 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||||
Standards and Policies» Student SEL Learning Standards A number of states, provinces, and districts have developed SEL-related student learning standards and benchmarks. Standards have been developed as both distinct, standalone content areas (as in IL) and as sub-sections of health, language arts, career education, or other subjects. While both approaches have value, we believe creating separate SEL standards helps facilitate a greater appreciation of their importance, developmental sequencing, and interconnection.
|
 |
|
IL Learning Standards & Policies Section 15 of the IL 2003 Children's Mental Health Act required The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to develop and implement a plan to incorporate social and emotional development standards as part of the Illinois learning standards (i.e., they would join standards in English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Science, Physical Development and Health, Fine Arts, Foreign Languages) for the purpose of enhancing children's school readiness and ability to achieve academic success. With CASEL's technical assistance and the input of many educators from across the state, standards on student social and emotional development were developed and accepted in December 2004. These standards describe the content and skills for students in grades K - 12 for social and emotional learning. The SEL standards are organized under 3 goals for self-awareness and self-management, social awareness and relationship skills, and responsible decision making: GOAL 1: Develop self-awareness and self-management skills to achieve school and life success
GOAL 2: Use social awareness and interpersonal skills to establish and maintain positive relationships
GOAL 3: Demonstrate decision making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school, community contexts
Each standard includes five benchmark levels that describe what students should know and be able to do in early elementary (grades K - 3), late elementary (grades 4 - 5), middle/junior high (grades 6-8), early high school (grades 9-10), and late high school (grades 11-12). ISBE has recently posted age-appropriate performance descriptors for each of these 10 SEL learning standards. Adoption of these goals and standards signals Illinois' commitment to SEL as a key ingredient of children's success in school and life. The standards represent a landmark for policy making by defining specifically what children should know and be able to do in the social and emotional realm. ISBE has also posted Resources to support implementation of the SEL standards that were prepared by CASEL:
Finally, CASEL conducted and prepared reports on three surveys on IL SEL practices, policies, and professional development. These are available on our site:
Anchorage School District SEL Learning Standards and Benchmarks The Anchorage School Board has approved SEL Learning Standards for children K-12. The learning standards center on the goal of helping students become knowledgeable (I am), capable (I can), caring (I care), and responsible (I will) individuals. Specific skill areas addressed in these standards are self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, and social management. All component skills are also presented in first-person language for the students (e.g., for the skill: “students can read social cues,” the student language is, “I care about how I perceive others, and how others perceive me). We think the inclusion of standards stated in forms easy for children to understand and remember is exceptionally creative, and embodies the district’s belief in children's active and engaged learning and personal goal setting for optimizing learning. The standards are also linked to relevant key developmental assets developed by the Search Institute. Connecting with something already well known and understood, like the Assets framework, expands and deepens the understanding of both, and gives people a place to "hook into" SEL that they might not otherwise have. The Anchorage standards include indicators and sample activities for each skill area for early elementary, late elementary, middle school, and early high school, and late high school. The Anchorage School District’s standards are available for download. British Columbia Social Responsibility Standards The Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) has developed social responsibility performance standards for use in BC schools. The BC performance standards for social responsibility are "intended to provide a framework that schools and families can use to focus and monitor their efforts to enhance social responsibility among students and to improve the social climate of their schools." The standards have been tailored to four age groups: K-3, 4-5, 6-8, and 8-10. The Ministry of Education has developed "Quick Scales" that describe the four different levels of performance for each area in the framework, as well as "Elaborated Scales" that identify a range of observable skills and behaviors. The performance standards can be downloaded from the B.C. Ministry of Education web site. Center for Social and Emotional Education (CSEE) Developmental milestones for many social and emotional skills for each grade, K-12, are available on the CSEE web site (requires Flash for viewing). La Grange School District 102, Illinois Elementary school district 102 in La Grange, IL has developed SEL standards for each grade, K-8. Student attainment of the standards is measured using a three-point scale: introductory (I), developing (D), or consistently demonstrates (C). The district's web site provides the benchmarks, a chart for evaluating the skills, and a list of parent SEL resources. You can view and download these documents. New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards: The New Jersey State Board of Education has completed adoption of the first revision of the Core Curriculum Content Standards that sets the framework for curriculum reform in the public schools. The revised standards provide many new anchors for character education, social-emotional learning and community service. Comprehensive Health and Physical Education, Social Studies and Career Education and Consumer, Family and Life Skills standards, in particular, include many SEL-related skills. Ohio School Climate Guidelines Ohio’s School Climate Guidelines describe how schools can
create environments where every student feels welcomed, respected
and motivated to learn. In many ways they map on to CASEL’s
Guidelines
for Schoolwide SEL. While these guidelines target building and
district administrators, they also can be useful as springboards
for policy discussions with staff, students, parents, school boards
and other community members. Wisconsin's "Standards of the Heart" Wisconsin has developed "Standards of the Heart" as a complement to its academic standards. These standards, "address behavioral expectations for students as we strive to help them develop as caring, contributing, productive and responsible citizens." The state has also created some assessment tools to help schools measure how well students are meetings expectations in these areas. The skills and competencies emphasized in these standards are located across and within a variety of major curricular goal areas.
| ||
 |
©2000-2008 CASEL. All rights reserved. Working to establish social and emotional learning as an essential part of education from preschool through high school. |
 |