize mentation. When asked about current methods
SEL and score high on SEL implementation, higher schools are using to assess students’ SEL skills,
numbers of principals report that their teachers most principals and superintendents pointed to

Ready to Lead | 5
behavioral observations and analyzing disciplinary accountable for developing students’ SEL skills, and
records. Variation in understanding what counts only a small percentage were strongly in favor (13
as a measure of SEL competencies also exists in percent). Even fewer principals (44 percent) believe
research and evaluation specialists, who would schools should be held accountable for improving
presumably have the greatest understanding of students’ SEL skills.
assessing SEL.
Principals Support Inclusion of SEL in State
Few Principals are Assessing All Students’ Education Standards
SEL Development School leaders feel much more positively about
Only a quarter of principals (24 percent) are cur- the inclusion of social and emotional competencies
rently assessing all students’ development of social in their state standards. Nearly three-quarters of
and emotional skills. In high-implementing schools, principals (73 percent) say they believe the develop-
however, the percentage assessing all students ment of SEL skills should be explicitly stated in state
jumps up to 48 percent, indicating that schools education standards.
that are focused on systemic implementation are
more likely to see value in measuring the develop-
ment of all students’ SEL competencies. Forty-two
Recommendations
percent of principals report assessing only some Based on our survey findings and the SEL evidence
students (based on criteria other than age or grade base, we recommend the following to help advance
level), while 23 percent say they do not assess their SEL implementation:
students’ social and emotional skills at all.
Sustain Social, Emotional, and Academic
More Useful Assessments, Greater Training Development through High-Impact Levers
in Using SEL Data Needed Enhance the “will” – Prioritize policies and
Of the 77 percent of principals who are currently funding to support SEL
using SEL assessments, less than 40 percent said To help schools advance social and emotional
the assessments are very or fairly useful. Principals learning and systemize SEL at all levels of practice
who report assessing all students are more likely and policy, federal and state policymakers, as well
than those who are assessing only some students to as grantmakers in education, will need to prioritize
find their current assessment tools useful. Principals policies and funding for SEL training, implementation,
also see a great need for increased teacher training and assessment. Funding considerations should
in using SEL assessment data. Sixteen percent of include resources, technical assistance, evaluation,
principals think their teachers have either a great and the creation of learning networks between
deal or fair amount of knowledge on using SEL districts and states. Funding streams for increased
assessment data to improve instruction, compared research will also be critical for expanding knowledge
to 61 percent who say their teachers have little to no and creating lines for SEL advocacy. Policy action
knowledge. should include advancing new federal policies to
promote SEL and alloting resources toward its
Principals See Many Uses for SEL Data; growth in both Pre-K to 12 and higher education,
Hold Mixed Views on SEL Accountability in addition to adopting state SEL standards.
Given the assumption of access to valid and reliable
SEL assessment data, principals see a number of Support state student learning standards
important uses for it, including identifying students State SEL standards can provide a vision for what
needing intervention (86 percent), evaluating SEL school and district social and emotional learning
program effectiveness (79 percent), sharing the data programs should accomplish and developmental
with parents (73 percent), and improving teacher benchmarks to inform teachers and principals of
instruction (72 percent). When asked specifically what students should be working toward in every
about accountability purposes, less than half (49 grade. State SEL standards can also serve as guid-
percent) agreed that teachers should be held ance for institutes of higher education by providing

6 | Ready to Lead
the groundwork for integrating SEL into pre-service Build teacher knowledge through pre-service
teacher training programs. Unlike academic stan- education and in-school professional development
dards, which have served as a basis for high-stakes Both administrators and teachers agree that
accountability systems, SEL standards should be increased training in teaching SEL is necessary to
used solely to improve teaching and learning and achieve successful school-wide implementation.
guide investments in SEL programming. Integrating this training into pre-service teacher
programs will help guarantee more teachers have
Advance an SEL research agenda and communi-
the knowledge and skills to implement SEL from the
cate findings to practitioners and policymakers
start, while high-quality professional development
The SEL evidence base has been building for more can provide continuous training for both new and
than two decades, and current efforts, including experienced teachers.
the National Commission on Social, Emotional,
and Academic Development and the SEL Assess- Strengthen Assessment
ment Working Group, have created centralized
Continue to improve SEL assessment tools
platforms for studying and distributing knowledge
and training in how to use them
on SEL. Based on this study, we recommend
further research in the following areas: the value Though administrators see the importance of
of implementing systemic, school-wide SEL; the assessing students’ SEL skills, they lack familiarity
link between improving SEL skills and academic with the tools to do so. It is therefore critical that
achievement; the impact of improved training on knowledge be shared on existing measures and that
SEL implementation; the benefits of integrated and researchers, funders, and policymakers prioritize
stand-alone SEL approaches; the value of SEL for improving SEL assessments. This survey also makes
diverse learners; and how data on SEL can be used it abundantly clear that one of the greatest areas of
effectively by teachers to improve instruction, by improvement in SEL lies in building understanding
principals to improve school climate, and by districts of how to appropriately use SEL assessments and
to better prepare all youth for success in school, the data they produce to increase all students’
postsecondary, careers, and life. social and emotional competencies and evaluate
implementation of SEL programming.
Strengthen SEL Training Among Teachers
and Administrators
Communicate the knowledge base on evidence-
based SEL programming and effective training,
implementation, and assessment
It is critical that administrators and teachers have
access to a knowledge base on effective SEL pro-
gramming and training in how to effectively integrate
SEL into academic instruction and school climate
improvement initiatives. While this study makes
clear that school and district leaders value the
development of their students’ social and emotional
competencies, they need a better understanding
of how best to improve these skills in students and
create a systematic plan for SEL implementation.
School leaders and teachers also need exposure
to best practices in SEL implementation, as well as
valid and reliable tools to assess SEL programming
and students’ development of social and emotional
competencies.

Ready to Lead | 7
Introduction

A
merican education is at a crossroads. On one hand, there are increasing levels of
academic achievement, high school graduation, and postsecondary enrollment and
attainment, while on the other, students are experiencing greater levels of stress,
trauma, and instability. Children today live in a more complex, economically competitive, and
globally connected world, and while academic skills have been appropriately emphasized,
the social and emotional dimensions of human development have been left behind in both
policy and practice. While it is imperative that students learn to read, write, and do math, it
is equally important to master other skills, like self-control, empathy, teamwork, and problem
solving to succeed in school and be prepared for life in a demanding 21st century world.

Benefits of Social and Social and emotional learning (SEL) provides an

opportunity for a powerful, student-centric approach
Emotional Learning
to education with proven benefits to help children
A significant and growing body of research makes overcome the challenges they face. Social and
it clear that a student’s success is dependent on emotional skills – such as self-awareness, self-
factors other than academic skills, including social management, social awareness, relationship skills,
and emotional competence. This underscores and responsible decision-making – are critical to
the importance for schools to look beyond typical being a good student and citizen (see page 11 for
classroom instruction. School-based SEL programs more information on the definition of SEL).
have the ability to (a) enhance students’ social
and emotional skills and classroom behavior; (b) Powerful evidence continues to emerge from adver-
improve attachment and attitudes toward school; (c) sity science, brain science, psychology, and social
decrease rates of violence and aggression, disciplin- science that reinforce the importance of systemically
ary referrals, and substance use; and (d) improve embedding social and emotional development in
academic performance. These positive findings schools (Durlak, Domitrovich, Weissberg, & Gullotta,
appear to hold for children of diverse backgrounds 2015). A 2011 meta-analysis found that students
from preschool through high school. who receive high-quality SEL instruction have

8 | Ready to Lead
achievement scores on average of 11 percentile very important in school quality – confirming that the
points higher than students who did not receive American public already understands the need for
SEL instruction (Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, schools to focus on developing students’ social and
Taylor, & Schellinger, 2011). Several individual emotional competencies in addition to academic
studies reviewed for a 2017 meta-analysis found knowledge and skills.
even greater long-term impacts of SEL, including
In addition to this compelling evidence, the release
decreased likelihood of mental health issues and
of The Missing Piece: A National Survey on How
dropping out of high school, and increased proba-
Social and Emotional Learning Can Empower
bilities of college attendance and degree attainment
Children and Transform Schools in 2013 showed
(Taylor, Oberle, Durlak, & Weissberg, 2017). Surveys
that teachers across the country recognize the
of employers found that they seek the very skills
need to intentionally integrate SEL into classrooms
that social and emotional learning programs foster:
and curriculums (Bridgeland, Bruce, & Hariharan,
problem-solving, communication, teamwork, and grit
2013). Of the more than 600 educators surveyed, 93
(Sigmar, Hynes, & Hill, 2012). Advances in neurosci-
percent responded that it was important for schools
ence suggest that teaching social and emotional
to promote the development of social and emotional
skills in kindergarten can have long-term academic
skills, while 95 percent of respondents believe that
benefits on students’ reading and vocabulary,
these skills are teachable (for more on The Missing
including in high poverty schools, suggesting that
Piece, please see Appendix II).
SEL may assist in closing achievement gaps (Blair
& Raver, 2014). In 2015, researchers at Columbia
University concluded that for every dollar a school About this Report
spends on social-emotional learning programs, For this report, we wanted to hear from the school
it sees an eleven dollar return on its investment and district leaders that are instrumental in success-
(Belfield et al., 2015). The research points to one ful systemic implementation of SEL. Principals serve
fact: when schools promote students’ academic, a central role in establishing a positive learning envi-
social, and emotional learning, students will possess ronment and creating the conditions to raise student
the basic competencies, work habits, and values for achievement. While teachers have long been known
postsecondary education, meaningful careers, and to have the greatest in-school impact on student
engaged citizenship. achievement, principals are right behind them as
Other studies demonstrate that students who receive the second most important in-school factor associ-
high-quality SEL in the classroom display better aca- ated with achievement (Leithwood, Seashore Louis,
demic performance, improved attitudes and behav- Anderson, & Wahlstrom, 2004; Seashore Louis,
iors, greater motivation to learn, deeper connection Leithwood, Wahlstrom, & Andseron, 2010). They also
to school, and improved relationships with peers, as play a critical role in establishing a climate where
well as fewer delinquent acts, conduct referrals, and SEL is valued and providing the support needed
reduced emotional distress, including fewer reports to successfully implement it school-wide. Elias et
of student depression, anxiety, stress, and social al. (2006) identified the “transformational leader-
withdrawal (Sklad, Diekstra, Ritter, Ben, & Grav- ship” that is essential to effective SEL integration,
esteijn, 2012; Wigelsworth, Qualter, & Humphrey, stating that “principals have special roles in setting
2017). These benefits are invaluable in a school the agenda for leadership and inspiring others to
setting where young students are navigating not share and elaborate in their vision” (p. 13). Though
only academic challenges but also the interpersonal research on the link between principal leadership
relationship difficulties many face during adoles- and SEL program implementation is limited, Kam et
cence. And according to the 2017 Annual PDK Poll al. (2003) did find that significant program effects
of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools, were dependent on both high levels of principal
8 in 10 Americans believe that how well schools support and high-quality classroom implementation,
do at developing students’ interpersonal skills, further underscoring the importance of their role.
including being cooperative, respectful of others, The findings presented here were collected from
and persistent at solving problems, is extremely or a nationally representative online survey of 884

Ready to Lead | 9
K-12 principals and individual interviews with 16 As a follow-up to The Missing Piece, this report
superintendents and 10 district-level research and brings the valuable perspectives of principals,
evaluation specialists representing diverse school superintendents, and research and evaluation
districts across the country (For a detailed summary specialists to the foreground of the national conver-
of the principals, superintendents, and research and sation around the current status and future expan-
evaluation specialists that participated in this report, sion of high-quality, evidence-based, systemic SEL
please see Appendix I: Methodology). The results of in schools and districts nationwide. Their opinions
the principal survey are the primary focus of this report, reinforced what was heard from teachers in 2013 on
while the responses from the superintendent and the importance of developing social and emotional
research and evaluation specialist interviews serve skills, while providing a picture of the current state of
to provide context from district-level administrators. school-wide SEL programs across the United States.
Educators need greater evidence, support, and
The survey was informed by the prior instrument
guidance to successfully implement SEL, but the
used in the 2013 survey of teachers for The Miss-
good news is that administrators from kindergarten
ing Piece report, allowing for cross-comparison of
to the 12th grade, in all areas of the county, are com-
responses, as well as new questions to account for
mitted to developing students’ social and emotional
the differing roles administrators play in implement-
skills and understand the value it can have in school
ing SEL. The survey and interviews were aimed at
improvement efforts. In addition, the Every Student
answering the following key questions:
Succeeds Act (ESSA) encourages increased

1. and
How is social and emotional learning viewed
understood by school- and district-level
prioritization of educating the whole child and even
requires states to include at least one nonacademic
administrators? indicator in their accountability systems, providing
an invaluable window for schools and districts to
2. Tobeingwhatsystemically
extent is social and emotional learning
implemented in schools?
prioritize social and emotional learning and restore
an educational focus on providing high-quality child
development (Gayl, 2017; Melnick, Cook-Harvey, &
3. Wimplementation
hat factors play the greatest role in systemic
of school-based social and
Darling-Hammond, 2017). The time is ripe to bring
social and emotional learning into more schools and
emotional learning?
bring more students the education they deserve.

4. What is the current state of SEL assessment

by educators?

