ASCD: SEL Best Practices & More

Putting the SEL in Academic Recovery The latest: Finding balance in pandemic recovery, Jim Knight on supporting instructional coaches, SEL best practices and more.

Balance Rigor with Restoration

School leaders should have two parallel goals that drive education in these pandemic times, as far as superintendent Jen Schwanke is concerned: 1) academic recovery and 2) social-emotional health. Without a balance between the two, educators risk doing harm to students’ school experience.     But finding this balance isn’t easy. In a recent blog post and during a session for this week’s ASCD symposium on “The New Era of Education,” Schwanke explains how to navigate the pendulum swing between rigor and restoration.     After more than a year of disruption, focusing on academic progress as a school team—with data as a central part of instructional planning—is an important place to start. Schwanke suggests asking questions around what kind of standardized assessments to use, whether teams are over-assessing, where students are regressing and where they need enrichment, and how classroom assessments can fill gaps that standardized tests might miss.    At the same time, Schwanke says, leaders must work to restore confidence and joy in students’ experiences. This means brainstorming new check-in systems, utilizing the skills of counselors and social workers, connecting with parents to bridge home and school experiences, and empowering students to pay attention to their own strengths and challenges.    “Our teachers know what to do, just so long as they have us there to boost them up and give them the support they need,” writes Schwanke. “Balancing the ladder is the key, as is the faith that students will be OK.”    Read the full post.