…being Specialists is like being a thought partner with whoever is already doing the work at your school. So not necessarily trying to take on like a new role for them, but adding on to the roles that are already there so that it’s sustainable for when we leave…
Melissa Lucas, Ph.D., Yale University
Christina Cipriano, Ph.D., Yale University
In 2022, Yale University partnered with Trajectory of Hope and the Urban Assembly to understand what it takes to really do SEL work in schools that’s sustainable towards the end of promoting racial equity and social justice. With funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, we introduced full-time staff into partner schools —SEL Specialists— and are following their respective and collective journeys navigating difficult conversations, how school communities are engaging around SEL and racial equity, and what opportunities exist to support implementation using novel SEL assessments as an intervention to support actionable and sustainable change in schools. The quote above is one Specialist’s reflection of their role in schools.
How it started. It was clear that SEL assessment implementation that promoted racial equity in school could not happen without significant time, energy, and commitment at the school level to implement SEL with an intentionality to effect change. The SEL Specialist role was envisioned to include: 1) understanding and supporting SEL practices (particularly in schools with large proportions of racially/ethnically minoritized learners) and 2) facilitating the systematic implementation of SEL assessments (particularly the transformation of data into action in service of marginalized students within schools).
How it’s going. With one school year completed, this collaborative effort, with two community-based organizations and 10 different schools across New York and California, has showcased the novelty and foundational supports of SEL Specialists’ role in:
- Leveraging the school’s SEL history, context, and vision.
- Enhancing SEL data literacy among stakeholders to foster healthy schools.
- Supporting home-grown SEL goals, tracking, and accountability tailored to each school’s needs.
- Applying an equity-focused, asset-based approach for interpreting data and advancing SEL and equity initiatives.
- Prioritizing educator and youth voices, and fostering vulnerability and community-building.
- Cultivating unique relationships with school stakeholders and increasing SEL-related buy-in.
Our Specialists to everybody’s [students/teachers/leaders] relationship is really unique…we’re not there to…give any score to anyone, but we are there for really the feedback and again, being thought partners with them.
Currently, the field of SEL is calling for implementation science to leverage existing resources, promote SEL data literacy, enable equity, engage youth voices, and integrate SEL assessment at the systems level. Given the demanding roles that SEL team members, including classroom teachers, social workers, and school psychologists handle daily, it is unrealistic to expect schools alone could handle these added demands. Might SEL Specialists be the key to ensuring that SEL, and associated SEL assessment tools, are harnessed for good? This type of role could incorporate SEL assessment data into decision-making to dismantle root causes of disparities in student outcomes and foster collaboration among stakeholders to develop equity-focused, trauma-informed, and culturally and linguistically responsive SEL policies and practices.
AERA SEL SIG 