10 | Ready to Lead
What is Social and Emotional Learning?
Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process ■■ Self-management: The ability to successfully reg-
through which children and adults acquire and ulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in
effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills different situations — effectively managing stress,
necessary to understand and manage emotions, controlling impulses, and motivating oneself. The
set and achieve positive goals, feel and show ability to set and work toward personal and aca-
empathy for others, establish and maintain positive demic goals.
relationships, and make responsible decisions ■■ Social awareness: The ability to take the per-
(CASEL, 2012). SEL programming is based on the spective of and empathize with others, including
understanding that the best learning emerges in the those from diverse backgrounds and cultures. The
context of supportive relationships that make learning ability to understand social and ethical norms for
challenging, engaging, and meaningful. Social and behavior and to recognize family, school, and com-
emotional skills are critical to being good students, munity resources and supports.
citizens, and workers. In addition, many different ■■ Relationship skills: The ability to establish and
risky behaviors (e.g., drug use, violence, bullying, and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships with
dropping out) can be prevented or reduced when diverse individuals and groups. The ability to com-
multiyear, integrated efforts are used to develop municate clearly, listen well, cooperate with oth-
students’ social and emotional skills. This is best ers, resist inappropriate social pressure, negotiate
done through (1) effective classroom instruction; conflict constructively, and seek and offer help
(2) student engagement in positive activities in and when needed.
out of the classroom; (3) coordinated school-wide
programming and policies, and (4) broad parent Figure 1. Framework for Systemic
and community involvement in program planning,
Social and Emotional Learning
implementation, and evaluation (See Figure 1) (Bond
& Carmola-Hauf, 2004; Nation et al., 2003; Oberle,
Domitrovich, Meyer, & Weissberg, 2016; Weare e s a n d S c h o ol s
Hom
& Nind, 2011; Weissberg, Durlak, Domitrovitch, & S c h o o ls
Gullotta, 2015). Effective SEL programming begins Classrooms
in preschool and continues through high school ess S elf- m
en an
and beyond, and most importantly, it addresses the ar ag
w
needs of both students and adults.
a

em
lf-

en
Se

SEL enhances students’ capacity to integrate skills,

t

attitudes, and behaviors to deal effectively and Social &

Social Awa

ethically with daily tasks and challenges. Like many Emotional

Making
cis onsible

similar frameworks, CASEL’s integrated framework

promotes intrapersonal, interpersonal, and cognitive Learning
ion
De esp

competence. CASEL has identified five interrelated

ren

sets of cognitive, affective, and behavioral com-

es
s

petencies that can be taught in many ways across Rel n

SE
L ationship Skills ti o s
difference settings (CASEL, 2013; CASEL, 2015; Sc C ur u c e
r ic ul u str ci
Durlak, Domitrovitch, Weissberg, & Gullotta, 2015). ho
o m a n d I n Poli s
The five-competency clusters for students are:
Fa
mi
lwid
e P ractice s and r s hip
ly a e
nd C rtn
■■ Self-awareness: The ability to accurately recog- o m m u nity Pa
nize one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and
how they influence behavior. The ability to accu-
rately assess one’s strengths and limitations, with a
well-grounded sense of confidence, optimism, and
a “growth mindset.”

Ready to Lead | 11
■■ Responsible decision-making: The ability to ■■ Turnaround for Children’s Building Blocks for
make constructive choices about personal be- Learning framework represents the skills and
havior and social interactions based on ethical mindsets that students use to access, acquire,
standards, safety concerns, and social norms. The and apply the academic knowledge and skills
realistic evaluation of consequences of various they learn in the classroom. In selecting the Build-
actions, and a consideration of the well-being of ing Blocks for Learning, Turnaround for Children
oneself and others. focused on three guiding principles: 1) alignment
to the development of the child as a “learner” in
The short-term goals of SEL programs are to
an educational setting; 2) differentiating between
promote these competencies, and in turn, build
personality/character traits and learner attributes
student agency, increase engagement, and create
by identifying measurable and malleable skills,
a stronger connection between students and their behaviors, or mindsets; and 3) a research base
learning. SEL programming provides a foundation demonstrating impact of skill, behavior, or mindset
for better adjustment and academic performance as on academic achievement. These led to 16 differ-
reflected in more positive social behaviors and peer ent building blocks across 5 tiers (in ascending
relationships, fewer conduct problems, less emo- order) healthy development, school readiness,
tional distress, and improved grades and test scores mindsets for self and school, perseverance, and
(Durlak et al., 2011; Greenberg et al., 2003). independence and sustainability.
■■ P21’s Framework for 21st Century Learning
Additional SEL Frameworks identifies both 21st century student outcomes,
as well as the support systems required for stu-
While CASEL is one of the leaders in developing a
dent success. The P21 framework believes that
framework for teaching and implementing systemic
there are four 21st century student outcomes that
SEL, other organizations have also advanced
students need to reach for future success in career
alternative frameworks for developing students’ and beyond. These outcomes include master-
social and emotional skills and competencies. A ing knowledge in key subjects and 21st century
few prominent examples include models developed themes, like global awareness and environmental
by the University of Chicago Consortium on School literacy; learning and innovation skills; information,
Research, Turnaround for Children, and P21. media, and technology skills; and life and career
■■ The Chicago Consortium’s Foundations for skills. For students to achieve these skills, P21’s
Young Adult Success framework believes that Framework identifies critical support systems that
children learn through developmental experiences can help students on their path, such as innovative
that require action and reflection in response to standards, curriculums and instruction, skills as-
their interactions with the world and the adults sessments, and professional development.
around them. The Foundations for Young Adult
The emergence of multiple frameworks to develop
Success framework sees three key factors required
the social and emotional skills students will need
for young adult success: the agency to make ac-
for future life success is yet another example of the
tive decisions about one’s life; the competencies
to adapt to the demands of different contexts; and growing demand for SEL implementation. While
incorporating different aspects of oneself into an researchers and scholars may offer variations on
integrated identity. These factors for success are exactly how to cultivate these competencies, they
influenced by four foundational components: self- agree that SEL is an integral part to each child’s
regulation, knowledge, mindsets, and values. education and development.

12 | Ready to Lead
Survey Findings 1
Attitudes About SEL
There is a strong consensus among school- and district-level administrators that social and
emotional skills are important and should be developed in all students.

Principals understand, value, and are teachers in 2013 – consider it to be very important
committed to developing students’ SEL skills for schools to promote the development of the SEL
Social and emotional learning (SEL), as defined in skills set out by CASEL. This high-level endorse-
CASEL’s framework, is “the process through which ment comes from principals throughout the K-12
people acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, spectrum and from principals with both limited and
attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and advanced experience, and it is especially strong from
manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, urban and suburban principals (87 and 89 percent,
feel and show empathy for others, establish and respectively). In individual interviews, superintendents
maintain positive relationships, and make respon- and district research and evaluation specialists also
sible decisions.” SEL focuses on developing knowl- recognized the importance of developing students’
edge, attitudes, and skills in five competency areas: SEL skills in school, though some variation exists in
the top-of-mind types of skills these administrators
■■ Self-awareness, like knowing your strengths and
weaknesses; see as critically important. Superintendents listed
qualities such as resilience, self-efficacy, self-
■■ Self-management, like being able to stay in control
regulation, empathy, communication skills, ability to
and persevere through challenges;
get along with others, and problem-solving skills.
■■ Social awareness, like understanding and empa- Research and evaluation specialists mentioned quali-
thizing with others; ties including motivation, grit, emotional intelligence,
■■ Relationship skills, like being able to work in teams and interpersonal skills. Both superintendents and
and resolve conflicts; and research and evaluation specialists endorsed the
■■ Responsible decision making, like making safe CASEL framework as a comprehensive approach to
and ethical choices. social and emotional development.
Our nationally representative survey confirms that One of the most promising findings from The Missing
principals strongly endorse this framework. Eighty- Piece report was that 95 percent of teachers believed
three percent of principals – up from 76 percent of that social and emotional skills are teachable in a

Ready to Lead | 13
 Principals are already on board with social and emotional learning.
These social and emotional skills are teachable in a school setting:

Definitely teachable 74% Probably teachable 99%

95% teachable (47% definitely) among teachers in 2013

I am very/fairly committed to developing students’ social

and emotional skills in my school:

Very committed 69% Fairly committed 95%

school setting, and for principals, that belief is even  here is a strong consensus
T
higher. Ninety-nine percent of principals surveyed
that SEL should be taught to
believe that SEL skills are teachable in school,
and of those principals, nearly three-quarters (74 all students
percent) believe SEL skills are definitely teachable,
compared to 47 percent of teachers just four years 98%
ago. Nearly all principals surveyed (95 percent) also Definitely true
report being committed to developing students’ SEL Probably true
skills in their schools, including 69 percent who said Probably not true
that they are very committed. Elementary school 73%
Definitely not true
principals (79 percent vs 66 percent of middle
school and 70 percent of high school principals)
and those in urban (81 percent) and suburban (77
percent) schools (compared to 67 percent small
town/rural) are more likely to believe SEL skills
are teachable and report a strong commitment to
2%
developing their students’ SEL skills.

Strong consensus among principals that

SEL should be taught to all students
Nearly all principals – 98 percent – believe that it is Principals believe in the benefits of SEL,
probably or definitely true that students from all types but are less convinced of its impact on
of backgrounds, both high- and low-income, would academic achievement
benefit from learning social and emotional skills in Most principals surveyed see high probability of
school. The strong consensus among principals SEL’s positive benefits for students and their school.
that SEL holds benefits for all students aligns with Virtually all principals believe that an increased
what teachers reported in 2013. In fact, a majority focus on social and emotional learning would have
of principals reject the idea that it is less important at least a somewhat major benefit on promoting a
to teach SEL skills in affluent schools than in high- positive school climate (99 percent), helping stu-
poverty schools, as well as that SEL skills should dents become good citizens as adults (98 percent),
only be taught to students with social and emotional improving relationships between students and their
problems. This belief holds true for a large majority teachers (98 percent), and decreasing bullying
of principals, regardless of whether they lead high- (96 percent). Similarly, most principals say that an
or low-poverty schools (73 percent in low-poverty increased focus on developing SEL skills would help
schools, 74 percent in high-poverty schools). prepare students for the workforce (98 percent) and

14 | Ready to Lead
 Most principals are convinced that SEL improves school climate,
citizenship, and relationships; a small majority expect academic gains.
Very Major Benefit Somewhat Major Benefit

Proportions saying increased focus on social and Total very/somewhat

emotional would have a major benefit on: major benefit

Promoting a positive school climate 83% 99%

Students becoming good citizens as adults 78% 98%

Relationships between teachers and students 77% 98%

Relationships amoung students; bullying 74% 96%

Preparing students for the workforce 72% 98%

Students’ moving successfully thru K-12, graduating 70% 97%

Students’ achievement in academic coursework 61% 97%

Preparing students to get to and through college 58% 97%

believe it would have a positive impact on students “One thing is, you need to be able
moving successfully through K-12 and graduating
from high school (97 percent). Principals also believe
to show where it [SEL] is being done
SEL can have a very or somewhat major benefit on successfully, what the trade-off for
students’ academic achievement in their coursework that is. Whether it’s a positive trade-
(97 percent) and preparing students to get to and
through college (97 percent). off – so you gave up the time for this,
These results show that principals see the benefits however overall scores improved,
of placing a larger focus on SEL, but fewer prin- attendance improved – if you can
cipals are fully convinced of a large-scale benefit
show models where that’s occurred
on raising academic achievement and preparing
students to get to and through college than they are and the positive trade-off for the
of its benefits on improving school climate, citizen- time and resources that need to be
ship, and relationships. For example, as the follow-
ing graph shows, 83 percent of principals believe
invested in it, that’s what people
a larger focus on SEL would have a very major need to see before they’re willing to
benefit on promoting a positive school climate and give up those other things.”
78 percent believe it will have a very major benefit
on students becoming good students as adults. By Superintendent
contrast, the proportion who believe an increased
focus on SEL will have a very major benefit drops In interviews with superintendents and research and
to 61 percent for students’ academic achievement evaluation specialists, there was greater recognition
and 58 percent on college preparation. While these of the link between developing students’ SEL skills
are solid majorities, this drop off indicates that some and raising academic achievement. Most not only
principals still need additional evidence of the size- agreed that SEL skills are as high a priority as other
able impact of SEL on academic achievement. skills students need to develop in K-12, but believe

Ready to Lead | 15
  rincipals believe that SEL has a positive impact on students’
P
in-school experience.
Definitely true Probably true

Teaching social and emotional skills in school will improve student behavior and reduce
the need for discipline referrals
56% 41% 97%

Teaching social and emotional skills will help students take more responsibility
for their own learning and development
51% 46% 97%

Teaching social and emotional skills in school will make learning more engaging
and enjoyable for students
46% 49% 95%

Teaching social and emotional skills in school will improve students’ academic
performance, such as by increasing standardized test scores or GPAs
40% 53% 93%

Teaching social and emotional skills in school will reduce absenteeism and
improve student attendance
40% 52% 92%

SEL skills are, in fact, a prerequisite to the academic Ninety-seven percent of principals believe it is
piece and that it is impossible to learn without them. definitely or probably true that teaching SEL skills
However, these district-level administrators under- in school will improve student behavior and reduce
stand that not everyone sees the clear link between the need for disciplinary referrals, as well as help
SEL and academic gains, and they emphasize that students take more responsibility for their own learn-
in order to get others on board with developing ing and development. Almost all principals also say
more SEL programming, it is imperative to produce it is definitely or probably true that teaching social
greater evidence. This will need to include data and emotional skills in school will make learning
demonstrating that developing SEL skills and more engaging and enjoyable for students (95
competencies can lead to real academic gains, percent), improve students’ academic performance
especially in schools and districts that are heavily (93 percent), and reduce absenteeism and improve
focused on standardized testing, as well as provid- student attendance (92 percent).
ing concrete case studies where a focus on SEL has
While most principals are inclined overall to believe
led to greater academic achievement.
in the positive impacts of SEL on students’ in-school
Principals believe SEL can positively affect experience, less than half are entirely convinced of
students’ in-school experience its effects on academic performance (40 percent
say it is definitely true that SEL will improve this) and
When asked if social and emotional learning could
improving student attendance (40 percent say it is
improve students’ in-school experience, principals
definitely true that SEL will improve this).
responded in an overwhelmingly positive way.

