Social, Emotional, and Mental Wellness

The Charge

Create and maintain district- and school-level infrastructures to prioritize and nurture the social-emotional well-being of students, as well as the educators who serve them.

Research Findings:

• The pandemic has taken its toll on everyone, including students, families, and educators.
  • As schools continue toward so-called normalcy, stakeholders cannot ignore the repercussions of the previous years on social-emotional well-being.
• Educators and families recognize that students have significant social and emotional needs that warrant attention in the return to classroom learning.
  • Educators vehemently assert the detriment to center students’ social-emotional well-being.
• Nonetheless, the prevalent focus in schools continues to reflect the testing industry discourse on “learning loss” and “COVID slide,” prompting educators to feel pressured to develop students’ discrete skills as a means to increase test scores.
• Teachers, counselors, and other stakeholders need time, resources, and administrative support to prioritize well-being as a central feature of daily practice, collaborating with one another to ensure every child feels safe, cared for, and valued in schools.

Potential Action Steps:

• Ensure educators feel prepared to mediate trauma-informed pedagogy and respond to students’ social-emotional needs.
• Consider your school’s infrastructure for mental health, including stakeholders who can provide these supports in multiple languages.
• Provide students with safe spaces in classrooms and schools to discuss issues impacting their mental health and well-being.
• Provide educators with free therapy and mental-health resources to support them as they maneuver their own challenges and those of students.