Ready News: August 6, 2021
August 6, 2021
Navigating Social and Emotional Learning from the Inside Out
The field of social and emotional learning (SEL) is rapidly expanding, as educators bring a sharper focus to helping children build skills beyond academic knowledge. School climate initiatives, anti-bullying work, positive behavior supports and other SEL efforts are now steering programs in schools and out-of-school-time (OST) settings across the country. Building children’s SEL skills has taken on even more urgency in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Schools, OST providers, and other practitioners tasked with developing children’s social and emotional skills have a new resource for “looking inside” 33 SEL programs. This revised and expanded second edition to a highly popular 2017 guide, Navigating Social and Emotional Learning from the Inside Out, highlights evidence-based program models that can help educators integrate SEL into school and OST program culture and build students’ skills. Updates include the addition of PreK programs, detailed chapters on how to achieve an equitable and trauma-informed approach to SEL, and a new supplement to guide users in selecting the right SEL program for their goals.
The guide was written by Stephanie Jones, an associate professor in human development and urban education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a team of Harvard researchers, with generous support from the Wallace Foundation.
Building Back Stronger: Using SEL Resources to Enrich Your OST Program
National AfterSchool Association, Committee for Children, and the Forum’s Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality Webinar
August 26, 2:00-2:45 PM EDT
As out-of-school time (OST) providers plan for the new school year, many are looking to social-emotional learning (SEL) to respond to the needs of children, staff, and the communities they serve.
In this webinar leaders from the National AfterSchool Association, Committee for Children, and the Forum’s Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality will discuss the importance of SEL in OST programs. Topic will include:
· How the traumatic events of recent years have affected kids and how SEL can help
· The concept of holistic SEL and how it relates to the importance of SEL in OST environments
· The Weikart Center’s SEL Program Quality Assessment (SEL PQA) as a resource to strengthen your program
· Second Step® Out-of-School Time, a practical, research-based SEL program from Committee for Children that helps support K–5 children in your community
Who Gets to Thrive? Advancing Anti-Racism through Whole Child Design
Science of Learning and Development Webinar
August 17, 3:00-4:00 PM EST
The science of learning and development tells us an inherently hopeful story of the billions of pathways to thriving inherent in every young person and points to important mindset shifts about environments, experiences, and relationships. Used as a lens through which to view our education systems, these and other insights highlight the many and deep inequities that must be addressed if all young people are to be given an authentic chance to thrive. Anti-racism and designing for equity are about deconstructing systems and actively choosing a new purpose and path forward. What do we actually know about the impact of racism on learning and development? How does the experience of racism and other systems of oppression impact education practice, policy, and the design of a learning environment? What actions must we take to dismantle racism and cultivate learning experiences for all young people to thrive? Leaders will explore these questions on this upcoming webinar session.
Nominations and Application Open for 2022–2024 Casey Children and Family Fellowship
The Annie E. Casey Foundation is seeking nominations and applications for the twelfth class of its signature Children and Family Fellowship® — an intensive executive leadership program, now in its third decade, designed to give more child- and family-serving professionals the confidence and competence to lead major system reforms and community change initiatives that get equitable results.
Nominations must be submitted no later than Aug. 20, 2021. Nominees are then invited to complete a full application online, which must be submitted by Sept. 10, 2021. Candidates also are welcome to apply directly by the Sept. 10 deadline without being nominated. The 21-month Fellowship program will begin in April 2022 and end in January 2024.
COVID-19 and Young People’s Mental Health: How Afterschool Staff Can Help
Temescal Associates and The How Kids Learn Foundation Webinar
August 25, 1:00-3:00 PM EDT
After a year of being away from school as a result of covid-19, young people have experienced a number of stressors. These stressors often translate into behaviors.
On this webinar hosted by Temescal Associates and The How Kids Learn Foundation, Sheri Glucoft-Wong, LCSW will discuss young people’s mental health after the pandemic.
The session will offer an overview of pandemic issues, including communication with kids and with parents. Glucoft-Wong will also address limit-setting and how to support kids’ resilience. The remainder of the webinar will consist of answering participant questions. In preparation, participants are asked to develop any questions they may have concerning individual youth or behaviors. Questions do not have to relate to re-opening and covid-19. People can submit their questions in advance here.