16 | Ready to Lead
I n 2011, CASEL embarked on an effort to put research into action and launched the first-of-its
kind Collaborating Districts Initiative (CDI) — a partnership among CASEL, Novo Foundation,
the American Institute for Research (AIR), and initially, eight large school districts across the
country: Anchorage, AK; Austin, TX; Chicago, IL; Cleveland, OH; Nashville, TN; Oakland, CA;
Sacramento, CA; and Washoe County, NV. With Atlanta, GA and El Paso, TX subsequently
joining the collaborative, the CDI now includes 10 school districts representing more than
one million students in some of the nation’s most geographically, economically, and ethnically
diverse communities. Though there are several other examples of high-quality, district-wide
SEL implementation, including the CORE Districts in California, we focus here on SEL efforts
within the CDI to help provide key insights on systemic SEL implementation, the challenges
these districts have encountered, and how they envision their work moving forward. For more
on the mission of the CDI, please see Appendix III and visit http://www.casel.org/cdi-results/.

Snapshot: child – a focus that still drives their work today. By

joining CASEL’s CDI, however, Anchorage has been
Anchorage School District – able to hone their efforts and advance systemic
Building on Grassroots SEL implementation through common language and
Anchorage School District is the largest school programming. Here are a few key takeaways from
district in Alaska, serving 47,834 students during the Anchorage on SEL implementation:
2016-17 school year. The students that comprise
Why leadership matters: In Anchorage, what
Anchorage School District are 42 percent white, 6
helped drive SEL at the district level is the belief
percent Black, 12 percent Hispanic, and 17 percent
that SEL should be at the heart of their mission to
Asian and/or Pacific Islander. A majority of students
educate children. Those who are shaping SEL in the
(54 percent) in Anchorage School District qualify
district have seen how critical it is to get the backing
for free or reduced-price lunch, while 15 percent of
of administrators and principals, who are the key to
students in Anchorage were categorized as students
change, and that these leaders successfully model
with disabilities in 2016-17.1 Anchorage School
the social and emotional competencies they want
District posted a high school graduation rate of 80
to instill in students and staff. The leadership in
percent in 2015, 4.4 percentage points higher than
Anchorage has also played a crucial role in taking
the graduation rate for the state of Alaska.
SEL implementation toward a more systematic
Anchorage was an original member of CASEL’s implementation through its District Leadership Team,
Collaborating Districts Initiative (CDI), joining in which brought together district-level administrators,
2011, but developing the social and emotional skills principals, and teachers for three years to grapple
of both students and adults across the district was with how to move the district in the right direction.
happening well before becoming a part of the CDI. The District Leadership Team used the pre-existing
In the decade before joining the CDI, educators in Response to Intervention (RTI) framework that was
Anchorage worked to create SEL standards, bring being used across the district to build out appropri-
in an SEL coordinator, and establish SEL programs ate SEL programming for elementary, middle, and
in its schools. This grassroots effort to prioritize SEL high schools and put all schools on the same page.
came from an inherent core value in Anchorage’s Creating the District Leadership Team involved
teachers and leaders that their job was to go beyond school and district leaders in the decision-making
teaching academic content and educate the whole on SEL implementation, but more importantly,

1 School district data retrieved from Department of Demographics-GIS Services, “Ethnicity Report,” Anchorage School District, retrieved
from https://www.asdk12.org/demographics-gis/ethnicity/.

Ready to Lead | 17
included teachers in the process and made trans- asked themselves whether they truly needed more
parency a key component, ensuring that nothing data or if they simply needed better data that could
was happening to teachers, but rather with them help them understand their current SEL programs
at the helm. and how to improve them. This has allowed for a
focus on collecting the data that matters to teachers
Moving from a core value to data-driven SEL:
and can help them improve their instruction and kept
Anchorage is seeing a shift from holding SEL and
the data collection transparent. Though Anchorage
whole child development as a core value to using
is still working toward a better SEL data system,
SEL data to learn more about outcomes and how
asking big questions – and being sure to keep the
to improve their instruction and implementation.
well-being of students and teachers at the heart of
Though SEL has long been a staple in the district,
it – is helping to move SEL in the district forward
evaluating SEL programs and their outcomes has
successfully.
only become a priority more recently. The district
uses a school climate and connectedness survey to For more information on SEL in Anchorage, please
measure where students stand on 17 SEL compe- visit: http://www.casel.org/partner-districts/
tencies, as well as how they perceive school culture. anchorage-school-district/
Anchorage also collects data from a SEL staff
survey that draws on the perceptions of teachers
and provides them with feedback on their implemen-
tation efforts and informs their practice. In addition
to the student and staff surveys, Anchorage uses
a family satisfaction survey that measures percep-
tions of climate and safety in their child’s school. All
of these survey results will now be available in the
district’s data dashboard to make SEL data more
accessible to educators, families, and community
organizations. Leaders are trying to be more inten-
tional about collecting data to evaluate the impact
of SEL programming and using that data to course
correct where needed.
Asking big questions: Some of the greatest course
corrections in Anchorage have come from asking
critical questions in their surveys and questioning
how best to move SEL implementation forward in the
most beneficial way possible. One question on the
grade 6-12 student school climate and connected-
ness survey asks students to respond to the state-
ment: “At school, there is a teacher or some other
adult who will miss me when I’m absent.” When just
46 percent of students responded positively, they
knew change was needed. This pushed the district
to make relationships a priority by making sure
adults in each school were equipped to build better
relationships with their students and built upon long-
standing efforts to ensure that adults in the district
had developed their own SEL skills. Asking the right
questions also shapes their use of SEL data. Instead
of going full-steam ahead with increased data
collection and reporting, educators in Anchorage

18 | Ready to Lead
Survey Findings 2
SEL Implementation
While the “will” to implement SEL is there, the “way” – understanding the key components
to implementation, who needs to be involved, and having adequate support – is often not.
But in schools that are systematically implementing SEL, a few things are very clear: sup-
port from district leaders is high, teachers are heavily involved, and more stakeholders are
included in the process. And the more systemic SEL is, the greater the outcomes. Principals
that have already moved toward school-wide SEL are seeing better academic results and an
improved in-school experience all around.

The evidence shows that the benefits of SEL are wide SEL plan lays the groundwork for providing
greater when it is implemented effectively and training and support for teachers and staff, making
seamlessly integrated into the learning environment, shared decisions on SEL program adoption, creating
but in most places, even when high-quality program- SEL benchmarks and appropriate assessments to
ming is being used, SEL is often not embedded measure student progress, and creating family and
across classrooms in a meaningful way (Oberle, community partnerships that can help support the
Domitrovich, Meyers, & Weissberg, 2016). Like development of social and emotional competencies
academic skills, social and emotional competencies outside of school. School-wide SEL implementation
are best developed when students and teachers are – with the support of district leaders – also allows for
given the opportunity to continuously hone these customized SEL programming based on the needs
skills and build upon them through daily practice and of the school, increasing the likelihood of buy-in and
reinforcement. This is why many SEL researchers providing critical space for growth and readjustment.
advise a move away from fragmented approaches to
Though the evidence for systemic SEL implementa-
SEL toward systemic, school-wide programming that
tion is strong, it is clear from our survey that the
allows students’ social and emotional skills to be cul-
majority of principals are not yet going this route
tivated alongside their academic skills and creates a
– just one-quarter of principals score high on SEL
common climate and culture for SEL throughout the
implementation. The ones who are systematically
school (Greenberg et al., 2003; Jones & Bouffard,
implementing SEL school-wide have three key
2012; Meyers et al., 2015; Oberle, Domitrovitch,
things in common: 1) They have strong support
Meyers, & Weissberg, 2016). Establishing a school-

Ready to Lead | 19
 While principals consistently support SEL, there is more variation
in implementation.
Which of these best describes your school in having a school-wide program for teaching students
social and emotional skills?

Developed a plan for teaching students social and emotional skills, Impementing plan school-wide
and systematically implementing it school-wide Elementary School 41%
35% Middle/junior high 31%
High school 25%
Developed a plan for teaching students social and emotional skills,
Urban 41%
and with partial implementation
Suburban 32%
38% Small town/rural 31%
In the process of developing a plan for teaching students social and Free/reduced lunch
emotional skills but it is not yet complete Less than 40% 37%
20% 80%/more 37%
School size (students)
Not really considering developing a plan for teaching students social Less than 500 34%
and emotional skills
500 to 999 38%
7% 1,000/more 31%

from district leaders, 2) they expect all teachers to it school-wide. Nearly two in five principals (38
develop students’ SEL skills, and 3) they engage a percent) said that their school has developed a
wide range of both in- and out-of-school stakehold- plan for teaching SEL but has reached only partial
ers to advance SEL. These principals are also implementation. Twenty percent of principals
reaping the greatest rewards. Principals who are reported being in the process of developing a plan
systematically implementing SEL in their schools are for teaching SEL, and just seven percent said they
more likely to report successfully developing stu- were not considering developing a plan for teaching
dents’ knowledge in key content areas, their ability SEL. School-wide implementation is more likely to
to apply knowledge and skills in real world situa- be reported by elementary school principals (41
tions, and their critical thinking and reasoning skills. percent, compared to 31 percent of middle school
Principals in schools where SEL implementation and 25 percent of high school principals) and by
is high are also far more likely to believe that SEL those in urban settings (41 percent, compared to 32
will reduce discipline referrals, make learning more percent in suburban and 31 percent in small town/
enjoyable for students, reduce absenteeism, and rural areas).
improve students’ academic performance. These
Nearly 70 percent of principals said they expect all
findings strongly support a school-wide approach to
teachers in their school to teach students social and
SEL implementation and add to a growing research
emotional skills. Sixty-four percent reported that the
base that systemic SEL can lead to big improve-
teaching of social and emotional skills is integrated
ments throughout a school.
throughout the academic curriculum – though only
25 percent said that this applies fully to their school.
While support is high, SEL Elementary school principals (67 percent) were more
implementation varies significantly likely than middle (58 percent) and high school (57
percent) principals to report integrating SEL into
Despite overwhelmingly positive support from
their academic curriculum. By contrast, about half
administrators for developing students’ SEL skills
of principals (51 percent) said they have a separate
and competencies, implementation of SEL pro-
and specific curriculum, apart from academics, for
gramming varies widely. Only about one-third of
teaching students social and emotional skills.
principals (35 percent) report that their school has
developed a plan for teaching students social and Superintendents and research and evaluation
emotional skills and is systematically implementing specialists agree that the teaching of social and

20 | Ready to Lead
emotional skills is, for the most part, not universal in of our survey, the framework was narrowed down to
their districts. While most see SEL being addressed seven key benchmarks:
at least tangentially and believe that teachers are ■■ My school has developed a clear vision statement
inherently building students’ SEL skills, only some that prioritizes social and emotional learning for
report having specific programs in place. In inter- all students.
views, several mentioned PBIS, character education, ■■ My school has a long-term plan to support
Second Step, and restorative justice programming students’ social and emotional learning.
as ways students in their schools are getting ■■ My school has implemented an evidence-based
these skills. Few superintendents reported having
program for teaching students social and
specific, explicit social and emotional goals stated emotional skills.
in their learning standards, although several have
■■ There is a coordinated professional development
incorporated social and emotional development into
program that addresses social and emotional
their district’s broader mission statement or strategic
learning.
plan. Many also said that while SEL teaching is
happening in lower grades, it drops off by the time
■■ My school regularly evaluates whether adequate
resources are being devoted to social and
students reach middle or high school.
emotional learning.
■■ The central office leaders of my school’s district
“Indirectly [SEL teaching is happening] provide guidance and support for social and emo-
quite a bit, but it is not formalized tional learning.
like it should be. We need to make ■■ My school has comprehensive, developmentally
appropriate learning standards that describe what
the emphasis that every teacher social and emotional skills students should know
is taking steps to deal with social and be able to demonstrate at each grade level.

and emotional needs of students, When principals were asked if their school was
meeting those benchmarks, few were. Less than
but I understand it’s hard because half said their school has a clear vision statement
they have to get through so much prioritizing SEL for all students or a long-term plan
curriculum for tests: it turns into an to support students’ social and emotional learning.
Forty percent reported implementing evidence-
assembly line of information, rather based programming for teaching SEL, and 36
than caring about a kid with divorced percent said they have coordinated professional
development addressing SEL or are regularly
parents or who is in foster care.”
evaluating if the resources devoted to SEL are
Superintendent adequate. Only a third (34 percent) reported that
district leaders provided guidance/support for SEL,
and only 33 percent said that standards are in
Few schools fully meet the bench- place describing SEL for each grade level.
marks for implementing SEL Of all principals surveyed, just one-quarter could
CASEL has developed a school-wide framework be considered “high-implementers” of SEL.3
for SEL implementation, which lays out key areas Thirty-nine percent of principals are moderate
of focus to help schools establish goals and reflect implementers, and 36 percent are low implement-
upon their implementation efforts.2 For the purposes ers. The highest implementing principals can be

2 For more on the Theory of Action and to view resources for the systemic implementation of social and emotional learning, please visit
CASEL’s District Resource Center at https://drc.casel.org.
3 SEL implementation calculated by assigning schools points based on principals’ reporting of how well each benchmark describes their
school (on a 0- to 4-point scale on each of CASEL’s seven benchmarks, maximum score 28 points): High = 21 or higher, moderate = 11
to 20, low = 0 to 10.

Ready to Lead | 21
 Few schools fully meet the benchmarks for implementing SEL.
How well does this describe your school?

