What Is Social and Emotional Learning?

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, establish and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions ¹.

Catapult Learning’s SEL & Mindfulness programming is based on the understanding that the best learning emerges as a result of supportive relationships that make learning challenging, engaging, and meaningful. Our programs, with focuses on Counseling, Family Engagement, and Professional Development, expand students’ 21^st century skills in critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and empathy—all necessary for success in college, careers, and beyond.

Our programming is built around the following five key competencies:

Self-Awareness
Self-Management
Social Awareness
Relationship Skills
Responsible Decision Making

Counseling

Our credentialed, committed, master’s level counselors can supplement your counseling staff or provide turnkey counseling for students or groups of students who need extra support for behavioral, academic, social, and emotional challenges both in-person and virtually. We provide support for students – and we include parents and teachers when appropriate.

Through our program, school counselors, staffed by Catapult Learning, work as a team with the school staff, parents, and the community to create a caring environment where students become healthy, competent, and confident learners.

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Family Engagement

Our support also extends beyond students. We work to foster strong relationships and strengthen the ability of families to support the academic and non-academic needs of their children. In-person and virtual services include:

Referral services: support families in obtaining assistance related to basic needs, including but not limited to: food assistance, mental health services, social, emotional and physical well-being
Parent & Family workshops: equip families with practical and effective strategies and resources to help students achieve success. Workshops are provided virtually or in-person and address a wide range of topics including academic, social, and emotional development. Learn more about our Virtual Parent & Family Workshop Offerings.
Consultations: During school closures, phone or video check-ins and consultations are available for families, teachers, and school staff to provide additional support

Professional Development

As district and school leaders grapple with the challenges of closing engagement and achievement gaps, they must consider a holistic approach that addresses the needs of students to ensure academic and social development and achievement. Catapult Learning offers coaching and workshops in Social-Emotional Learning for educators and school leaders. The contents of these professional development sessions are aligned to the five social-emotional learning competencies highlighted in the student SEL and Mindfulness curriculum. Teacher Professional Development in SEL includes:

Introduction to Social-Emotional Learning

Introduction to Social-Emotional Learning
For: K−12 Teachers; Instructional Leaders (up to 3 hrs)

Educators who understand and develop instructional practices that support students’ social-emotional competencies create conditions for improved academic achievement. In this session, educators explore strategies to help students acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, behaviors, and skills necessary to manage emotions, set and achieve goals, demonstrate empathy, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions to set the stage for success in school, careers, and life.

In this workshop, participants will:

Demonstrate understanding of five overarching social-emotional competencies
Examine the need for social and emotional learning in their current school environment
Identify the benefits of using explicit instruction to teach social-emotional competencies to students
Develop ways to integrate social and emotional learning into the classroom

Modeling and Teaching Social-Emotional Skill Building

Modeling and Teaching Social-Emotional Skill Building
For: K−12 Teachers; Instructional Leaders (up to 3 hrs)

Effective social-emotional learning requires teachers to model the five core competencies and deliberately teach skills within those competencies throughout the day, every day. During this session, participants will reflect on how to model self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship management, and responsible decision-making for students. Participants will also explore classroom practices that effectively incorporate social-emotional skill building into academic instruction and identify next steps for implementation.

In this workshop, participants will:

Model the core social-emotional competencies in our interactions with students, staff and families
Design classroom rules, routines, procedures, and a teaching plan that promotes skill building in the core social-emotional competencies
Integrate explicit strategies for building social-emotional skills with students throughout the school day

Introduction to Social-Emotional Learning

Promoting Teacher Wellness and Self-Care
For: K−12 Teachers; Instructional Leaders (up to 3 hrs)

This session is designed to support educators in recognizing signs and symptoms of stress and anxiety, to offer key strategies for creating a healthy work-life balance, and to help them improve their outlook and inspiration both inside and outside of the classroom. By the end of the course, educators will be better prepared to manage the stressors inherent to life as a teacher in order to create a path to wellness.

In this workshop, participants will:

Identify the source of burnout in their lives and learn to recognize the signs and symptoms
Integrate sustainable self-care approaches into their personal and professional lives to prevent or reverse burnout
Examine ways to involve students and colleagues in self-care strategies that facilitate productivity, balance, and the creation of peaceful and cooperative learning environments
Design action plans for stress management and self-care in their personal and professional lives

SEL Effectiveness:

Hear From Our Experts

1509, 2020

[Video] Social Emotional Learning: Incorporating Best Practices During Times of Change

Children and families are still experiencing trauma about isolation, health, survival and disparities amid the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic. The recent police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, and numerous others, as well as the associated unrest across the nation and the world, have compounded this trauma. These difficult and complex issues will have long-lasting impacts [...]

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Learn how Catapult Learning’s SEL program and workshops, built around the five key competencies, encourage the best learning opportunities!

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Sources:
¹ What Is SEL?” Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). https://casel.org/what-is-sel/
² Friendzy SEL Fast Facts https://www.friendzy.co/friendzy-facts/sel-fast-facts