{"id":73551,"date":"2022-09-22T15:18:40","date_gmt":"2022-09-22T20:18:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/casel.dev\/?post_type=blogposts&#038;p=73551"},"modified":"2025-10-15T13:03:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T18:03:15","slug":"my-congressional-testimony-on-sel-this-school-year","status":"publish","type":"blogposts","link":"https:\/\/casel.org\/blog\/my-congressional-testimony-on-sel-this-school-year\/","title":{"rendered":"My Congressional Testimony on SEL This School Year"},"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>CASEL President and CEO spoke at the U.S. House of Representatives hearing on &#8220;Back to School,&#8221; which emphasized the importance of integrating social and emotional learning (SEL) into academic recovery efforts to support students&#8217; overall well-being and academic success. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Districts nationwide are prioritizing SEL as a critical component of recovery, with nearly one-third of districts investing COVID-relief funds into SEL initiatives for the 2022-2023 school year. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>SEL is seen as essential for academic growth, with legislators and education leaders noting that building strong relationships and cognitive skills through SEL enhances both mental wellness and learning outcomes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-default\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>On September 20, 2022, I was invited to testify before the U.S. House of Representatives Education and Labor subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education. The focus of the hearing was \u201cBack to School: Meeting Students\u2019 Academic, Social, and Emotional Needs.\u201d This conversation made clear that we cannot talk about academic recovery without also talking about the critical role of social and emotional learning (SEL).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As I testified, \u201cSocial and emotional learning creates the conditions necessary for learning, and decades of research show that it improves academic achievement, mental wellness, school safety, and healthy behaviors \u2026 The bottom line: there is strong evidence and demand for social and emotional learning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><iframe title=\"Dr. Aaliyah Samuel Congressional Testimony on SEL This School Year\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Agl6lsvSOfw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"key-takeaways-from-the-hearing\"><strong>Key Takeaways From the Hearing<\/strong><\/h2><a class=top href=\"#top\">Back to top<\/a>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>There is broad, bipartisan recognition of the urgency around supporting children\u2019s mental wellness and academics. <\/strong><br>On both sides of the aisle, legislators spoke about the impact of the pandemic on students\u2019 academic achievement and overall well-being, as well as the need to address the disproportionate impact on students of color and economically disadvantaged students.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Districts across the country are investing in SEL as a critical part of recovery efforts. <\/strong><br>Across both red and blue states, nearly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.k12dive.com\/news\/red-and-blue-states-align-on-several-covid-19-spending-trends\/626810\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">one-third of districts<\/a> have earmarked COVID-relief dollars toward SEL<strong>, <\/strong>and a survey of <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3Q7rem5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">district leaders<\/a> found that SEL is their top priority for the 2022-2023 school year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>SEL goes hand-in-hand with academic learning. <\/strong><br>Legislators and state education leaders shared how SEL&nbsp; is bolstering academic recovery efforts in their communities. For example, Rep. Jahana Hayes, a former National Teacher of the Year, shared how Connecticut\u2019s focus on SEL has helped drive academic growth: \u201cToo often social and emotional learning is seen as separate from academics. However, building strong relationships with students and creating opportunities to develop cognitive skills [are] critical to learning. That\u2019s how kids learn.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Family-school partnerships are central to quality education and recovery. <\/strong><br>Legislators and witnesses from both sides of the aisle discussed the important role of parents in education and highlighted bipartisan efforts around family engagement centers. As I stated, \u201cParents are children\u2019s first teachers and so they absolutely must be involved when it comes to all aspects of their children\u2019s education \u2026 So as 80 percent of parents, across party lines, have said they want schools to continue or expand SEL, we have to continue to listen to parents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>SEL champions must continue operationalizing what SEL actually looks like in schools. <\/strong><br>SEL is not a one-size-fits-all approach but is really tailored to each community. As SEL champions, it\u2019s helpful to talk concretely about evidence-based strategies, including relationship-building, explicit SEL instruction, and integrating SEL practice into academic lessons. Here\u2019s one example I gave on how SEL might look when integrated into an algebra class:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Self-awareness and self-management: <\/strong>The teacher invites students first to reflect independently on the problem and how they would approach it, including strategies to work through challenging material.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Social awareness and relationship skills: <\/strong>Small groups work together to discuss different approaches while listening to others\u2019 perspectives and communicating their own ideas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Responsible decision-making: <\/strong>Students analyze the different approaches to decide on which strategy to take and collaborate on a solution.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>What are some of your key takeaways as you think about supporting students&#8217; social, emotional, and academic needs?&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\/it-takes-a-village-to-raise-a-child-and-to-champion-sel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">It Takes a Village to Raise a Child\u2014and to Champion SEL<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/casel.org\/blog\/its-time-to-work-together-to-defend-sel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">It&#8217;s Time to Work Together to Defend SEL<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/casel.org\/blog\/designing-learning-spaces-for-future-ready-students\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Designing Learning Spaces for Future-Ready Students<\/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><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Are you interested in writing for CASEL\u2019s blog,&nbsp;<em>Constellations<\/em>?&nbsp;<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 On September 20, 2022, I was invited to testify before the U.S. House of Representatives Education and Labor subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education. The focus of the hearing was \u201cBack to School: Meeting Students\u2019 Academic, Social, and Emotional Needs.\u201d This conversation made clear that we cannot talk [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26603,"featured_media":73552,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","theme":[204],"class_list":["post-73551","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\/73551","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=73551"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casel.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/casel.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casel.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/theme?post=73551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}