Describes very well Describes fairly well Describes somewhat Doesn’t describe well Doesn’t describe at all
45%
Has a clear vision statement
prioritizing SEL for all
18% 27% 25% 17% 13%
43%
Has long-term plan to
support students’ SEL 17% 26% 26% 17% 14%
40%
Implements evidence-based
program for teaching SEL 18% 22% 23% 20% 17%
Has coordinated professional
36%
development addressing SEL 15% 21% 23% 23% 18%
Regularly evaluates if devoting 36%
adequate resources to SEL 13% 23% 28% 20% 16%
District leaders provided 34%
guidance/support for SEL 14% 20% 25% 21% 20%
Has standards describing SEL 33%
skills for each grade level 12% 21% 25% 22% 20%

found in urban school districts, while the lowest More than half of principals (54 percent) who said
are in small town or rural districts. Implementation their district places a great deal of emphasis on
is fairly evenly split across grade levels and high- SEL qualified as high implementers according to
and low-poverty schools. CASEL’s benchmarks, and thirty-six percent were
moderate implementers. On the other hand, of those
who said their districts placed less emphasis on
District leadership plays a large SEL, just 8 percent were high implementers and 28
role in driving SEL percent moderate implementers, pointing again to
Though the support for SEL among administrators the critical importance of having support for SEL at
is high, part of the variance in implementation the highest levels of district leadership.
appears to come from a disconnect between
school and district leadership. While a large “I think it comes from the top: what
majority of principals said their school district
we message, what we monitor, what
emphasizes developing students’ social and
emotional skills at least a fair amount, only 26 we pay attention to, what we provide
percent said there was a “great deal” of emphasis professional learning around, what
on SEL coming from above. In fact, only 40 percent
of principals said their central district leadership
type of experts we bring in for their
requires all schools to have a plan for teaching learning.”
social and emotional skills. Of principals who
Superintendent
said their school district places a great deal of
emphasis on teaching SEL, however, 65 percent
Interviews with superintendents confirmed how
reported their school has developed a plan for SEL
important it is for central district leadership to be
and is systematically implementing it school-wide.
engaged in SEL, reporting that SEL is happening
In comparison, of principals who said their district
on a more programmatic basis where central
places a fair amount of emphasis and those who
office leadership is invested in SEL and has made
claimed even less emphasis, just 30 percent and
building these skills a priority. They also believe
16 percent, respectively, have a plan for SEL and
when support for SEL implementation comes from
are systematically implementing it.
the top, it carries with it the power to bring imple-
menters (e.g., principals and teachers) and other

22 | Ready to Lead
 District leadership plays an important role in driving SEL.

Emphasis my school district places on My school has developed a plan for SEL and
developing students’ social/emotional skills is systematically implemented is school-wide
(By district’s amount of emphasis)
72%
65%

30%
21%
26% 16%
7%

Great deal/ Some Little Principles Principals Principals

fair amount emphasis emphasis saying great saying fair saying less
of emphasis deal amount

stakeholders (e.g., parents and school boards) on emotional skills, compared to 56 percent of middle
board with expanding SEL. In the districts of the school principals and 33 percent of elementary
superintendents who described SEL as a personal school principals.
passion of theirs, SEL is being implemented more
extensively and there is a greater level of experi- “I can tell you anecdotally that children
mentation with creative and innovative approaches
to implementing SEL that are tailored to the needs
who get along, who are comfortable in
and goals of the district. Both school and district their classrooms and are comfortable
leaders agree: calls for SEL coming from the seeking help and advocating for them-
highest level of leadership are a critical piece to
ensuring it takes hold on a systemic basis. selves when they need it, I can tell you
that those kinds of children tend to do
Schools that are systematically better in school and that our programs
implementing SEL involve more are designed to help children develop
people, are more successful at in those ways.”
developing students’ SEL skills,
Superintendent
and see more academic success
Principals most commonly report that school Schools that report the highest levels of SEL
administrators (92 percent), teachers (90 percent), implementation are more likely to involve more in-
and counselors (84 percent) are actively engaged and out-of-school stakeholders, which can better
in developing students’ social and emotional skills. ensure everyone is working together to success-
Roughly half report involving parents (52 percent), fully put SEL into practice. Principals in schools
and just less than half cite school psychologists with both high and moderate SEL implementation
(46 percent), coaches and extracurricular activity are more likely to involve principals and school
leaders (45 percent), and school social workers administrators, teachers, counselors and school
(43 percent) as being engaged in teaching SEL. psychologists, parents, coaches/extracurricular
Sixty-one percent of high school principals report activity leaders, school social workers, and before-
coaches and extracurricular activity leaders as and after-school staff in engaging students’ social
being engaged in developing students’ social and and emotional competencies.

Ready to Lead | 23
 The primary actors involved in teaching SEL are school
administrators, teachers, and school counselors.
Which of the following people are actively engaged in developing students’ social and
emotional skills in your school?

Principals and school administrators 92%

Teachers 90%

Counselors 84%

Parents 52%

School psychologists 46%

Elementary school 33%
Coaches/extracurricular activity leaders 45% Middle/junior high 56%
High school 61%
School social workers 43%

Before-/after-school staff 30%

In high-implementing schools, 98 percent of princi- very successful. Moderate implementers report a 73

pals report that all teachers (with some exceptions) percent success rate (19 percent very successful),
are expected to teach social and emotional skills, while just 55 percent of low-implementers say they
compared to 80 percent in moderate-implementa- are successfully developing students’ SEL compe-
tion schools and 39 percent in low-implementation tencies (11 percent very successful).
schools. They are also far more likely to partner with
Many principals in schools that are implementing
parents (89 percent, compared to 58 percent in
SEL school-wide are seeing greater success in
moderate-implementation schools and 25 percent
developing key academic skills. Ninety percent of
in low-implementation schools) and work with
high-implementing principals say their school is
out-of-school-time providers (67 percent, compared
very (46 percent) or fairly (44 percent) successful
to 38 percent in moderate-implementation schools
at developing student knowledge in key content/
and 19 percent in low-implementation schools) to
subject areas, compared to 82 percent of moderate
promote SEL. Schools with low implementation, on
implementers (28 percent very, 54 fairly) and 76
the other hand tend to leave more of the responsibil-
percent of low implementers (20 percent very, 56
ity for developing students’ SEL skills to counselors
percent fairly). An overwhelming majority of high-
and school psychologists: in low-implementation
implementing principals also report greater levels
schools, 51 percent report that counselors and
of success at developing student ability to apply
psychologists are primarily responsible for develop-
knowledge/skills in real world situations (86 percent)
ing these skills (compared to the 39 percent who say
and developing student critical thinking and reason-
all teachers are expected to do so).
ing (87 percent) – both skills deemed critical for
In a self-report of how their schools are faring at success by leaders in higher education and employ-
developing students’ social and emotional skills, ers. A majority of moderate- and low-implementing
71 percent of principals say they are either very or principals also report success at developing these
fairly successful, though just 23 percent report being skills in students, but at significantly lower rates.
very successful. Those numbers rise significantly for
The link reported by administrators between
principals reporting high implementation – 93 per-
academic success and an emphasis on social
cent report success at developing students’ social
and emotional learning is backed up by a growing
and emotional skills, with 45 percent saying they are

24 | Ready to Lead
 Low implementers leave SEL up to school counselors whereas high
implementers involve all teachers and build community partnerships.
Portions saying each fully applies/applies with some exceptions in their school

Schools with high Schools with moderate Schools with low

implementation implementation implementation
All teachers are expected to teach
98% 80% 39%
students social and emotional skills
We partner with parents to promote social
89% 58% 25%
and emotional learning
We work with out-of-school-time providers to
67% 38% 19%
promote social and emotional learning
Counselors and school psychologists are
primary responsible for developing students 59% 57% 51%
social and emotional skills

Schools that are systematically implementing SEL also see more

academic success.
Evaluation of School’s Success in Selected Areas, by Schools’ Level of SEL Implementation

My school is very successful at this My school is fairly successful at this

Developing student knowledge Developing student ability to apply Developing student critical
in key content/subject areas knowledge/skills in real world situations thinking and reasoning
90% 87%
86%
82%
76%
68% 67%
55% 55%

46%

28% 30% 29%

20%
11% 10% 12% 8%
High Moderate Low High Moderate Low High Moderate Low

research base. Four large, comprehensive meta- attitudes, and higher academic performance, and
analytic reviews conducted since 2011 show that also found greater success in graduating high
students receiving SEL programming in addition school and completing college than students who
to regular classroom curriculum had improved did not receive SEL interventions.
academic outcomes – including one that found an
Principals in high-implementation schools also
11-percentile-point gain in academic achievement –
believe that SEL has the power to improve the school
compared to students who did not receive additional
environment and students’ in-school experience.
SEL programming (Durlak et al., 2011; January,
Moderate implementers also see the potential of
Casey, & Paulson, 2011; Sklad et al., 2012; Taylor et
SEL to positively impact their students and schools,
al., 2017). The most recent of these meta-analyses,
but they are less certain of this. A majority of high-
released in 2017, found a small number of individual
implementing principals believe it is definitely true
studies that showed students participating in SEL
that SEL will improve student behavior and reduce
programming had stronger SEL skills, improved
disciplinary referrals (69 percent, compared to 58

Ready to Lead | 25
percent in moderate-implementation schools and “The most compelling data [on SEL]
43 percent in low-implementation schools); make
learning more enjoyable for students (59 percent,
is that seven years ago we had, I
compared to 48 percent in moderate-implementation believe we had 55 to 56 percent of
schools and 33 percent in low-implementation our students in poverty who went on
schools); reduce absenteeism and improve atten-
dance (59 percent, compared to 38 percent in to postsecondary education, went on
moderate-implementation schools and 29 percent in to college, about 55 percent of them
low-implementation schools); and improve students’
academic performance, standardized test scores,
had to take remedial coursework
and GPAs (57 percent, compared to 38 percent in upon entering college. Over seven
moderate-implementation schools and 30 percent years, that trend line has dropped
in low-implementation schools). High-implementing
school leaders, therefore, are the best advocates for like a rock. It hasn’t gone up and
SEL and can serve as essential spokespersons for down, it’s gone straight down. We
guiding and expanding SEL implementation.
now have 16 percent that require
“I see happy kids. I mean, you can remedial coursework in college. It’s
tell when an adult culture focuses an incredible piece of data.”
on relationships and focuses on Superintendent
community, and holds each other well as an improved process for identifying students
responsible for that. It plays out into, for special education classes. A handful of superin-
students are eager and engaged tendents mentioned that their teachers have noticed
improvements in students’ mindsets and resiliency
and happy. And you also see it in the or that students are feeling more comfortable in
data: less suspensions, less parent the classroom asking for help instead of giving up.
Altogether, the links high-implementing school and
complaints. You see more stability district leaders see between SEL and improved
in the teachers on those campuses, outcomes indicate that a focus on developing
they stay longer. You see stability students’ social and emotional competencies can
be a powerful force for keeping students engaged
because they’re happy.” in school and improving the school environment for
Superintendent both students and educators.

Superintendents who have witnessed or overseen

an expansion of SEL in their districts report similar
satisfaction with the results. While few are measur-
ing these skills in a concrete, systematic way (see
Survey Findings 4: Assessing SEL), many expressed
anecdotal evidence that developing students’ social
and emotional skills is having a positive impact on
the school climate and on students’ relationships
with teachers and other students. Several pointed to
a decrease in disciplinary actions and referrals, as

26 | Ready to Lead
Snapshot: Metropolitan Nashville during that year, that teachers integrate into their
instruction. This provides guidance, structure, and
Public Schools – Meeting Schools flexibility to schools to ensure SEL fits their needs.
Where They Are to Advance SEL
Assessing SEL: SEL leaders in MNPS began
Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS)
prioritizing SEL assessment about four years ago
serves the city of Nashville, Tennessee and sur-
when they realized the data they were getting did
rounding Davidson County. During the 2015-16
not match what they were seeing in schools. They
school year, the most recent year for which data is
decided to develop an “SEL walkthrough,” taking
available, the school district served a total of 85,123
three years to create a high-quality rubric to mea-
students. The majority of students in MNPS were
sure how schools were faring in integrating SEL. The
students of color, as 44 percent of students were
process to create the rubric was built upon figuring
Black, 30 percent white, and 22 percent Hispanic.
out what they were looking for in terms of assessing
Nearly 54 percent of students in the district qualified
SEL, and making sure they were meeting schools
for free or reduced-price lunch, 13 percent were
where they were, instead of where they thought they
students with disabilities, and 18 percent were
should be, which has allowed it to become a useful
English Language Learners.4
tool for improvement – not one for punishment.
MNPS joined CASEL’s Collaborating Districts
During the walkthrough, members of the SEL team
Initiative in 2012. The district was already using the
perform school observations, assessing them on
Response to Intervention (RTI) framework and was
three criteria: school-wide environment, classroom
working at the Tier 2 (Targeted Interventions) and
instruction, and classroom environment, manage-
Tier 3 (Intensive Interventions and Comprehensive
ment, and discipline. The SEL team then compiles
Evaluation) levels to target students for individualized
the results of the walkthrough and determines each
support and intervention. CASEL pushed educa-
school’s strengths and areas of growth, and two
tors in MNPS to focus on the Tier 1 level and focus
weeks later, they return to the school to go over the
their thinking around SEL for all students. To move
results with the entire faculty. The findings from the
toward a more expanded SEL implementation,
walkthrough are used to improve SEL programming
MNPS started working with Responsive Classroom,
and share best practices across the district, as well
rolling out training to two teachers at each of their 75
as continually improve the rubric.
elementary schools plus the entire faculty and staff
at two of the schools. Since then, MNPS has learned MNPS’ work to assess schools and teacher per-
some valuable lessons and done some critical work formance on SEL is showing promising results and
in the area of SEL assessment. Here are some key teaching SEL leaders what to look for in measuring
insights from their journey: SEL implementation and how to use those results
for improvement. They are looking ahead at poten-
Providing SEL options: Though MNPS started with
tially assessing school culture through a student
Responsive Classroom, the expense forced them to
and teacher school climate survey, as well as
move to a three-option model. Schools may choose
students’ mindsets, but are not looking to assess
from incorporating restorative approaches, PBIS, or
students’ SEL skills or make it a part of an account-
an SEL foundations curriculum. To determine these
ability system.
options, SEL leaders worked with 12 different school
clusters to discuss various possibilities before For more on SEL in MNPS, please visit: http://www.
settling on the final three. Additionally, the district casel.org/partner-districts/metropolitan-nashville-
has created “I Can” statements for each grade level, public-schools/
describing the SEL skills students should attain

4 School district data retrieved from Tennessee Department of Education, “Profile: 2015-2016 Davidson County,” retrieved from
https://www.tn.gov/education/topic/report-card.

