Implementing a social and emotional program (SEL) at your school can be challenging, but with proper planning it can be done efficiently and authentically. During my second year at CAIS we implemented The Toolbox Project by Dovetail learning.
Below are the eight steps we took over the course of a two-year period to put our program in place. We took the first four steps in Year One and the last four steps in Year Two. Ongoing work is necessary to sustain the program, but we now have a solid foundation.
1. Deep Dive: Spend time listening to your school community to uncover what their concerns and expectations are as regards SEL, character education, non-cognitive skills, student behavior and school culture.
2. Explore and Clarify: Form an SEL committee to further understand and address issues that emerged during the deep dive.
3. Research: Spend time researching and understanding different SEL programs to determine the one that best suits the needs of your school.
4. Partnering: After choosing an SEL program, work closely with the organization to develop an appropriate implementation strategy for your school.
5. Professional Development: Provide meaningful professional development so faculty and staff feel comfortable with the program.
6. Implementation: Closely monitor the implementation of the program to ensure that community concerns are understood and then provide appropriate support.
7. Communication: Communicate the SEL initiative through various channels and include a parent education component in the program.
8. Ongoing Assessment: Continue to reassess the effectiveness of the program—gathering feedback and making necessary adjustments in a timely fashion.
As with most school change, there were some unexpected twists and turns during the initial research and implementation stages of The Toolbox Project. A resource that we found especially helpful at CAIS was Rob Evan’s book The Human Side of School Change.
