Office of
School Climate and Culture

The School District of Philadelphia has adopted CASEL’s 5 social and emotional learning competencies.

CASEL defines social and emotional learning (SEL) as an integral part of education and human development. SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.

SEL advances educational equity and excellence through authentic school-family-community partnerships to establish learning environments and experiences that feature trusting and collaborative relationships, rigorous and meaningful curriculum and instruction, and ongoing evaluation. SEL can help address various forms of inequity and empower young people and adults to co-create thriving schools and contribute to safe, healthy, and just communities.

We recognize the key importance that schools play in supporting young people’s social and emotional development that goes beyond teaching a set of skills to embedding SEL into every aspect of daily school life. A systemic, school-wide approach to SEL improves the school environment, which results in better social and academic outcomes for students.

School-wide SEL

School-wide Social and Emotional Learning (SW SEL) is one of three Tier I framework approaches that schools can opt into during the annual school planning process. This approach guides schools through a process to ensure that SEL is strategically and representatively embedded throughout the school community.

SELebration Days

SELebration Days are important opportunities to increase student attendance, community connections, and SEL Skill-building by providing hands-on, experiential activities designed to deepen relationships for students in school.

Classroom Strategies:

There are many ways we can provide students with explicit and integrated opportunities to build their SEL competencies within the classroom. The following are districtwide practices that teachers can utilize to strengthen relationships and students’ self-regulation and decision-making skills.

• Community Meeting
• Calm Down Spaces
• Brain Breaks
• Academic Integration

For school staff, please visit the OSCC Hub for resources to implement.

Families are children’s first teachers and essential to promoting social and emotional learning (SEL) throughout a child’s life. When educators and families work together, they can build strong connections with each other that reinforce social and emotional skills developed in the home, in schools, and in their communities.

Resources:

• Real Families, Real Stories: Why SEL Matters Video Series
• PBS Video Series

We recognize the importance of partner programming and services in the School District of Philadelphia. Our partners’ programming provides critical opportunities for our students to engage in enriching and meaningful experiences where students get to explore key aspects of their identities, interests, values, and talents. While some enrichment programs may have goals specifically focused on developing SEL skills, all enrichment programs are in a position to reinforce these skills. We believe that the key to a supportive environment for all students is a true partnership between schools and providers so that partner programs and services can operate as an aligned extension of our students’ learning environment.

Resources

• SEL Alignment Guide for Partners
• Enrichment Theory of Change