Ready to Lead | 27
Survey Findings 3
The Path to Increased SEL
While principals and district administrators are highly receptive to a greater emphasis on
SEL, they need help moving forward with implementation. This, first and foremost, will be
dependent on increased training for both pre-service and in-service teachers.

Principals want more SEL training When asked to choose from a list provided what
the most important elements to ensuring schools
for teachers, access to research-
are successful in developing students’ social and
based strategies emotional skills, principals most commonly chose
A majority of principals indicated a lack of teacher additional professional development for teachers (54
training poses a significant challenge to SEL imple- percent) as the most critical factor. Approximately
mentation. Sixty percent of principals said the need one-third of principals (32 percent) chose dedicated
for more teacher training to support SEL implementa- planning time for teachers for SEL lessons.
tion is a big challenge. Less than half of principals
Based on a recent national scan of SEL content
feel as though the teachers in their building are very
in state teacher certification requirements and
or fairly well prepared to teach social and emotional
teacher preparation programs in colleges of educa-
skills, including only 10 percent who believe their
tion, it is not surprising that principals would feel
teachers are very prepared. Just under 40 percent
as though many of their teachers lack the proper
say the teachers in their school are somewhat
training to successfully develop students’ social and
prepared, and 17 percent believe their teachers
emotional skills. The scan, conducted by research-
are not prepared to successfully teacher social and
ers at the University of British Columbia, found
emotional skills. Principals throughout the K-12 spec-
that while many state requirements mentioned
trum and school income levels responded similarly.
several of CASEL’s SEL competencies, there was
Principals from urban schools were more likely to
a disconnect between those requirements and the
respond positively about their teachers’ SEL training
coursework being provided to pre-service teachers
than those in suburban and small town/rural schools.
(Schonert-Reichl, Kitil, & Hanson-Peterson, 2017).
This matches findings from The Missing Piece, in
So, though many states have established a need for
which only about half of teachers (55 percent) said
teachers to be prepared to address their own social
they had received some form of SEL training.

28 | Ready to Lead
 Lack of teacher time is the biggest barrier to increasing SEL;
teacher training and funding also need to be addressed.
How big a challenge is this in trying to implement teaching SEL in your school?

Very big challenge Fairly big challenge

Teachers not having
enough time 42% 71%
Teachers needing more
training to support SEL 26% 60%
Lack of funding
dedicated to SEL 33% 59%
Lack of reinforcement
of these skills at home 31% 59%
Issues re ability to measure
social/emotional skills 14% 45%
Lack of teacher consensus
that SEL should be taught 10% 30%

Not a priority for

my school district 9% 25%

Parents who believe SEL

should be taught at home 8% 21%

and emotional competencies, emphasis on under- Beyond greater teaching training and preparation
standing students’ social and emotional well-being time, 44 percent of principals chose more research-
and coursework to prepare teachers to develop based strategies on how to effectively promote SEL.
students SEL skills is still lacking. Some principals also expressed interest in having
assessment data on students’ SEL skills to guide and
An overwhelming majority of principals – 82 percent
improve practices (22 percent).
– believe their teachers would be receptive to their
school placing a greater emphasis on teaching social
and emotional skills. Positive responses were high High implementers of SEL more
among principals from all grade levels, geographic likely to report better trained
areas, and school socioeconomic status, as well as teachers
academic performance ratings. Principals in high-
A key takeaway from principals is that once again,
SEL-implementing schools (90 percent) were more
in districts that emphasize SEL and score high on
likely to report their teachers being more receptive,
SEL implementation, higher numbers report that their
but both moderate-implementing (87 percent) and
teachers are able to successfully teach SEL. Seventy-
low-implementing (70 percent) principals also stated
eight percent of principals who said their district places
positive beliefs about how teachers in their school
a great deal of emphasis on SEL said their teachers
would receive a greater emphasis on SEL. Principals’
are well prepared to teach social and emotional skills,
beliefs about teachers being open to receiving more
compared to just 21 percent of principals where
SEL training align with what teachers reported in
emphasis on SEL is minimal. Similarly, 80 percent of
The Missing Piece in 2013. Four in five teachers
high-implementing principals – opposed to just 15
(82 percent) said they would like more SEL training,
percent of low-implementing principals – report that
including 61 percent who reported being very or
their teachers are prepared to successfully teach SEL.
fairly interested. Three in four teachers (73 percent)
Superintendents agree with this assessment. Those
saw the lack of training in how to teach social and
who said they have incorporated SEL teaching into
emotional skills as at least somewhat of a challenge
their regular professional development report that
to successfully implementing SEL in their classrooms
teachers are more prepared and more well-versed in
(Bridgeland, Bruce, & Hariharan, 2013).
the language of SEL, and that, in turn, social and emo-
tional development is a higher priority in the classroom.

Ready to Lead | 29
 “It’s not only a time issue, but it’s a districts, teachers already have their plates full trying
to meet stringent state-level academic standards
personnel issue and a funding issue. and the perception is that SEL instruction is “just
I wouldn’t be able to hire a separate another mandate.” One review reported, however,
that when SEL is effectively implemented, teachers
staff to be able to just focus on end up needing to spend less time on classroom
this. You’ve got to do it within your management – providing an initial proof point
existing staff and then you’ve got to that bringing SEL into the classroom may provide
teachers with more time to spend on academics
get them trained to be able to fully (Jennings & Greenberg, 2009).
implement it.” A majority of principals also cited a lack of fund-
Superintendent ing dedicated to SEL as a challenge in trying to
implement SEL, as well as a lack of reinforcement
of social and emotional skills at home. Most impor-
Lack of time, funding also seen
tantly, fewer than one in three of principals cite a
as barriers lack of teacher consensus that SEL should be taught
One of the larger issues schools face in implement- as being a challenge in bringing about SEL imple-
ing SEL is the “how” – how to teach social and mentation, and only one in four principals reported it
emotional skills without adding one more thing into not being a priority for their school district.
an already crowded school day. Teachers especially
feel the strain of having to do more than they are
already asked, and are less likely to buy in to an
“I would say we [provide professional
initiative that amounts to “one more thing.” In fact, development] limitedly…
in The Missing Piece survey, 81 percent of teachers I think we provide most of the
said that not enough time in the school day to take
on something new is a big challenge for schools support to our school counselors and
trying to take on SEL implementation. The principals our social workers and we should
we surveyed understand this, citing a lack of time
probably expand it to more of our
for teachers as the biggest challenge schools face
in trying to implement SEL (Bridgeland, Bruce, & staff because they could benefit from
Hariharan, 2013). More than 40 percent of principals it as well.”
agreed that teacher time is a very big challenge,
while roughly 30 percent said it was a fairly big Superintendent
challenge in trying to bring about SEL implementa-
tion. Superintendents also see a lack of time as
being a constant challenge and say it is the number
one complaint they hear from their teachers. In many

30 | Ready to Lead
Snapshot: Austin Independent On providing proof for implementing SEL:
Though there has been widespread acceptance
School District – Providing Proof of SEL in Austin, pockets of resistance remain,
to Get Results mainly from those who do not see the link between
Austin Independent School District (ISD) serves developing students’ social and emotional skills and
a total of 82,766 students from Austin, the city of improving their academic performance. They are
Sunset Valley, the village of San Leanna, and other tackling this by getting administrators and teachers
unincorporated areas of Travis County. Boasting to understand that even implementing small pieces
an ethnically diverse student population, Austin of SEL will have benefits, and by showing them ways
ISD’s students are 58 percent Hispanic, 27 percent to integrate SEL into all types of lessons to reinforce
white, and 8 percent Black. More than a quarter of competencies within academics. SEL leaders have
students in Austin ISD are English Language Learn- also started turning to the brain science supporting
ers (ELL). Fifty-three percent of students in Austin the development of students’ social and emotional
ISD qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, while skills to help principals and teachers understand its
10 percent are students with disabilities.5 Austin value. This has been particularly important in getting
ISD’s 2015 graduation rate was 90 percent, slightly school staff to see the impacts of trauma on many
above Texas’ 89 percent graduation rate. of their students, and moving them toward more
restorative – not punitive – practices.
In Austin, systemic social and emotional learning
is entering its second phase, and its first five years On the challenges that remain: Austin has done
are paving the way for improved and deepened well with fostering the social and emotional learning
implementation for both students and adults. Austin of students, but as they have moved through the
was chosen as one of the first three sites in CASEL’s implementation process, a realization grew that
Collaborating Districts Initiative, starting with a team they needed to develop the SEL competencies of
of four to bring SEL to scale in a small number of the adults in the district as well. As one SEL leader
schools in 2011-12 before slowly expanding out to put it, “How can we expect adults to teach SEL
all schools in 2015-16. Each school has its own SEL when their SEL needs are not being met?” Getting
facilitator, and in the 2017-18 school year, there will adults into a healthy social and emotional place
be two SEL facilitators at every school. The slow is a crucial piece of getting the school culture
and steady approach to taking SEL district-wide has and climate into the right place and an essential
been key to its success in Austin. Here are a few of part of enabling mutually respectful relationships
the key insights from Austin on SEL implementation: throughout the building. It is also important in
getting buy-in for SEL and for fostering an environ-
On implementing successfully: Going to scale
ment where teachers can feel supported in taking
immediately does not work. SEL leaders in the
calculated risks in their classrooms.
district were very strategic in learning what schools
were doing and figuring out how to meet them For more on SEL in Austin, please visit: http://www.
where they were, and they credit strong site-based casel.org/partner-districts/austin-independent-
management within schools as being a critical school-district/
component to getting SEL off the ground. They
also took steps to make sure that SEL implementa-
tion was treated as a learning process, and that
administrators, teachers, and staff in each school felt
supported, not shamed, when things went wrong.

5 School district data retrieved from Department of Campus and District Accountability, “Fact Sheet, 2016-2017 School Year,”
Austin Independent School District, retrieved from https://www.austinisd.org/.

Ready to Lead | 31
Survey Findings 4
Assessing SEL
Although administrators are optimistic that SEL skills can be accurately measured and
believe SEL data would be useful, they are often unfamiliar with available measurement
tools and are not using them school- or district-wide. To advance SEL assessment,
improved understanding of what qualifies as a measure of SEL and better training in how
to collect and use SEL data is needed.

Most principals believe SEL skills Few administrators are familiar

can be accurately measured and with current SEL assessments,
assessed understand what measures count
Most principals believe that social and emotional in assessing SEL
skills can be accurately measured and assessed. Fewer than one in five principals (17 percent) are
In all, 71 percent of principals believe it is definitely very or fairly familiar with current assessments for
or probably true that students’ development and measuring students’ social and emotional skills,
acquisition of social and emotional skills can be while more than three in five (63 percent) say they
accurately measured and assessed, though just 15 are either not that familiar or not at all familiar with
percent believe it is definitely true. More than half of current SEL assessments. Principals in urban
principals (58 percent) believe social and emotional schools tend to be more familiar with current
skills should be part of how students are assessed assessments than those in suburban and rural
annually, but there is still some reservation about school districts—although, even in urban schools,
placing a larger emphasis on SEL assessment. only 27 percent of principals are very or fairly
familiar (compared to 16 percent in suburban and 8
percent in small town rural districts). Principals who
reported higher levels of familiarity with current SEL
assessments are more likely to be convinced of the
ability to accurately assess students’ acquisition

32 | Ready to Lead
 Principals are optimistic that social and emotional skills can be assessed,
but are not entirely convinced.

