It has been a while since your paper highlighted the significance of social-emotional learning to students and educators in our community.
In your article “Feelings matter,” published in December 2020, you spoke with me and other educators leading the movement to promote the impact that social skills and emotional intelligence has on our attention memory learning, relationships, physical and mental health, and our decision making, at the start of the COVID-19 school closures.
The third annual International SEL Day is coming up on Friday, March 10. Lewiston Public Schools will join in with schools and communities across the country to highlight the importance of SEL in school and in life.
As a district, Lewiston Public Schools choose to prioritize authentic school-family-community partnerships and establish learning environments and experiences that feature trusting and collaborative relationships, rigorous and meaningful curriculum and instruction, and ongoing evaluation of our progress. We use social-emotional learning as an integral strategy for advancing educational equity and excellence for our students.
Social-emotional learning is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills and attitudes to develop healthy identities, feel and show empathy for others, manage emotions, achieve personal and collective goals, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.
This topic shouldn’t be limited to our school walls on this one day. SEL is for the greater community as well as for the adults and educators who connect with our students every day.
Ayesha Hall, SEL and equity resource coordinator, Lewiston Public Schools
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