Social Emotional Learning

Social emotional learning, which teaches students how to navigate conflicts, communicate, and manage emotions, is an integral life skill. Integrating social emotional learning into schools helps engage students and improves learning, studies show. This section contains resources and information about strategies to teach social emotional learning in schools. 

Girl standing away from other classmates outside school
shadow on asphalt surface of child and adult joining hands
Female teacher helping frustrated boy with classwork

Stories from the Field

Kindness in Motion: Providing Students Opportunities to Serve Others

Empowering students to serve others through acts of kindness is something we at Regional School District No. 7 in Connecticut strive to do through a program called Kindness in Motion. The inspiration for this program came four years ago when our superintendent, Judy Palmer, saw a program on CBS Sunday...
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Service-Learning Opportunities and Mental Health Support Help Chicago Students Take Leadership Roles

An increase in social-emotional support for students as well as opportunities for them to exercise leadership skills is paying off in increased attendance and the percentage of students on track to graduate at John Hancock College Preparatory High School on Chicago’s southwest side. Leadership and service opportunities—whether it’s promoting wellness...
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LFA Updates

Important Clues to Help Prevent Student Suicide (Part 2)

The proliferation of cell phones, social media, and interactive video games has made efforts to curb cyberbullying much harder. The father of a 13-year-old who committed suicide gives tactics to manage these dangers.

This is the second part of a two-part blog series on suicide prevention and cyberbullying resources for parents and educators. Read the first part here . John Halligan has spoken with many parents of children who committed suicide, and has found one common trait: Each child was described as “very...
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Important Clues to Help Prevent Student Suicide

A father shares the lessons he learned about children's and teens' mental health, and how their use of cell phones, social media, and other outlets impacts their thinking, after the suicide of his 13-year-old son

(Part one of a two-part series) After his 13-year-old son, Ryan, committed suicide, John Halligan became an advocate for suicide prevention in schools. And the first time he was asked to speak to students at a school near his home in Vermont, he agonized over what to say that would...
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Member Resources

Student-to-School-Counselor Ratio

The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) has compiled student-to-school-counselor ratio data from the 2014-15 school year, the most recent available. The number of school counselors serving the nation’s K-12 students has increased slightly but the student-to-school-counselor ratio remains well above the ratio recommended by ASCA.
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Helping Children Cope with Traumatic Events

This collection of resources from Share My Lesson (powered by the American Federation of Teachers) can help educators and parents help students cope with fear and trauma.
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