Definitely true Probably true Definitely not true Probably not true

Social and emotional skills Students’ development and acquisition

should be part of how students of social and emotional skills can be
are assessed annually accurately measured and assessed

71%

58%

42%

29%

17% 19%
15%
4%

of social and emotional skills. (Forty-two percent records on disciplinary actions. To a lesser extent,
of those who are at least fairly familiar with SEL principals reported using teacher rating scales of
assessment believe it is definitely true that these students (38 percent), student self-report (26 per-
skills can be assessed, compared to only 9 percent cent), and performance assessment on a specific
of those who are unfamiliar.) Principals’ knowledge task or problem (15 percent). Just over 60 percent
of assessments is also correlated with their level of of principals use at least two of these methods
SEL implementation. Nearly half of principals who to assess SEL. Nearly a quarter of principals (23
report being in high-implementing schools say they percent) said their school does not assess social
are familiar with current SEL assessments, while and emotional skills. Schools that do not assess
just eight and five percent of principals in moder- students’ social and emotional skills are far more
ate- and low-implementation schools, respectively, likely to be low-implementers of SEL: among low
report the same. implementers, 43 percent do not assess SEL –
compared to only 7 percent of high implementers.
Superintendents also largely expressed a lack of
familiarity with assessments of SEL competencies. Superintendents report regularly analyzing disciplin-
Besides attempts to measure school climate, most ary records or using routine classroom observation;
superintendents said they are not really doing much however, most do not immediately identify these
to collect data on SEL skills in any formalized way, activities as measures of social and emotional
and describe themselves as unfamiliar with the exist- learning. Some superintendents also described
ing measures for doing so. More district research self-report surveys their schools administer, while
and evaluation specialists reported being familiar others mentioned that younger students in their
with SEL assessments, though a number said their districts receive some kind of evaluation of their
familiarity was low. behavior or interpersonal skills on their report cards.
Most superintendents, like principals, said that any
When asked what methods schools are currently
SEL assessment data they are collecting is cur-
using to assess students’ social and emotional skills,
rently being used to figure out which students may
most principals (62 percent) pointed to behavioral
need extra support or to improve programming and
observation in a normal classroom setting. More
instruction, but not for accountability.
than half (55 percent) said they use administrative

Ready to Lead | 33
 A plurality of schools use their own discretionary criteria to determine
which students to assess.
We currently use assessments to assess social and emotional skills with the following students:

Assess all students

nts ed d
de s se
24% l s t u
s ba ade s ba
a l s r s
ss se /g sse ther
se As age A o
Some students, A s o n o n
based on age or Do not assess
Elementary School 24% 13% 42%
grade level 11% 23% students
Middle/junior high 22% 9% 46%
High school 21% 9% 41%

SEL implementation
High 48% 19% 26%
42%
Moderate 22% 13% 50%
Low 9% 4% 43%

Some students, based

on other criteria

Even among research and evaluation special- “We worked on, for the past couple
ists, who would presumably have the greatest
knowledge on assessing SEL, there is variation in
years, a perception survey. They
understanding what measures count as assessing measure four constructs…one being
social and emotional competencies. Some said climate and culture. That’s where
they were involved in tracking students’ disciplinary
referrals, or that certain teachers in their district some of your traditional safety stuff
are required to record behavioral observations. is going to be, and the multicultural
Others, however, tend to be doing more to create
ways to better understand how their schools are
aspects is going to be, but it also
doing at developing students’ social and emotional goes on to measure student moti-
competencies. Research and evaluation specialists, vation, student thinking, student
particularly those who are trained psychometricians,
report that they have either developed or are in the engagement, and also perceptions
beginning stages of developing their own in-house about assessment construction…
measures, such as student surveys or performance
We have a student version – an
assessments on specific tasks. A few described
crafting longitudinal studies built on surveys that are elementary and a secondary student
administered to students, staff, and/or parents on version. We have a parent/guardian
topics such as school climate and culture, as well
as social and emotional health. The creation of in-
version, and an instructional staff
house measures may be due to the customization version. And we develop the forms
factor it provides research and evaluation special- to be parallel and we believe we are
ists, though some also expressed being unsatisfied,
skeptical of, or unfamiliar with commercially avail- measuring the same constructs so
able assessment tools. we can make a comparison.”
Research & Evaluation Specialist

34 | Ready to Lead
 There is room to improve the usefulness of current assessments.
How useful are the assessments that you are currently using for evaluating students social and emotional skills?

Very useful Fairly useful Somewhat useful Not at all useful Not that useful

58%

41%
38% 37%
30% 31%
28%
25%

22%
12%
11% 12%
10%
4% 6%
All principles currently Use assessments for Use assessments for
using assessments (77%) all students (24%) some students (53%)

Few principals are assessing all of current SEL assessment tools. Of the 77 percent
of school leaders who are currently using assess-
students’ SEL development
ments, less than 40 percent said the assessments
Only a quarter of principals (24 percent) are cur- are very or fairly useful, while one in four see little to
rently assessing all students’ development of social no usefulness in their current assessment measures.
and emotional skills. Eleven percent report assess- Breaking out the principals who are assessing all
ing some students, based on age or grade level, students versus those who only assess some stu-
while 42 percent said they assess some students dents, however, shows a clear differentiation in how
based on other criteria. Schools rating high on SEL SEL assessments are viewed. Nearly 60 percent of
implementation are far more likely to be assessing principals in schools that assess all students’ SEL
all students than moderate- and low-implementing competencies find current assessments to be useful,
schools. Part of the discrepancy in who is receiv-
ing SEL assessment can be attributed to the fact
that more principals report using assessments to “We talk about the importance of
identify students needing intervention than for any triangulation of data, so the more
other reason. Nearly 40 percent of principals said
different ways we can come at some
they use SEL assessments to determine students
needing intervention, while just 18 percent said their of these really difficult constructs,
teachers use it to improve instruction and 17 percent the better. It’s like a photograph: you
said they use SEL assessments to help evaluate
the effectiveness of the SEL programs they have
can take a single photograph to try
adopted. Less than 10 percent of principals are to tell a story, but a photo album with
using assessments for either teacher (6 percent) or multiple photographs often will do a
school (7 percent) accountability.
much better job telling a story. So,
More useful assessments, greater multiple sources of information are
training in using SEL data needed typically better than a single source.”
Like research and evaluation specialists, many Research & Evaluation Specialist
principals expressed skepticism over the usefulness

Ready to Lead | 35
 Measuring SEL: The Assessment Work Group
In a collaborative effort, CASEL has joined with leading researchers, educators, and policymakers
from universities, school districts, and national organizations to establish an Assessment Work Group
(AWG) to address and advance effective and practical assessment of social and emotional competen-
cies from preschool to high school. With the support of seven funders, the AWG will be tackling critical
issues educators face in using data to improve social and emotional learning over the next few years,
and will specifically focus on four key areas:
■■ Enhancing Collaboration: Encouraging effective collaboration, communication, and networking
in a rapidly growing field to optimize sharing of progress and reduce duplication of efforts.
■■ Clarifying Frameworks: Documenting similarities, differences, and potential alignments
among the growing number of SEL-related frameworks that can guide both assessment and
improvement efforts.
■■ Advancing Practical Assessment: Developing a guide to help educators select quality assess-
ment tools and use data on students’ social and emotional competencies in practical ways and for
appropriate purposes.
■■ Designing Direct Assessments: Identifying new ways to directly measure students’ social and
emotional competencies through performance tasks in addition to self-reports or teacher ratings.

The AWG, through its Measuring SEL website (https://measuringsel.casel.org) will host a series of
weekly blogs, produce a number of briefs, engage a wide network of collaborators, publish an interac-
tive Practical Guide for assessment of social and emotional competencies, and issue State of the
Field reports. The AWG has already launched its first Design Challenge, with over 20 innovative and
emerging direct measures of SEL competing for awards and helping to frame critical design principals
for SEL assessment.

compared to less than 30 percent of principals in have little to no knowledge of how to use SEL
schools only assessing some students. assessment data to improve their instruction. Con-
versely, fewer than one in five (16 percent) said that
Research and evaluation specialists express some
they think their teachers have either a great deal or
caveats around the usefulness and applicability
fair amount of knowledge of using SEL assessment
of currently available SEL measures. Many stated
data to improve their instruction. Urban school prin-
that student self-report is useful to an extent – since
cipals and those in high-SEL-implementing schools
perception is reality in many ways – but that it is
were far more likely to report that their teachers
important to minimize social desirability bias as
knew how to use assessment data to improve their
much as possible. Regarding teacher ratings of
instruction—although still only 24 percent of urban
students, there is also some fear that teachers
principals and 44 percent of high implementers
may exhibit bias, thus making incorrect inferences
believe their teachers have at least a fair amount of
about their students. There is also concern teachers
knowledge on how to use assessment data
may lack the larger context needed to truly assess
students on these measures. For this reason, it
is critical that schools consider marrying multiple Principals see many uses for SEL
measures together instead of relying on one source assessment data; hold mixed
for assessment.
views on SEL accountability
Principals also see a great need for better teacher Given the assumption that they had access to valid
training in using SEL assessment data. Three out and reliable assessments for measuring students’
of five (61 percent) believe teachers in their school social and emotional skills, principals believe

36 | Ready to Lead
 Principals hold mixed views on SEL accountability.
Definitely true Probably true Definitely not true Probably not true

Schools should be rated in part Teachers should be held accountable

based on if and how they are for students’ development of social
improving students’ social and and emotional skills
emotional skills
56%
51%
49%
44%

26%
16%
13% 13%

there are a number of important uses for the data “A bigger concern is that teacher
it would produce. An overwhelming majority of
principals said they would use SEL assessments to
ratings seem like they could be
identify students needing intervention (86 percent) subjective per teacher, and not as
or evaluate the effectiveness of SEL skills programs objective as they could be. You’d
(79 percent). More than 70 percent said they could
share the data with parents (73 percent) or use the like to say no teacher thinks a kid
assessments to improve teacher instruction (72 is worse than they are, or recom-
percent). In the eyes of principals, SEL assess-
ment data is far less important for accountability
mends medication for a kid who
purposes. Half of school leaders said they think it doesn’t need it, but it does happen.
would be important to report data from the assess- Teachers are people and sometimes
ments to the district, and even fewer would use the
data to hold schools accountable for developing their professional opinion may be
students’ social and emotional competencies (34 skewed. Things that have checks
percent) or evaluate teachers based on the assess-
and balances…I don’t think it’s
ments (28 percent).
necessarily invaluable, there just
The accountability piece is where principals tend
to express wariness of SEL assessment data and has to be a counterbalance to it,
how it should be used. About half of school leaders like self-reports.”
(49 percent) believe that teachers should be held
accountable for students’ development of social and Research & Evaluation Specialist
emotional skills, but the other half disagree. And just
can be measured (see Appendix IV for complete
a small portion of all principals – 13 percent – are
details).
strongly in favor. The response was similar on the
question of whether schools should be rated on In an ideal world – one in which they have con-
their development of students’ social and emotional fidence in the reliability of their measurement
skills, though even fewer principals responded instruments – research and evaluation specialists
in agreement (44 percent). Support for holding would like to see SEL assessment data used first
teachers accountable and rating students on SEL and foremost for formative assessment and program
skills was stronger from urban school principals, evaluation. Like principals, research and evaluation
high-implementers, and those who believe that SEL specialists have mixed views on assessing teach-

Ready to Lead | 37
ers on developing students’ social and emotional Those who have more experience
development. Some said they would love to see the
with SEL are more likely to believe it
day when measures are strong enough to be used
to determine which teachers are not serving their should be part of state standards
students’ SEL skills development, while others see Do you believe that the development of social and
emotional skills should be explicitly stated in your
this as a step too far and worry that SEL measure-
state’s education standards?
ment is too subjective to be used as a punitive tool.
73%
Definitely should be
Principals support inclusion of
Probably should be
SEL in state education standards
Probably should not be
School leaders feel more positively about the
Definitely should not be
inclusion of social and emotional skills in their state
standards. Seventy-three percent of principals
believe the development of social and emotional 27%
competencies should definitely or probably be 25%
explicitly stated in their state education standards –
more than the 62 percent of teachers that said the
9%
same in the 2013 survey. There is support for state
SEL standards from principals at all grade levels,
though elementary school principals (76 percent)
are more strongly in favor than middle (66 percent)
and high (69 percent) school leaders. Urban and
suburban school principals are more in favor of
state SEL standards than principals in small town
and rural schools (see Appendix IV for complete
details). Principals in schools that score high on
SEL implementation (85 percent) are more likely to
support state SEL standards, though a large majority
of moderate (76 percent) and low implementers
(62 percent) of SEL are also in favor. The greatest
discrepancy of support for state SEL standards
comes between principals who believe SEL can
be measured and those who do not. Seventy-nine
percent of school leaders who trust in SEL measure-
ment believe the development of students’ social
and emotional skills should be included in state
standards, compared to 58 percent of those who do
not believe SEL can be measured.

38 | Ready to Lead
Snapshot: Washoe County School results, so structures were built in to include students in
the conversation to understand how they approached the
District – Factoring SEL into Student survey. Student focus groups also helped write survey
Success items. The effort to create a high-quality survey and create
Washoe County School District is the 2nd largest school usable data has also lead to better teacher conversations
district in the state of Nevada, serving 63,919 students on SEL and more school teams wanting to build SEL into
in the cities of Reno and Sparks, as well as the com- their instruction. Though the SEL survey is not yet ready to
munities of Verdi, Incline Village, and Gerlach. Students be part of an accountability system, it is bringing teachers,
at Washoe County SD are 45 percent white, 2 percent students, and administrators together around SEL and
Black, and 40 percent Hispanic. Forty-seven percent of providing critical information to help understand what can
students in Washoe County School District qualify for free be done to keep kids in school and on track to graduation.
or reduced-price lunch, while 14 percent are students Challenges in using SEL data: Though Washoe is lead-
with disabilities and 15 percent are English Language ing the way in developing strong SEL assessments and
Learners.6 While Washoe’s graduation rate was just 77 linking it to academic outcomes, the path has not been
percent in 2016, this is 6 percentage points higher than without its challenges. The district has developed an
Nevada’s graduation rate. SEL data website and student profile pages, but leaders
Washoe County School District joined CASEL’s CDI have wrestled with how to present the data so it does
in 2012, becoming one of the initiative’s original eight not become a site showing students how they are failing.
districts. In Washoe, there has been a philosophical At the classroom level, they are still trying to figure out
agreement since the start that emphasizing social and how to assess SEL instruction in a meaningful way. Data
emotional learning is good for students, but to ensure specialists have also had to confront the data fatigue
continued buy-in, the district has turned to improved data many educators have experienced in recent years and
collection on SEL and connecting it to key student out- questions over whether SEL competencies can actually
comes. A big part of what has made Washoe County SD a be measured or changed. The data on SEL, however,
leader in SEL data and assessment among CDI districts is has also helped gain buy-in and given leaders in the
that it is already a data-rich district, but getting the system district guidance on how to thoughtfully use it to continue
right for using SEL data is still an ongoing process. to carefully figure out next steps in SEL assessment that
will benefit students and teachers.
Connecting SEL data to student outcomes: Washoe,
like other districts, has been collecting data on early Making parents a partner in SEL: Washoe County SD
warning indicators, including attendance, credit attain- has made parents a key partner in their SEL implementa-
ment, and transiency. In one recent school year, the tion to reinforce at home what is happening in schools.
early warning indicator data showed that 90 percent of The SEL team offers one-hour SEL parent university
students that had no risk factors in the 9th grade graduated classes to help parents better understand SEL, and, at
high school on time, while only 30 percent of students the request of individual schools, has provided about 50
who exhibited risk factors in the 9th grade did. To better of these classes each year. The district has also opened
understand why this was happening and connect it to up their SEL mini-conferences for teachers to parents.
what was known about students’ social and emotional The mini-conferences take place once a quarter in the
skills, research and evaluation specialists in the district evening and provide SEL instruction and materials to
decided to administer a student survey to understand if teachers, and as of this year, parents as well. To better
SEL factors were at play in why students did or did not meet the needs of those attending, the district provides
graduate on time. It took the district three years to refine free day care and dinner to participants. Including
the survey, but the journey has been an enlightening parents in SEL implementation is just one more step to
one. Washoe has been able to link certain SEL factors, ensuring SEL remains a large part of the fabric of what
including student resiliency, to graduating high school Washoe County SD is trying to achieve.
on time, and at the same time, opened up a new avenue For more on SEL in Washoe County, please visit:
for communicating about SEL with both students and http://www.casel.org/partner-districts/washoe-county-
teachers. During the survey refining process, it was school-district/
learned that students wanted time to reflect on the survey

6 School District data retrieved from Washoe County School District, “2016-2017 Characteristics & Performance,” retrieved from
http://www.washoeschools.net/washoeschools.

