Weaving Social Skills Into the School Day

In our rapidly changing world, the field of education must adapt to continue to meet (and ideally, exceed) students’ evolving needs. Weaving social-emotional skills into students’ school days gives students opportunities to develop the skills they need including building relationships, navigating challenges, and fostering resilience. 

Starting at the Educator Level

School districts often expect educators to implement SEL without proper training or access to high-quality tools focused on school-day integration. In a recent EdWeek report1, 65% of school leaders cited educator training as a major barrier to integrating SEL. This isn’t surprising because many universities do not focus on how to teach social skills within their curriculum. By giving educators in-depth, focused strategies and resources to truly understand what SEL is, they develop their skill sets.

Educators who understand social and emotional competencies and their relevance both in and outside of school can confidently teach SEL. The Aperture System includes SEL strategies and interventions that make it even easier to implement SEL in the classroom effectively. When districts prioritize educator-level SEL, it establishes a strong foundation for it to flourish. When educators have the skills to succeed, they are more prepared to bring those SEL lessons into their classrooms.

Scaling SEL Within the School Community

As mentioned, once educators have a strong understanding of SEL for themselves and the skills to succeed, school districts can expect them to be able to teach the competencies to their students. Incorporating SEL into academic lessons not only enhances students’ emotional well-being, but it promotes their overall academic success. For example, after exploring a character’s actions in a book in English class, students may reflect on the social and emotional competency of self-awareness and how the character understood themself and reflected that within the story. Or, when a science teacher breaks students out into groups for a lab, they foster relationship skills.

Educators may already be doing things that encourage social and emotional skill development. Intentionally integrating SEL throughout the school day ensures students develop current and post-graduation skills to succeed.

Skills to Succeed: SEL Within the School Community Leads to Real-World Success

Starting at the educator level encourages them to grasp and demonstrate skills before teaching them in the classroom. Then, when educators do bring SEL into the classroom they are better equipped with how to teach social skills. This approach empowers the entire school community.

Are you looking to measure your SEL curriculum’s effectiveness? We’re here to help!

You may already have an SEL curriculum in place that focuses on fostering these skills, but are you measuring its impact? Contact our SEL advisors who will serve as your guide for scaling your SEL program.