Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)

Our Compelling WHY

Clinton City Schools' compelling "Why" and mission is to educate all students to their highest level of academic performance, to support them socially and emotionally, and to prepare them to become productive and contributing members of a modern society.

Our Vision for SEL and Mental Health Improvement

By 2025, Clinton City Schools will be the premier learning community (developing student social, emotional, and mental health) in the Southeast - improving the world one Dark Horse at a time

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Overview

What is SEL?

As defined by CASEL, "SEL is broadly understood as a process through which people build awareness and skills in managing emotions, setting goals, establishing relationships, and making responsible decisions that support success in school and in life. SEL develops cognitive social competencies such as self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. For students, developing such competencies fosters positive social skills, reduces conduct problems, diminishes emotional stress, and improves academic performance. 

Furthermore, when we develop social and emotional competencies, our ability to form relationships and build social awareness increases, enhancing our ability to connect with individuals of diverse perspectives, cultures, languages, histories, identities, and abilities. By implementing SEL on a macro level, we create more equitable and better performing schools and communities.  This type of cultural change creates environments in which all students learn the skills needed to be prepared for career, college, and life.  As an educational approach, SEL recognizes that students are complex human beings whose learning and behavior are just as influenced by their emotions—and their control over those emotions—as they are by the quality of instruction and discipline"  (Yoder, 2018).  

Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) 

 CASEL identifies five social and emotional competencies, which are composed of multiple skills and abilities:

  • Self-awareness is the ability to recognize one's own feelings, interests, strengths, and limitations

  • Self-management refers to when individuals regulate emotions and manage daily stressors

  • Social awareness refers to perspective taking and to appreciate similarities and differences

  • Relationship skills are when individuals exhibit prosocial behavior and demonstrate positive social skills in order to develop meaningful relationships

  • Responsible decision making refers to when individuals make ethical decisions, and strengthen the ability to develop appropriate solutions to identified problems

  • Research demonstrates that when students participate in activities that focus on these competencies, student prosocial behavior improves, students decrease in their participation of negative behaviors, and students improve in their academic achievement.

SEL 101: What are the Core Competencies and Key Settings

Learn More About the Competencies

Self-Awareness
Self-Management
Social Awareness
Relationship Skills
Responsible decision-making

SEL Impact
Yoder, N. (2018). SEL professional learning modules (adapted from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction). Chicago, IL: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and American Institutes for Research (AIR).