This K-12 Dive article provides an update on where states stand in efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism. The article compares the progress of states participating in the 50% Challenge, an initiative launched by Attendance Works, EdTrust and Nat Malkus with AEI, with those that are not.
States participating in the 50% Challenge have reduced their chronic absenteeism rates by an average of 5.7% from baseline between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years, while the 29 states not participating have seen a lower average reduction of 3.2% within the same period. Read the article for a more in-depth overview: bit.ly/3U2NgxO
#ChronicAbsenteeism
🎉 We have a brand-new quarterly publication that we’re pretty excited about: Data-Driven: A Research Quarterly for Education Leaders.
We created it specifically for educators. Each issue takes new research findings and explains what they mean for your classroom and your school.
It’s written for teachers, principals, counselors, and all the adults in a school community.
Education research that educators can actually use.
bit.ly/4Bjyy6j
Our first issue is all about #attendance. Subscribe now and read the first issue FOR FREE!
The way this Philadelphia program brings agencies together to support the whole child is what we need more of. The program, Handle With Care, lets police officers send a note to the school district when they encounter a child while responding to a call. The officer shares only the child’s name, with no specific details. The district then identifies the student’s school and alerts school staff that the student may need extra care and attention.
Read more in this Chalkbeat Philadelphia article: bit.ly/4zJKhte
#WholeChild #SEL
It's BAAACK!
The SEL Exchange is returning in February, and we're focused on one topic — belonging and engagement in ACTION!
Registration is now open! Check out what we have planned: bit.ly/3DD4gPn
CASEL is proud to introduce Data-Driven: A Research Quarterly for Education Leaders.
casel.org/quarterly/fall26/
Data-Driven is for every day educators who hear about new findings by education researchers and ask, "Now what? How does this impact what happens in my school?"
This quarterly newsletter translates what's new in research and makes it tangible for teachers, principals, counselors, and all the adults in a school community. It's education research that educators can use.
Subscribe now and read our first issue on attendance FOR FREE!
It always comes back to relationships.
A new study from Equal Opportunity Schools and the Center for Trust and Transformation looked at 1.8 million student records across more than 1,400 schools. The finding: students who have a trusted adult at school are 10 to 20% more likely to take advanced coursework, and they tend to have slightly higher GPAs too.
Teachers topped the list of who students named as that trusted adult, followed by counselors, coaches, school leaders, and office and custodial staff.
Read more about the study in this K-12 Dive article: k12dive.com/news/trusting-re…
What's one way your school or district is working to make sure every student has that adult in their corner?
#SEL #K12Education #SchoolClimate
"It's like another home to us." — a Grade 8 student, on what belonging at school feels like.
In late 2023, a team of Canadian researchers, including CASEL Weissberg Scholar Tonje M. Molyneux, asked Grade 6-8 students in two districts what helped them feel like they belonged at school, and what got in the way. What the students shared is inspiring, and many of the things on their list are pretty simple. Researchers grouped what they heard into three categories: comfort, care, and connection.
Give the list below a read, and try to incorporate something new into your everyday routines at school based on what these students said.
You can read the full study published by the International Journal of Education Research here: sciencedirect.com/science/ar…
#SchoolBelonging #StudentVoice
Look who's working hard to help advance SEL!
Join us in welcoming Cassandra Doggrell to our new cohort of SEL Fellows.
Today is World Mental Health Day and a good day to remind educators that adult mental health in schools matters as much as student mental health.
We ask students to build skills like emotional regulation, self-awareness, and effective communication but modeling those skills starts with us as adults. SEL isn't only a skill set for kids to learn. It's something adults need to practice too, and schools need to support.
Let's all commit to doing our part to support each other's mental health. Be kind. Be supportive. And just simply be there for each other. #WorldMentalHealthDay
bit.ly/4yvmDAs
Look who's working hard to help advance SEL!
Join us in welcoming Patrick Bircher to our new cohort of SEL Fellows.
Looking for a little SEL inspiration? Our blog is open 24/7, and it's full of thoughtful and inspiring reads! A couple of favorites from the past month:
📘 One Goal, Many Voices: Representation in the Selection Process of an SEL Curriculum
📘 Teaching SEL Twice: What a School Social Work Intern Program Taught Me About Adult Learners
You can find ALL of them on our website: casel.org/blog/
We need reliable and consistent chronic absence data to know how to improve the issue.
A new Education Week article digs into how states actually track chronic absence and points out gaps in the process, from inconsistent state methods to federal oversight that isn't catching the problem.
If we don't reliably know who's missing school and why, it's hard to know whether the interventions we're funding are working.
Read the full article here: bit.ly/4rQA23x
#ChronicAbsenteeism #K12Policy
"This webinar shared so much information in such little time. Excellent presentation!"
Thank you to everyone who joined us and EveryDay Labs for Present and Thriving: Nurturing Student Connection for Better Attendance. We had an information packed hour long discussion exploring the undeniable link between student sense of belonging and consistent school attendance.
If you weren't able to join us, you can watch the recording here: casel.org/events/present-and…
#SEL #ChronicAbsenteeism #StudentAttendance
Absenteeism is not a new concern in education. It's been top of mind for educators and administrators for years, especially since COVID.
Here's a great article from a few years back by CASEL CEO Joshua Starr. It's another chance to hear his insight on issues affecting student well-being.
edweek.org/leadership/opinio…
#ChronicAbsenteeism
Let CASEL help you build the classroom culture you want.
CASEL's new self-paced virtual course, Belonging & Engagement in the Classroom, gives teachers concrete strategies for building a classroom where students feel like they belong, because that's what makes curiosity, and eventually learning, possible.
Think of it as SEL 101: the foundational piece that helps everything click into place.
Watch this short clip of CASEL board member David Adams for a preview of what you can expect, then sign up to take the first step to creating a classroom environment where learners can grow and thrive.
Register here: leadingschoolwidesel.casel.o…..
#SEL #TeacherPD #ClassroomCulture #CASEL