Ready to Lead | 39
CASEL’s Collaborating Learning Environment. The state also received
Project Aware and School Climate Transformation
States Initiative
Grants, and intentionally wrote SEL into each. These
In 2016, CASEL launched the Collaborating States grants were partially used to create a statewide SEL
Initiative (CSI) to actively partner with states that wish climate survey using the framework established in
to develop policies or guidelines that support imple- Washoe County. They also used the grants to fund
mentation of quality SEL. The CSI is a collaborative mental health support workers, including social
learning community comprised of state SEL teams workers, counselors, and community health workers.
and an advisory group of leaders and experts in the
field who want to learn from each other as each state More recently, Nevada wrote SEL into their strategic
works to advance SEL implementation. Since each plan and ESSA plan. The state has also laid out two
state has their own unique priorities and needs, strategic goals: to develop multi-tiered layers of SEL
CASEL encourages states to develop a plan that will supports in each district and to build SEL competen-
create the conditions to meet the distinct needs of cies for students and adults. The state is currently in
its students. CASEL then supports states by sharing the process of writing SEL state standards with the
findings from research and best practices on SEL intention to adopt them by November, with technical
implementation, as well as technical assistance to assistance training ready by that time as well. The
any states that request it. state plans to train school social workers and state
management teams, as well as partner with state
The CSI confirmed that there is a powerful demand health organizations and workers.
for SEL at the state level. Forty states expressed
interest in the CSI and for guidance on promoting Education leaders in Nevada report that being in the
evidence-based SEL practices. This enthusiasm led CSI has been helpful as they work to implement SEL
CASEL to initially team with 17 states through the CSI. throughout the state. The CSI initiative has provided
critical guidance and resources and helped con-
Nevada is one of the states CASEL has teamed with tinue to build traction at the state and district level.
through the CSI. While the state has made signifi-
cant progress in recent years, one education leader For more on CASEL’s CSI, please visit: http://www.
in the state was clear that Nevada still has a great casel.org/collaborative-state-initiative/
deal of work to do and that they’re behind several
states in terms of SEL implementation.
Nevada presents an interesting case study for
systematic SEL implementation. The state has just
17 different school districts, yet they are incredibly
diverse. Districts range from large, multi-high school
districts like Washoe County and Clark County
School District (Las Vegas), one of the largest
districts in the nation, to districts as small as Esmer-
alda School District that educates fewer than 100
students across 3 elementary schools.
Nevada’s pursuit of statewide SEL began during the
2013 legislative session when the state was asked to
work on statewide bullying prevention. This focused
on promoting social skills and improving school
climate to prevent bullying and cyber-bullying. The
legislature provided funding for training to begin this
work, and a federal Safe Schools Grant provided
further resources. In the 2015 legislative session,
Nevada created the Office of Safe and Respectful

40 | Ready to Lead
Key Findings and Recommendations
In 2013, teachers reported their belief that schools should focus on developing all students’
social and emotional skills, and that doing so will have a positive impact on students, adults,
and the overall culture and climate of the school. This study shows that these beliefs are
mutually held by principals, superintendents, and research and evaluation specialists, who
overwhelmingly understand that SEL has a vital role to play in K-12 education today. In
spite of the widespread support for SEL, however, there is a disconnect between the way
administrators view SEL in theory and how it is being integrated in practice. It is within this
disconnect that the most significant findings exist and a path forward emerges.

Key Findings from district leaders, state policymakers, research-

ers, and many others. Filling in that missing link will
1 Principals value SEL, but need greater be essential to taking SEL from theory to action.
knowledge and support to effectively
implement school-wide, evidence-based 2 When superintendents and other
SEL programming. district leaders are driving SEL and
Principals are on board with SEL, and they strongly implementation is high, successful
believe that developing students’ social and emo- outcomes are much more likely.
tional skills will promote a positive school climate, Support for SEL from the highest levels of dis-
improve relationships, decrease bullying, and raise trict leadership results in widespread systemic
academic achievement. Interviews with superin- implementation, engages more stakeholders, and
tendents and research and evaluation specialists is perceived as being much more successful.
revealed the same recognition of the link between However, just one-quarter of principals said their
SEL and improved outcomes. What school leaders district leadership places a great deal of emphasis
need, however, is a better understanding of how to on SEL, and less than half said their district requires
effectively implement school-wide SEL program- all schools to have a plan for implementing SEL. In
ming, access to training for themselves and their total, only one-quarter of principals are in schools
teachers on how to develop implementation plans that could be considered high-implementers of SEL,
and use SEL assessments and data, and support but in districts where central office leaders place a

Ready to Lead | 41
high level of emphasis on SEL, that number jumps the “how.” It is clear that most administrators are
to more than half. In schools where implementation hesitant about using SEL assessments as a means
is high (based on CASEL’s benchmarks), principals for student or teacher accountability, but as a
report greater academic success, an increased teaching and learning tool, most administrators do
ability by students to apply knowledge to real world not have a concrete plan of action for assessing
situations and to think and reason critically, in students’ social and emotional competencies.
addition to an improved school environment, and Though most principals report optimism around
superintendents see the same. Having support from the ability to assess SEL, most are not assessing
district leadership is a significant piece in getting all students, choosing instead to target specific
the ball rolling and providing a strong foundation for students to determine further interventions. And
SEL implementation. Given the tendency for superin- less than one in five principals say their teachers
tendent and principal turnover, especially in lower- use it to improve instruction – missing out on a
performing school districts, it is also important that valuable learning tool to guide teachers on how to
superintendents eager to implement SEL make it a teach all their students better.
priority to engage in- and out-of-school stakehold-
In answering the “how” of SEL assessment, most
ers and build a stable base to ensure it is carried
administrators express a great deal of uncertainty on
forward regardless of a change in leadership.
what measures count as SEL measures and whether
3 A lack of time and teacher training – in the tools that currently exist are providing meaningful
data. Many describe using behavioral observations
both pre-service education and in-school
and tracking discipline records – tools that schools
professional development – are critical have long used to identify students for interven-
barriers to implementing SEL. tions – and others are developing school culture
Teachers in 2013 and principals today know that and climate surveys. Few, however, have created
time is in limited supply during the school day, and or adopted SEL assessments that could provide a
adding more to an already full schedule can lead to deeper understanding of how their school is far-
initiative fatigue. On top of this, more often than not, ing at developing students’ social and emotional
teachers come into schools with little to no training in skills or the larger impacts of emphasizing SEL.
developing students’ social and emotional skills, and Administrators also express concern over whether
a lack of resources adds to the challenge of imple- teachers have the knowledge to properly assess
menting SEL. These are significant barriers leaders SEL and if their biases may cloud the accuracy of
of any school or district must face, but not ones that some assessments, though those concerns diminish
cannot be overcome. Administrators that are already in those who are already implementing SEL at a
implementing SEL feel far more confident in their high level. The good news on assessments is that
teachers’ ability to teach SEL and are successfully most administrators already understand the value
incorporating SEL training into their professional that SEL data can hold, and there are research and
development. In addition, an overwhelming majority evaluation specialists out there developing custom-
of principals believe teachers in their schools would ized in-house measures that can really get at the
be open to greater emphasis on SEL, opening the data administrators and teachers can use to improve
door to the foundational support successful imple- teaching and learning. The future of SEL assess-
mentation efforts are built upon. ments largely lies in developing better understand-
ing of what SEL systemic implementation looks
4 School and district leaders are open like across schools and districts and providing the
to having better data on students’ social training and support principals and teachers need to
and emotional competencies to improve fully carry it out.
school-wide SEL programming and student
outcomes, but need better training to do so.
The verdict on current SEL assessments is mixed,
and for most administrators, figuring out the “why”
of assessment is as important as determining

42 | Ready to Lead
Recommendations world have contributed to the evidence base on
high-quality SEL programming and its outcomes.
Sustain Social, Emotional, and Academic The launch of the National Commission on Social,
Development through High-Impact Levers Emotional, and Academic Development in late 2016
Enhance the “will” – Prioritize policies and has provided an additional, centralized platform to
funding to support SEL move forward various research streams in the field,
and the Assessment Work Group, a collaborative of
To help schools advance social and emotional
researchers and practitioners, is working to improve
learning and systemize SEL at all levels of practice
approaches to SEL assessment. These efforts are
and policy, federal and state policymakers, as well
critical to providing school and district leaders with
as grantmakers in education, will need to prioritize
the knowledge and resources they need to choose
policies and funding for SEL implementation, assess-
high-quality programming, integrating SEL into the
ment, and training. Funding considerations should
academic curriculum, and evaluating its impacts, but
include resources, technical assistance, evaluation,
more must be done to inform best practices, guide
and the creation of learning networks between
teacher training and professional development, and
districts and states. Funding streams for increased
establish valid and reliable metrics for SEL assess-
research will also be critical for expanding knowledge
ment. Based on this study, we recommend further
and creating lines for SEL advocacy. Policy action
research in the following areas: the link between
should include advancing new federal policies to
improving SEL skills and academic achievement;
promote SEL and alloting resources toward its growth
the impact of improved training on SEL implementa-
in both PreK-12 and higher education, in addition
tion; the benefits of integrated and stand-alone SEL
to adopting state SEL standards.
approaches; and how data on SEL can be used
Support state student learning standards effectively by teachers to improve instruction, by
State leaders should heed the calls of the nearly principals to improve school climate, and by districts
three-quarters of principals who believe the devel- to better prepare all youth for success in school,
opment of social and emotional competencies postsecondary, careers, and life.
should be explicitly stated in their state education
Strengthen SEL Training among Teachers
standards. State SEL standards can provide a vision
and Administrators
for what social and emotional learning programs
should accomplish and developmental benchmarks Build the knowledge base on evidence-based
to inform teachers and principals of what students SEL programming and effective training,
should be working toward in every grade. State SEL implementation, and assessment.
standards can also serve as guidance for institutes While this study makes clear that school and district
of higher education by providing the groundwork leaders value the development of their students’
for integrating SEL into pre-service teacher train- social and emotional competencies, they need a
ing programs. Unlike academic standards, which better understanding of how best to improve these
have served as a basis for accountability systems, skills in students and create a systemic plan for
SEL standards should be used solely to improve SEL implementation. It is critical that administrators
teaching and learning and guide investments in SEL and teachers have access to a knowledge base on
programming. State leaders looking to adopt SEL effective SEL programming and training in how to
standards can look to states like Illinois, Kansas, and effectively integrate SEL into academic instruction
West Virginia, which have each established compre- and school climate improvement initiatives. Even in
hensive SEL goals with developmental benchmarks. districts where SEL is already being implemented,
Advance an SEL research agenda and there is still a need to provide evidence of its effects
communicate findings to practitioners and link to raising academic outcomes.
and policymakers There is also a clear lack of training in effective SEL
For years, CASEL and others have established implementation and using SEL assessments and
a broad group of collaborators to advance SEL data for improvement and program evaluation. It is
research, and leading experts from around the essential that researchers and program leaders in

Ready to Lead | 43
the SEL field develop common guidance to schools Strengthen Assessment
on evidence-based classroom and school-wide Continue to improve SEL assessment tools and
programs, training, and assessment tools that are training in how to use them.
widely available to administrators to better ensure
they are aware of all available high-quality options It is clear that educators lack both a familiarity
and can avoid those that are of lesser quality. with available measures of SEL and access to
Administrators and teachers could also benefit from high-quality assessments, particularly those that
exposure to SEL in practice, so to better spread can be customized to meet their needs, as well as
best practices, schools and districts that are already training in how to use SEL assessment data. While
implementing with success should serve as SEL principals see the value in collecting and report-
learning hubs. ing SEL data, some hesitation around assessing
SEL may be due to a fear of holding teachers and
Build teacher knowledge through pre-service schools accountable for developing students’ SEL
education and in-school professional develop- skills. However, those that are already assessing
ment and support adult SEL. SEL, whether through culture and climate surveys
There is mutual agreement between teachers and or building upon currently existing measures to
administrators that greater training in teaching and help students develop the SEL skills they lack, can
assessing SEL is a critical component to ensuring provide models for assessment that do not make
successful implementation, but not enough teachers students and teachers targets of punitive account-
have been provided with that training. On one side ability. These districts can show others how to cre-
of this issue is that there is currently not enough SEL ate valid assessments and use the data to improve
training within teacher education programs. Though teaching and learning. In addition, researchers
there is a child development component to any high- in the field should continue to study assessment
quality teacher preparation program, few, if any, aim measures to provide knowledge and guidance
to develop teachers’ knowledge of their own social on available tools, and funders and policymakers
and emotional skills or how to develop and assess should prioritize improving SEL measurements.
students’ social and emotional competencies. Inte-
grating SEL into pre-service teacher training will go
a long way to guaranteeing more teachers come into
the classroom with the knowledge they need to suc-
cessfully promote SEL. In the absence of SEL train-
ing for pre-service teachers, schools will still need
to deliver high-quality professional development,
and even in the event of expanded SEL instruction
in teacher preparation programs, ongoing training
for teachers will remain a critical component of any
systemic plan for SEL implementation. High-quality
training should include exposure to evidence-based
research and best practices, instruction in how to
integrate SEL into the core academic curriculum and
how to measure and assess SEL, and coaching on
how to develop their own SEL competencies.

