Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Education
 
Board
State Board of Education
 
Guidance Document Change: The 2020 Virginia General Assembly passed House Bill 753 directing the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to develop guidance standards for social emotional learning (SEL) for all public students in grades Kindergarten through 12 in the Commonwealth. The Virginia Social Emotional Learning Standards were developed in collaboration with an SEL Advisory Committee, composed of educators, community leaders, agency personnel, and parents. The Virginia SEL Standards are aligned with the Profile of a Virginia Graduate and centered in equity. This intentional focus allows the Standards to explicitly teach the skills needed to be “life ready” and to create more equitable learning environments.
Previous Comment     Next Comment     Back to List of Comments
5/5/21  11:33 am
Commenter: Katrina Dolak

SEL Begins at Home and Continues in School
 

Social emotional learning, or SEL, begins at home and continues in school.  SEL is sometimes called the “missing piece” because it links academic progress with a specific set of skills important to success in families, communities, schools, workplaces, and life in general. The three Rs are not enough!  SEL includes the processes through which people acquire and apply knowledge and develop attitudes and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.  SEL promotes significant improvement in social and emotional skills; attitudes about oneself, others, and school; social and classroom behavior; conduct problems; emotional distress such as stress and depression; and achievement test scores and school grades.  More specifically, decades of research shows that investment in social-emotional learning positively impacts academic achievement, behavior, mental health, earning potential, long-term employment, housing, criminal activity, and substance use.  Given the critical impact of COVID-19 and other important national issues on students, especially students from vulnerable populations, social emotional health and mental well-being are increasingly important.  SEL serves as important Tier I instruction for all students. 

 

Parent

School Psychologist

VASP Immediate Past-President

CommentID: 97930