What are schools implementing?

First, understand your gaps and your needs. If you haven’t already, do an analysis on where your gaps in outcomes might be (e.g., student dropout rate, teacher absences).

Second, explore why these gaps exist and what do people need in order to be able to address the identified gaps in outcomes. To understand needs, you can conduct empathy interviews, informal meetings or discussions, and other forms of talking to people that allow you to elicit their points of view and experiences.

Third, you next want to think about your areas of focus for SEL. Consider which SEL areas of focus will align with the identified gaps and articulated needs and then prioritize them.

Fourth, you may have to select specific SEL programs, approaches, or practices that align with the area of focus, align with your identified gaps and needs, and meet your idea of success.

Action: If you have not yet identified SEL practices you will be implementing/supporting, go through these steps as a team. If you have identified SEL practices you will be implementing/supporting, are there any steps you overlooked and need to go back to reflect on? How does this impact your identified SEL practices for implementation?

Once you have an SEL team in place and you’ve prioritized what you’re going to focus on, you are ready to start planning for implementation. The very first step in this planning process is identifying who is being asked to do what differently. By clearly defining who needs to do what differently, it sets people up to be able to do that thing.

WHOs and WHATs often have to be revisited over time. For example, you might realize you need to add more WHOs and/or WHATs or change or refine them. It’s also common that when first defining the WHOs and WHATs, we don’t provide enough detail to people to understand what success looks like.

Action: For each SEL practice/approach that you will be implementing or will be supporting the implementation of, identify the WHOs and the WHATs.