44 | Ready to Lead
Conclusion

S
ocial and emotional learning is, in many ways, not a new concept. Developmental theory
has been at the core of American education for more than a century, and educators
have long supported the social and emotional development of their students through
informal means. Despite this, social and emotional learning has far too often been relegated to
the sidelines in favor of a relentless focus on academics. In recent years, however, researchers
and educators have made a push to restore emphasis on SEL and realign social and emotional
development alongside academic learning. This effort has been backed by a growing body of
evidence that shows effective implementation of SEL leads to more positive outcomes for young
people and can greatly improve the culture and climate of a school.
On the ground, administrators and teachers implementing SEL are seeing its effects, but there is
still much work to be done to ensure educators have access to high-quality SEL programming,
guidance on how to implement SEL school- and district-wide, and tools for assessing SEL to
achieve the greatest outcomes. Schools of education need to prioritize social and emotional learn-
ing in teacher education and ensure future teachers understand the social and emotional needs
of their students and themselves. SEL researchers need to build on the current evidence base,
get proof of impact into the hands of policymakers and leaders from the state down to the school,
and work with schools to establish best practices in implementation and assessment. School and
district leaders need to create an environment where social and emotional learning is valued, work
with teachers and staff to create a plan and shared vision for SEL that meets the needs of both
students and adults, and devote time and resources to support effective implementation. And
schools, districts, and states that have invested in social and emotional learning should serve as
learning models for others starting out on the path to SEL and help build the practical understand-
ing of what it takes to effectively implement social and emotional learning and make it a priority
for in- and out-of-school stakeholders.
Advancing social and emotional learning will require a significant shift in our approach to raising
academic achievement and improving schools, and it will take a concerted effort from educa-
tors, researchers, policymakers, families, community providers, and others to make the effective
promotion of SEL a lasting reality. But as this report and others have shown, the will to advance
SEL exists among administrators and teachers, who understand its value and are already seeing
its benefits. Social and emotional learning is not a fad; it has always been at the heart of educa-
tion, and now is the time to make sure it is treated as such.

Ready to Lead | 45
Acknowledgements

C
ASEL, together with Civic Enterprises and Peter D. Hart Research Associates, would like to
give special thanks to everyone who contributed to this report. Specifically, we would like
to thank each of the following: the CASEL Board, Staff, and collaborators, especially Tim
Shriver, Board Chair; Karen Niemi, President & CEO; Roger Weissberg, Chief Knowledge Officer;
Jeremy Taylor, Director of Assessment & Continuous Improvement; Karen VanAusdal, Director of
Practice; Joseph Mahoney, Director of Translational Science; and Dale Blyth, Assessment Work
Group Consultant.
We would also like to thank CASEL’s generous funders who supported this report and the work
featured within it, including NoVo Foundation; S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation; Einhorn Family
Charitable Trust; Ewing Marion Kaufman Foundation; Overdeck Family Foundation; Pure Edge,
Inc.; Raikes Foundation; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Spencer Foundation; and the
Wallace Foundation.
We are also grateful for the hard work and dedication of Adam Kernan-Schloss and Nancy
Zuckerbrod of the KSA-Plus Communications team; Kathleen McMahon, Chief of Staff at Civic
Enterprises; and the team at Hart Research Associates: Geoff Garin, President; Corrie Hunt,
Vice President; Annie Norbitz, Analyst; and Sandra Markowitz, Assistant Analyst.
CASEL, together with Civic Enterprises and Peter D. Hart Associates, would also like to thank
the more than 900 principals, superintendents, and research and evaluation specialists who
participated in the national survey and individual interviews. They shared their thoughts and
reflections with honesty and integrity. We are especially grateful for the educators from
Anchorage, Alaska; Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tennessee; and Washoe County, Nevada, as
well as state education leaders from Nevada for their invaluable contributions to this report.

46 | Ready to Lead
Appendix I  Methodology
In February and March 2017, principals, superintendents, School Characteristics
and research and evaluation specialists were asked to
GRADE RANGE
participate in surveys and individual interviews to assess the Elementary School 55%
role and value of developing students’ social and emotional Middle/Junior High School 16%
skills in America’s schools. The nationwide web survey was High School 20%
conducted from February 21 to March 14, 2017 among 884 K-8 or K-12 9%
kindergarten through 12th grade public school principals. The
LOCALE CODE
margin of error is +/- 3.4 percentage points in the full survey
Urban 36%
sample and higher among subgroups. Slight weights were Suburban 22%
applied to ensure that the sample matched principal and Small town/Rural 42%
school characteristics of public school principals, according
to NCES data. We are confident that the survey sample, FREE/REDUCED LUNCH
Less than 40% 29%
once weighted, represents a true national sample of public
40-79% 46%
school principals in America.
80% or more 25%
The survey was informed by the prior instrument created
SCHOOL TYPE
in 2013 to assess teachers’ perceptions of the role and Regular Public School 91%
value of social and emotional learning. This allowed for Public Magnet or Charter 9%
cross-comparison on several questions. The survey was
GEOGRAPHIC REGION
appropriately adjusted to meet the role of administrators in
Northeast 18%
SEL implementation, as well as to gauge their beliefs and
South 34%
understanding of SEL assessment, which was not a part of Midwest 23%
the original survey. Survey development was also shaped by West 25%
discussions with and feedback from researchers in the social
and emotional learning field. STUDENT ENROLLMENT
Less than 250 17%
For the study, we also interviewed a total of 16 superinten- 250-499 36%
dents, four from each of the National Center for Education 500-749 25%
Statistics school geographic locales (large city, suburban, 750 or more 22%
small city/town, and rural areas), and 10 research and evalu- LOW-PERFORMING
ation specialists from small and large city school districts. Currently rated 20%
The superintendents and research and evaluation specialists Recently rated 14%
represented the Northeast, South, Midwest, and West. Six Not rated 66%
superintendents lead districts with student populations that
are at least 25 percent Hispanic, and six lead districts that
are at least 10 percent Black. Eleven superintendents are Principal Characteristics
from districts that are more than 50 percent free/reduced GENDER
lunch. The research and evaluation specialists have job titles Women 53%
including: Director of Research and Evaluation; Director of Men 47%
Assessment and Evaluation; Director of Data, Research,
AGE
and Accountability; Chief of Research and Accountability
Under age 45 36%
Officer. Three come from districts that are at least 25 percent
Age 45 to 54 36%
Hispanic, and seven are from districts that are at least 10
Age 55 or older 28%
percent Black. Nine of the ten research and evaluation
specialists have 10+ years of experience in the field. One YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
superintendent and one research and evaluation specialist 5 or fewer 37%
interviewed are in a CASEL CDI school district. 6-15 46%
16 or more 17%
Characteristics of the Survey Sample RACE/ETHNICITY
The following profile of the 884 principals interviewed for this White 84%
survey reveals a sample that is representative of America’s Black 7%
public school principals in terms of their own demographic Hispanic 7%
characteristics and the diverse schools in which they lead. Other 2%

Ready to Lead | 47
Appendix II
Findings from The Missing Piece: A National Teacher Survey on How
Social and Emotional Learning Can Empower Children and Trans-
form Schools
In 2013, with the support of CASEL, Civic Enter- challenge to implementing SEL, while 36 percent
prises teamed with Hart Research Associates to ask of teachers noted a lack of training and knowledge
teachers on the front lines of schools their opinions of how to teach social and emotional skills as a big
on social and emotional learning. The resulting challenge. Another 30 percent of teachers believed
report, The Missing Piece, shared the findings their schools place too little emphasis on developing
from a nationally representative sample of 605 students’ social and emotional skills. Encouragingly,
educators from preschool through 12th-grade. The however, four in five teachers reported interest in
responses were resounding: teachers understood receiving further training and nearly six in every 10
and endorsed social and emotional learning for all teachers believed schools should place a great deal
students, and believed in its ability to help students of emphasis on developing students’ social and
achieve in school and in life. emotional skills.
Nearly all teachers (93 percent) surveyed believed The Missing Piece also found that teachers were
SEL is “very” or “fairly” important for the in-school calling for their states to prioritize SEL, as more
student experience. Even more teachers (95 per- than three in five teachers (62 percent) thought
cent) believed that social and emotional skills can the development of social and emotional skills
be taught, and 97 percent reported that SEL would should explicitly be stated in their state education
benefit students from all backgrounds, rich or poor. standards. Teachers also identified three other key
Importantly, three in every four teachers believed accelerators for social and emotional learning:
a large focus on SEL would be a major benefit to ■■ Connecting social and emotional skills with the
students for a variety of reasons, including: Common Core State Standards;
■■ Workforce readiness (87 percent); ■■ Providing additional professional development for
■■ Students becoming good citizens (87 percent); teachers; and
■■ Students’ staying on track to graduate (80 percent); ■■ Sharing research-based strategies about effective
■■ College preparation (78 percent); and ways to promote students’ social and emotional
skills.
■■ Academic success (75 percent).
In The Missing Piece, teachers confirmed what
While 88 percent of teachers reported SEL occur-
the evidence was already saying: that social and
ring in their schools on some level, less than half
emotional skills can be taught and SEL is a power-
(44 percent) said social and emotional skills were
ful tool, capable of boosting students’ academic
being taught on a school-wide, programmatic basis.
performance and future life success.
When asked about barriers to teaching SEL in their
schools, 81 percent ranked time as the biggest

48 | Ready to Lead
Appendix III
CASEL’s Collaborating Districts Initiative
In 2011, CASEL embarked on an effort to put To aid districts’ attempting to implement system-
research into action and launched the first-of-its wide SEL, CASEL created the following comprehen-
kind Collaborating Districts Initiative (CDI) — a sive district framework:
partnership between CASEL, the American Institute ■■ Communicate SEL as a priority to stakeholders;
for Research (AIR), and initially eight large school ■■ Develop a district-wide vision and plan;
districts across the country: Anchorage, AK; Austin,
■■ Align financial and human resources;
TX; Chicago, IL; Cleveland, OH; Nashville, TN; Oak-
land, CA; Sacramento, CA; and Washoe County, NV. ■■ Build expertise and capacity;
Today, with Atlanta and El Paso subsequently joining ■■ Conduct SEL-related resources and
the collaborative, the CDI now includes 10 school needs assessment;
districts representing more than one million students ■■ Design and implement professional development
in some of the nation’s most geographically, eco- programs;
nomically, and ethnically diverse communities. ■■ Integrate SEL with district initiatives, such as
The CDI was built on the belief that positive student academic curriculum and equity efforts;
outcomes rely on improving classrooms and ■■ Adopt and implement evidence-based
schools, which in turn depend on improving district- programming;
wide capacities to bring SEL to all students. The CDI ■■ Develop K–12 SEL standards; and
attempts to shift the focus of SEL implementation ■■ Establish systems of continuous improvement.
from schools to entire districts to align SEL with dis-
trict priorities, integrate it with academic instruction, Every district in the CDI has faced their own unique
make it an essential piece of a child’s education, challenges to implementing system-wide SEL and
and achieve two complimentary goals: is at different points of the process. This report
will highlight stories from four districts on their
1. To develop districts’ capacities to plan, imple- experience as part of CASEL’s Collaborating District
ment, and monitor systemic changes that will Initiative to share how some of these districts have
impact schools and classrooms in ways that approached SEL implementation and provide insight
enhance students’ social-emotional development on their successes and remaining challenges. For
and academic performance; and more on the Collaborating Districts Initiative, please
2. To document lessons learned that can inform visit www.casel.org/cdi-results
future efforts to support systemic SEL implemen-
tation in districts across the country.

Ready to Lead | 49
Appendix IV
Additional Graphs and Tables
Principals hold mixed views on SEL accountability.
Definitely true Probably true Definitely not true Probably not true
Teachers should be held accountable for students’ developments of social and emotional skills

13% 36% 35% 16%

Schools should be rated in part based on if and how they are improving students’ social and emotional skills

13% 31% 30% 26%

Hold teachers Schools should be Hold teachers Schools should be

accountable rated on SEL skills accountable rated on SEL skills
Elementary School 51% 42% High implementation 73% 70%
Middle/junior high 49% 47% Moderate
47% 42%
implementation
High school 45% 44%
Low implementation 36% 30%
Urban 60% 56%
Believe SEL can
Suburban 50% 43% 60% 54%
be measured
Small town/rural 40% 35% Don’t believe SEL
25% 21%
can be measured

Those who have more experience with SEL are more likely to believe it
should be part of state standards.
Definitely should be Probably should be Definitely should NOT be Definitely should NOT be
Do you believe that the development of social and emotional skills should be explicitly stated in your state’s
education standards?

25% 48% 18% 9%

Definitely Probably Should Definitely Probably Should

should be should be NOT be should be should be NOT be
Elementary School 29% 47% 24% High implementation 43% 42% 15%
Middle/junior high 17% 49% 34% Moderate
24% 52% 24%
implementation
High school 17% 52% 31%
Low implementation 13% 49% 38%
Urban 36% 43% 21%
Believe SEL can
Suburban 27% 57% 16% 30% 49% 21%
be measured
Small town/rural 14% 48% 38% Don’t believe SEL
12% 46% 42%
can be measured

50 | Ready to Lead
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