{"id":71440,"date":"2022-05-04T14:09:10","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T19:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/casel.dev\/?post_type=blogposts&#038;p=71440"},"modified":"2025-10-15T12:45:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T17:45:18","slug":"welcome-to-constellations-our-new-blog-for-the-sel-community","status":"publish","type":"blogposts","link":"https:\/\/casel.org\/blog\/welcome-to-constellations-our-new-blog-for-the-sel-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to &#8220;Constellations,&#8221; Our New Blog for the SEL Community!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"key-points\"><strong>Key Points<\/strong><\/h2><a class=top href=\"#top\">Back to top<\/a>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Constellations<\/em> represents the collaborative effort of the SEL community, where diverse voices and perspectives come together to create a more comprehensive understanding of social and emotional learning. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>SEL is urgently needed now more than ever, as it helps address challenges such as mental health crises, learning loss, and societal divisions, fostering connection and resilience. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CASEL&#8217;s 3 SEL Signature Practices\u2014\u201cwarm welcome,\u201d \u201cengaging pedagogy,\u201d and \u201coptimistic closure\u201d\u2014offer simple yet powerful ways to integrate SEL into classrooms and staff gatherings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>In the past two years, we have often focused on how the pandemic has separated us. But despite these challenges, we have seen a great coming together\u2014particularly in the community dedicated to promoting, deepening, and expanding social and emotional learning (SEL). As a community, we\u2019ve relied on key elements of SEL to reach out to one another: relationship-building, social awareness, collaboration, and cooperation. It is in this spirit that we introduce <em>Constellations<\/em>, CASEL\u2019s new blog for the SEL community! It\u2019s a collaborative effort to create a shared space to ignite, sustain, and illuminate conversations about SEL.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhy <em>Constellations<\/em>?\u201d you may ask. Imagine the vast array of stars, spread out against the night sky. That image captures the community of individuals and organizations that are advancing this work. It is the multitude of voices and perspectives that shed light on key aspects of SEL. When we take the time to put together these points of light, we can create a more comprehensive picture and a richer story of SEL, the same way a collection of stars can be seen as a bear, Orion\u2019s belt, or the Big Dipper. SEL\u2019s full possibilities emerge only when we \u201cconnect the dots.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is no accident that Constellations starts with the letter C, just like the word Collaborative. As the first word of CASEL\u2019s name, \u201cCollaborative\u201d is both who we are and how we operate. Collaboration is also a key element of SEL: Through SEL, students and adults alike learn how to cooperate and build relationships with others as an important platform of learning, growth, achievement, and development. You may have also noticed that \u201cConstellations\u201d is plural. Just as there are many SEL stories to tell, many dots to connect, and many entry points to the conversation, we need the input, expertise, inspiration, and actions of many, many collaborators\u2014educators, researchers, policymakers, students, families, and community members\u2014to create and enact the vision of SEL. If you browse the themes of this blog, you\u2019ll see many points of entry to this discussion, spanning from in-the-field stories about how SEL touches lives in schools, districts, homes, and communities, to deep dives into innovations in research and practice, to conversations rooted in the diverse perspectives of those doing this important work.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The time could not be more ripe for such an endeavor. Since CASEL\u2019s inception more than 25 years ago, there\u2019s been an <a href=\"https:\/\/casel.org\/fundamentals-of-sel\/what-does-the-research-say\/#support\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ever-increasing demand for SEL<\/a>. Today, the need for SEL is even more urgent. As we contend with multiple, interrelated pressures\u2014the layered challenges of the pandemic, the mental health crises faced by students and adults alike, concerns about \u201clearning loss\u201d and academic challenges, political and cultural divisions, and debates about the role of education and of teachers\u2014we must come together to shape the future of SEL. Whichever way the winds shift, our constellations continue to shine.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In our work with districts and schools, we recommend the <a href=\"https:\/\/schoolguide.casel.org\/uploads\/2018\/12\/CASEL_SEL-3-Signature-Practices-Playbook-V3.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">3 SEL Signature Practices<\/a>, which offer a quick but powerful way to inject SEL into all classrooms and staff gatherings. These practices include a \u201cwarm welcome,\u201d \u201cengaging pedagogy,\u201d and \u201coptimistic closure.\u201d In the spirit of SEL, I\u2019d like to take inspiration from these three practices and finish with an optimistic closure that looks forward to what we can collectively achieve with this blog. So, if you feel moved, make your voice heard\u2014shine your light\u2014by answering the following question in the comments: <strong>What conversations do you want to have in this space?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Dr. Aaliyah A. Samuel<\/strong> serves as CASEL CEO during a time of unprecedented growth for the field of SEL, spearheading initiatives alongside other educators, researchers, and policy leaders to expand SEL nationwide and serve as a leading voice for children\u2019s education.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Related Posts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/casel.org\/blog\/happy-2nd-anniversary-to-the-casel-blog-here-are-our-top-10-blogs-so-far\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Happy 2nd Anniversary to the CASEL Blog! Here Are our Top 10 Blogs So Far<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/casel.org\/blog\/roundup-6-blogs-showcasing-student-voice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Roundup: 6 Blogs Showcasing Student Voice<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/casel.org\/blog\/roundup-11-blogs-showcasing-sel-in-unexpected-places\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Roundup: 11 Blogs Showcasing SEL in Unexpected Places<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/casel.org\/blog\/sel-week-blog-contest-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2024 &#8220;National SEL Week&#8221; Blog Contest<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"write-for-us\"><strong>Write for Us<\/strong><\/h2><a class=top href=\"#top\">Back to top<\/a>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/casel.org\/blog\/sel-week-blog-contest-2024\/#top\">Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Are you interested in writing for CASEL\u2019s blog,&nbsp;<em>Constellations<\/em>?<strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1zSZFveKA8xsmlCADpfDP8t-y9emN0qswHQh1MnfmqBI\/edit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Learn more<\/a>&nbsp;about what we\u2019re looking for and how to pitch your idea!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Points Back to top In the past two years, we have often focused on how the pandemic has separated us. But despite these challenges, we have seen a great coming together\u2014particularly in the community dedicated to promoting, deepening, and expanding social and emotional learning (SEL). As a community, we\u2019ve relied on key elements of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26603,"featured_media":71451,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","theme":[204],"class_list":["post-71440","blogposts","type-blogposts","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","theme-ceo-corner"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/casel.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blogposts\/71440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/casel.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blogposts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/casel.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blogposts"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casel.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26603"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casel.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71440"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casel.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/casel.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casel.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/theme?post=71440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}