ACT Newsroom & Blog: ACT Celebrates International SEL Day with Highlights from Students and Teachers

Written by ACT | Mar 26, 2021 5:00:00 AM

Today marks the second annual international celebration of #SELday, a day to inform, educate and advocate for the importance of social and emotional learning for student success.

ACT is a partner with The Urban Assembly and SEL4US, the organizations that host SEL Day events, and provide toolkits and resources to champion social and emotional learning.

This year, we launched our new, comprehensive learning solution, Mosaic by ACT, which includes robust SEL resources that are student-centered, effective, measurable, and certified. ACT’s SEL programs are aligned with the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)—the nation’s leader in supporting and influencing SEL practices and policies.

In the spirit of the SEL Day theme, “Building Bonds, Reimagining Community,” we believe SEL curriculum is most effective when a shared SEL culture is created within the whole school or district.

We’re sharing customer and community stories that highlight how developing social emotional skills will prepare students for their futures.

What teachers are saying

From Kadie Becker (English Learner Coordinator for Lincoln International High School in Minneapolis, MN)

How has SEL helped build a better community for your schools and your families?

I think implementing the Mosaic by ACT SEL Curriculum at Lincoln is helping us develop a common language around some things that can be hard to talk about. When teachers work through the curriculum with their classes, it provides opportunities to talk about aspects of students' lives that we don't often get to in a regular content class. I also think that by implementing this curriculum across all of our advisories, we are communicating to students and their families that we care about the whole child, their whole wellbeing, not just their academic progress.

What does SEL mean to you?

For me, SEL means developing personal awareness of habits I have when interacting with people and my environment, and also strengthening interpersonal skills like communication and boundary-setting.

From Ms. Elsa Leon-Rivera (John Young Elementary School in Orlando, FL)

What does SEL mean to you?

SEL has been like a rebirth for me as a teacher. I look back, when I started teaching in the ‘70s in a rural school in Puerto Rico, and I wish I’d had these resources back then. I know I would have been able to prepare my students to better achieve their goals.

What makes you excited about SEL?

What makes me excited about SEL is seeing the responses of the students during and after some activities we do in class. They really enjoy learning about other people’s experiences. They always ask if the person is still alive and they want to learn more about them. For example, when we read the book, “A Tiny Seed,” about Wangari Maathai’s life, and how she hit her turbo to help others, they were very interested and I had to show them videos of Wangari when she was still alive. One of the students went to the media center and checked out another book about her, “Mama Miti.” The same happened when we read “Emmanuel’s Dream.” They love to learn about how others overcame their problems or situations in order to achieve success.”

Students at John Young Elementary School in Orlando, Florida share their excitement about SEL.

What students are saying

From Muktar (Lincoln International High School in Minneapolis, MN)

What's the best thing SEL has taught you?

The best thing I have learned from SEL is how to build better relationships with others. The other thing is to better communicate and help each other.

How are you using SEL?

I am using SEL to better communicate with my friends on assignments. If want to collaborate on an assignment, we use the phone and we help each other.

From Musenga (Lincoln International High School in Minneapolis, MN)

What does SEL mean to you?

I think this means learning what you are like, how you feel things, and why you love to do something.

How does SEL help you build better relationships?

I think it helps you listen to others, to compromise and help each other. The biggest way it helps is to develop empathy, to take someone's problems as my problems.

We hope you take some time to celebrate SEL Day today, joining communities practicing social and emotional learning across the globe, and benefitting from improved outcomes in academic achievement and student wellbeing.

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