Supporting Healthy, Holistic Social and Emotional Development for Young People Across America

By America Forward Staff

Every year, on the second Friday in March, educators, advocates, students, and families — in the United States and around the world — celebrate International SEL Day, in recognition of the critical importance of social and emotional skill development to the learning, health, and wellbeing of all young people.

Social and emotional skills are two of the five developmental domains that are the foundation of America Forward’s Advancing Whole Learner Education initiative (along with physical, cognitive, and creative skills). America Forward is deeply engaged in efforts to advance policies that provide every young person with opportunities to develop and practice social and emotional skills in safe, supportive learning environments.

One way we do that is by uplifting the efforts of our many Coalition organizations across the country that are working everyday to create connected, engaging learning experiences that offer students and young people the chance to develop interconnected skills, including social and emotional skills.

In recognition of SEL Day 2023, we want to highlight just a few of the ways that organizations in the America Forward Coalition are leading intentional, impactful work to support children’s healthy, holistic development.

Several America Forward Coalition members work to create personalized, experiential, and accessible learning experiences for students.

For example, AppleTree’s network of schools in Washington, DC utilize the “Every Child Ready” instruction model created by the AppleTree Institute for Education Innovation. Every Child Ready uses a groundbreaking education platform that empowers children to learn through exploration and play, and then provides invaluable insights for educators and families about their children’s growth and development, including their social and emotional development.

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Social and emotional skill development doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Educators are instrumental in shaping, supporting, and guiding students’ growth and development. As such, it’s vital to attract, support, and retain educators committed to advancing whole learner approaches.

New Teacher Center provides rigorous, comprehensive coaching for teachers and school administrators, focused on increasing educator capacity to uplift and empower all students, including through the integration of academics and social-emotional learning.

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Just like educators are key to supporting healthy social and emotional development, so too are families and caregivers. Learning and development don’t stop before students come to school in the morning, or after they leave in the afternoon, and recognizing parents and caregivers as partners in healthy development is vital.

Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors provides culturally-responsive educational resources — co-created in partnership with parents — to help families build “strong foundations for their children in reading, math, technology, and more,” and gives parents and caregivers the opportunity to strengthen “their leadership, knowledge, and support systems” so that they feel prepared to help advance their children’s development.

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Schools — their educators and staff — are asked to do a lot for our communities, to support learning and provide care, offer social opportunities, and meet the myriad needs of students and families. Increasing school capacity is essential to giving every student — and every member of the school community — the best chance to thrive.

America Forward Coalition organizations working to expand school capacity range from Transcend — which brings expertise in innovation and professional learning along with effective models and strong data and insights frameworks — to City Year, which places more personnel directly in schools.

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Last, but certainly not least, our understanding of social and emotional development (and the interconnectedness of learning and development, generally) is always evolving. America Forward Coalition organizations are the forefront of translating the latest science into clear, actionable approaches for students, educators, partners, and school communities.

Turnaround for Children leverages the science of brain development and learning to design educational approaches that reflect the whole child — including the critical importance of social and emotional development — and then works directly with educators and school communities to turn those designs into practice.

Many of the more than 100 organizations that make up the America Forward Coalition are working on these important challenges day in and day out — not just on SEL Day. But SEL Day offers an important opportunity to uplift their work and highlight the interconnectedness of efforts to support the social and emotional development of students and young people. You can learn more about the America Forward Coalition, and the work that individual organizations are doing to support healthy, holistic learning and development, by visiting www.americaforward.org. And you can find more information and resources related to SEL Day by visiting www.selday.org, or exploring #SELday on social media.