SEL4Mass.org

Welcome to the home of the SEL Alliance for Massachusetts (SAM), a group of individuals who work for schools, hospitals, associations, businesses and nonprofits that care deeply about introducing social-emotional learning (SEL) into our schools and communities as a long-term education plan to improve academics and reduce violence and addictions in our communities.

By teaching and practicing SEL skills in our schools, we will:

• Increase academic achievement (up 11% universally and 17% for at-risk students).
• Reduce the staggering human and financial costs caused by violence, addiction and other social maladies (social-emotional learning skills up 22%).

The purpose of the Alliance is to influence decision-makers in making SEL part of our lives by introducing it into all Massachusetts schools, pre-k – 12.

If you are interested in supporting SEL and SAM (we do not ask for any donations), simply click on “Interested in Helping?”and fill out a brief form. (Your email address will never be used for commercial purpose or given to any other corporation or person.)

New!   We are now over 260 members strong.  Welcome to all the new members.  See Committee lists for membership.  Check out the new members and what they do by looking toward the end of each listing on each page. 

New!  See the New Safe and Supportive Schools Legislation (see the Fact Sheet here) re-filed by Representative Walz and Senator Clark.   Please contact your representatives and senators to support HD 226 and SD 168.  It’s a simple act, but means so much in advancing SEL in all our schools.

Anne Eisner, from Mass Advocates for Children and SAM member, writes to us all:

“Thank you so much for your support of the Safe and Supportive Schools legislation, and for the willingness of your members to reach out to legislators and ask them to co-sponsor the bill.   I am thrilled to share with you that this was a very successful effort—-we have over 50 sign-ons to the bill,  36 co-sponsors on the House bill and 17 co-sponsors on the Senate bill.  Thank you again for your help.”

New! Job for web developer for SAM here.

New! There are now eight committees working on behalf of SEL in Massachusetts (scroll down).   If you think of a Working Group that you’d like to form (RN’s, Social Workers, School Psychologists, perhaps), please reach out to others, take the initiative to work together to make change.  If we are all working on new ideas to make improvement, to have SEL in all schools, we will make a difference.

1. The Steering Commitee, chaired by Steven Brion-Meisels, after completing our Mission Statement is moving forward in March (TBA). at Teachers 21 in Wellesley to continue our discussion of our theory of change and the infrastructure of SAM.  The next meeting will be announced shortly.   If you have  questions, please contact Mitch Lyons (mitchly@comcast.net).

2. The  SEL Educators Group, headed up by John D’Auria of Teachers21 and Bob Lichtenstein of Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, will announce the next meeting.  The Educators Group is working with the Exploratory Events Committee on a June event.

3. SAM’s SEL Speakers’ Bureau, chaired by Gayle Vonasek and Jim Strousse,  is organizing to better inform the general public about the importance of SEL in their lives and schools.  Work is being done on the PowerPoint that will be given to our new speakers, who are being identified . If you would like to participate as a speaker or know of groups that would be interested in being addressed by a SEL professional , please contact Gayle Vonasek at gaylevonasek@gmail.com. 

 4. The SEL Teacher Preparation Working Group, chaired by Deborah Donahue-Keegan, ED.D. and businessman David Zussman, is advocating for more substantive integration of SEL research/practice into teacher preparation programs.  After another informative September 28th meetinng, a Steering Committee is being formed for this group to advance their agenda.  If you’d like to know more, please contact Deborah Donahue-Keegan at deborah.donahue_keegan@tufts.edu.

5.  The Website Design Group, chaired by Nova Biro, is involved in improving the website to make it more user friendly and dynamic.  We are currently seeking to fill a paid internship position for website development.  If you have someone in mind or have any ideas as to content or presentation, please send your comments to Nova Biro at nbiro@wellesley.edu.  All comments are welcomed, a point that cannot be emphasized enough.

6. Exploratory Events Committee, chaired by Steven Brion-Meisels, is meeting regularly to present its  June 12, 2013 conference called “Beyond The Lock-Down:Social Emotional Learning, School Safety and School/Community Culture”.  For more information, you can Steven Brion-Meisels (stevenbrionmeisels@gmail.com).

7. The Family and Community Committee of SAM, chaired by Karen Craddock, is aimed at exploring and advancing our understanding, practice and engagement with families and community partners around social-emotional learning. With an emphasis on convening a diverse body, the plan is to support and deepen our strategies in participatory and culturally responsive and fluent ways across the state and in partnership with other SEL related activities.  To join this committee, write karen.t.craddock@gmail.com.

8. Business Involvement Working Group, chaired by David Harris and John Bluthardt, is now culling through the resumes of Organization Developers to use their support in developing strategies to involve Massachusetts businesses in working toward SEL training for all children so that new employees may enter the labor force skilled in problem-solving, forming trusting long lasting relationships and managing their own emotions, creating a 21st century work force.  If you would like to become part of this committee, please contact Mitch Lyons at mitchly@comcast.net.

To see SEL in action, click on this brief video by Learning Matters in conjunction with PBS Jim Lehrer NewsHour.