Expert Melissa Adle Schlinger '89 returned to campus this week to deliver a Parent Partnership Program talk on social and emotional learning (SEL), how and why Holton and schools across the country are making it a priority, and ways parents can support this work. Mrs. Schlinger is Vice President of Practice and Programs at CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning), which strives to make evidence-based SEL an integral part of education from preschool through high school.
As Mrs. Schlinger noted, CASEL is a leader in SEL implementation and even coined the term back in the mid-'90s. The organization defines SEL as "the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions."
More than two decades of research has shown that integrating SEL into education yields a host of benefits for students, including stronger SEL skills like empathy and teamwork, higher academic performance, improved classroom behavior, more positive attitudes about school, and lower levels of emotional distress.
Mrs. Schlinger points to the front page of the newspaper as further proof that students need these tools. Stories about the government shutdown, the opioid crisis, rising suicide rates, #MeToo, and so much more, she said, "put the importance of SEL in the spotlight; the importance of helping young people develop the capacity to know and understand themselves, to be heard and understand different perspectives, to cope with trauma, to seek help, to learn to work together with others."
Given the mounting evidence of SEL's benefits, she said, "we are seeing a tsunami of interest in SEL, and CASEL is very much in the eye of the hurricane."
Holton is part of this national movement and has set SEL as a priority. This includes recently revamping the school's Advisory program to focus on relationship-building, identifying emotions, cultivating empathy and perspective-taking, and other SEL skills. "I couldn't be happier that Holton is prioritizing SEL," said Mrs. Schlinger. "The school can continue building on the good work it's already been doing by focusing even more on intentionality. This work takes time, maybe several years for a school to fully integrate. But it's so critical."
Mrs. Schlinger gave parents some insights into how they can help support this work. Her advice included:
- Maintain regular, ongoing communication with your child about anything and everything.
- Intentionally model positive, inclusive, healthy behaviors.
- Help your child find their voice by finding opportunities for them to practice using it, for example, having your young child order for him- or herself at a restaurant.
- Engage them in decisions about consequences for actions.
- Ask how they feel, and listen to and validate those emotions.
- Ask them to reflect on how others might feel.
- Ask questions to help them come up with solutions; don't always come up with the answers for them.
At the conclusion of her talk, Mrs. Schlinger fielded an array of questions from parents about topics ranging from stress to screen time.
This marks the second time the expert has been on campus this school year; in August, she delivered a similar talk and training for faculty and staff. For her, coming back to campus to share her story and knowledge is an incredible gift. "I owe a tremendous amount of who I am to this school," she said. "To me, coming back here feels like a way to give back."
Prior to working at CASEL, Mrs. Schlinger served as Vice President of Education Services for ScholarCentric, an organization that also works to increase awareness of and implement SEL in education, and was Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. She is also a former Fairfax County Public School teacher.
Learn more about Mrs. Schlinger, and her work for CASEL and with Holton, in the winter issue of Holton's Doorways magazine, due out later this winter.
