Why SEL Today?
We’ve all heard that Frank Sinatra song about “Love and Marriage” which, per the song, go together “like a horse and carriage.” Ol’ Blue Eyes then continued: “This I tell you, brother, you can’t have one without the other.”
So it goes with Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and equity.
What we do at the American Consortium for Equity in Education is all explained at ace-ed.org. As our equity work has evolved during (and now continuing through) the pandemic, more and more we’re seeing how SEL and equity are tied together. School districts are increasingly requiring every product to take student and faculty SEL needs into consideration, and companies are responding to this important need.
The next step was obvious to us, and it is this new website.
Our goals are clear:
To provide a place where thought leaders and researchers in the industry have a voice—a loud one—about the critical work they’re doing in SEL to meet the needs of school districts across the country.
To continually highlight the good work of PreK-12 educators who are making SEL a key part of a holistic educational process in every subject for every student at every school, every day.
As the experts at CASEL said, “SEL is relevant for all students in all schools and affirms diverse cultures and backgrounds. All students bring to school their identities, strengths, values, lived experiences, and culture. SEL … uplifts and promotes understanding of the assets of diverse individuals and communities.”
You just can’t have one without the other. Equity and SEL.
That’s why we do what we do at the American Consortium for Equity in Education. We’re inspired by the progress that’s already underway, excited to see what’s next in SEL, and looking proudly forward to working with you and delivering your message to PreK12 educators on SEL Today.
Larry Jacobs, President
Maia Appleby, Publisher
