Shining a light on social-emotional learning

City Year to Present at SEL Exchange 2019!

We’re excited that City Year will be presenting in Chicago this week at CASEL’s first Social and Emotional Learning conference, SEL Exchange. Our team and the Search Institute will be sharing what we have been learning in a panel discussion: “Advancing Equity and SEL Through Developmental Relationships.”

With more than 500 names already on the waiting list for next year, the SEL Exchange conference represents a major opportunity to expand field knowledge and best practices. By bringing together organizations that are focused on holistic child social, emotional and academic development, host CASEL (Collaborative for Social, Emotional and Academic Learning) is providing a rich platform to explore innovative ways to spread SEL across the country and ensure that all students have access to holistic supports that help them be successful, in school and in life.

We are looking forward to sharing City Year’s social-emotional work in systemically under-resourced public schools and our collaboration with the Search Institute. Influenced by the institute’s work on the importance of “developmental relationships” our AmeriCorps members are uniquely positioned to form positive, consistent and caring bonds with the students they serve every day as student success coaches–tutors, mentors and role models.

Learn more about City Year’s Approach to social-emotional development.

These human connections help City Year to support students as they make meaning out of their educational experience; establish healthy relationships with peers and other adults; and contribute to dynamic, supportive learning environments where students are able to set goals, explore their interests and realize their full potential.

Our panel presentation on Friday features: City Year Chief Impact Officer Stephanie Wu; Zandra Casto, senior impact manager from City Year Columbus who supports a team of AmeriCorps members; and Search Institute President and CEO Kent Pekel. Together, these speakers will address this year’s conference theme: Defining Quality in the Context of Innovation, by exploring the Search Institute’s research on the importance of setting and expressing high expectations to all students. Stephanie Wu and Zandra Casto will also share how City Year’s holistic student services, Whole School, Whole Child, help to ensure that students have access to developmental relationships in school that help them to achieve academically and cultivate skills and mindsets that lead to adult success and choice-filled lives.

Learn more about City Year’s impact.

City Year Chicago AmeriCorps members will also be featured in the Opening Plenary of the conference on Thursday. During their short presentation, AmeriCorps members will provide an overview of City Year’s SEL work with students and demonstrate for the audience two SEL strategies that corps members use regularly with their students. They will ask audience members to reflect on what SEL knowledge, experience or values they hope to introduce to the community during their time at the conference.

In the weeks to come, we will be sharing more stories that explore holistic student development and social-emotional learning. Please bookmark our national blog and stay tuned for more to come on these important topics.

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