When schools opened in fall 2024, they faced a looming budget challenge as Covid relief funds were phased out. The urgency to demonstrate the effectiveness of every dollar spent has never been greater, and educational leaders are charged with making strategic decisions that ensure the immediate and long-term success of their students. One such decision is choosing the right social and emotional learning (SEL) program, a choice that can have a significant impact on student outcomes and community well-being. So how do you choose the right SEL program?

With hundreds of programs to choose from, this decision can be overwhelming for schools and districts. As a principal investigator at the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), I recommend narrowing down your options by asking an even more interesting question: “How do I choose the right SEL program?” for my school and my community?”

This question provides a solid starting point for making the best choice for all stakeholders: students, families, educators, and the community at large. There is no one-size-fits-all “right SEL program,” but the SEL program that is right for you is the one that best fits the needs and priorities of your school and school community.

Start by listening to the people who will be directly affected by this decision: school or district staff, students, their families, and your community partners. These stakeholders have deep experience and wisdom to share, and involving them in this process fosters trust and buy-in.

The first step school leaders can take is to create a program selection team made up of representatives from each of these groups. Start by anchoring yourself a common definition of SEL— for example, “SEL is the process by which all youth and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to develop healthy identities, manage emotions, and achieve personal and collective goals, feel, and demonstrate empathize with others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions. Then ask questions like these:

• What needs do we see in our school, district, or community?
• What skills do we want to develop in our young people?
• What results do we hope to achieve?

• For students and families: What should an SEL program include so that it can meet your needs (e.g., cultural relevance and responsiveness, materials in a particular language)?
• For school staff: What type of program or approach makes sense based on your needs (e.g., a course-based program, integrated with academic content, teaching practices, organizational strategies)? What training and support will you need?
• For community members: What skills and outcomes do you hope to foster in future employees and community leaders?

Consider the school priorities and district goals you want your SEL program to align with. For example, does your district have a graduate profile that describes specific student goals? Does your school have a vision? Initiatives and priorities like parent engagement or student voice? SEL can support these goals and more.

Asking these questions can also open up avenues for conversation about potential resistance to SEL programs. In a recent reportwe share the challenges principals report in implementing SEL, the most prevalent being teachers’ lack of time. Raising questions or concerns from stakeholders can guide schools on the practical elements to prioritize in programming. For example, a school may choose a program that emphasizes integration across academic content areas to minimize demands on teachers’ time.

CASEL is free Program Guideupdated this year, includes a filter for “Curriculum Approach” (which includes “Integration of SEL and Academics”) and “Implementation Support Offerings,” each of which can help schools find a program that fits to their infrastructure needs. Using the Program Guide filters is an easy way to generate a smaller, more individualized list of program options.

Conversations with stakeholders can also provide an opportunity to identify possible misunderstandings about SEL programs and clarify that SEL is for students. develop the skills to communicate their own ideas, listen respectfully to a variety of different points of view, and make responsible decisions after analyzing data and facts.

SEL programs support outcomes that people across the political spectrum agree on: helping young people develop skills and have opportunities to succeed in college and careers, contribute positively to their schools, and their communities, maintain healthy relationships, and avoid risky behaviors (e.g., drug use). , violence, intimidation and dropping out of school). Open, two-way communication with stakeholders from the start can help you answer questions and concerns, clarify misunderstandings, and develop criteria that meet your community’s unique strengths, needs, and priorities.

For example, in a CASEL research-practice partnership projecta school leadership team collaborated with a group of high school parents to learn more about social and emotional learning and SEL initiatives the high school was developing. These parents attended 10 SEL meetings to illuminate ways caregivers could actively engage in systemic SEL. Initial results from the pilot study indicated that caregivers found the discussion series informative and empowering, with several caregivers seeking to use their new SEL knowledge to fill positions on school-based SEL parent advisory committees.

CASEL School-Wide Guide to SEL includes a resource for developing a shared vision. This tool describes the steps to follow to gather and integrate stakeholder views. From this shared vision, I recommend identifying the must-haves for your context, such as programming available for high school students or programming available in Spanish. Additionally, it is helpful to identify target outcomes that are most important to your students, for example, addressing school climate or problem behaviors. Having a list of concrete elements consistent with your vision will guide your search for the right program.

You are now ready to look at program options with a narrower, less overwhelming approach. Look for an evidence-based SEL program that aligns with the needs and priorities you have identified with your stakeholders, school, and district.

Evidence-based programs have demonstrated positive results through rigorous research. Program approach and research design may vary, but rigorous research studies have several common characteristics: a robust design that includes a comparison group, high-quality data analysis, expert review of results and positive effects for students. When a program is evidence-based, you can be confident that it has shown positive effects..

However, there is another question you should ask yourself: “Effective for whom?” » Many groups of research participants do not have demographic characteristics that reflect those of all communities. When reviewing the evidence behind a program, consider whether the schools or students participating in the study share significant characteristics with your student population. The greater the similarity to your population and context, the more likely you are to achieve similar positive results.

CASEL’s Program Guide allows you to filter evidence-based SEL programs by grade level, school characteristics, and student characteristics, making it once again easier to find the ones that best match your needs. school community.

To ensure that the program you choose supports the priorities and criteria you have identified, you can also filter to see if the program has demonstrated positive results in areas such as improving academic achievement, reducing problematic behaviors and improving school climate. For example, school recovery has become a major priority for schools and districts post-pandemic. Using our filtering tools, a school prioritizing academic recovery could take a deeper look at the 30 programs that have positive academic outcomes.

Practical tools, like CASEL’s step-by-step resources, can offer a roadmap for leaders to make SEL program decisions that align with their unique needs and goals. Leaders can form a multi-stakeholder team to identify goals, prioritize program components, and review programs. Whatever tools you use in your search for the right SEL program, be sure to ask the right questions:

• What are the priorities of your school and community?
• Which evidence-based programs target these priorities and show positive results in the areas most important to your students?
• Has the program demonstrated these positive results in a population and context similar to yours?

By asking the right questions, you will find the right SEL program: one that meets the needs and hopes of your students in your community.