Supporting Social-Emotional Learning, Health, & Safety : Key Initiatives Coordinated by the Center for Educational Options/Office of Student and Family Support (10-2017) One of five Core Strategies for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education GOAL: Promote systems and strategies that foster safe, positive, healthy, culturally-competent, and inclusive learning environments that address students’ varied needs and improve educational outcomes for all. EXAMPLES OF ESE INITIATIVES ADVANCING EACH FOCUS AREA:
1. SCHOOL CULTURE AND CLIMATE Safe and Supportive Schools Grants: Helping schools take stock and improve school culture ESE works with Safe and Supportive School grantees to pilot the Behavioral Health and Public Schools (BHPS) Self-Assessment Tool to identify current strengths and gaps in their programs, initiatives, and policies and develop and implement school and district action plans to promote safe and supportive learning environments. Rethinking Discipline Initiative: Reducing the overuse of suspensions and expulsions ESE is facilitating a professional learning network and collecting action plans from participating schools and districts, with a focus on reducing the overuse of long-term suspensions and expulsions, and the disproportionate use of suspensions and expulsions for students with disabilities and for students of color. Systems for Student Success Initiative: Developing systems to meet all students’ holistic needs ESE is providing grant funding, targeted assistance, and networking opportunities to districts to identify and develop a plan, modeled after the successful Wraparound Zone Initiative, to systematically address students’ barriers to learning. Leading Educational Access Project (LEAP):* Promoting educational access and equity The LEAP project addresses the disproportionate identification and placement of student subgroups for special education and provides supports to school districts in their efforts to develop sustainable systems and practices to support all students, and especially our most vulnerable students – inclusive of low-income students, ELL students, students of color, and students with disabilities. Select Additional and Upcoming Initiatives
Anti-bullying Law State Student Advisory implementation (BPIP, etc.) Council (SSAC) Urban Leaders Network for School Culture and Climate School Culture and Student Support Student Surveys
: included in Turnaround Strategic Plan
: included in Educator Development Strategic Plan
: included in Standards, Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Strategic Plan PBIS and other Academies Priority Partners for School and Turnaround MA Focus Academy (MFA) Courses
2. SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING COMPETENCIES CASEL – Collaborating States Initiative: Integrating SEL into policy and practice Massachusetts participates in the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) multi-state initiative to help support statewide implementation of social and emotional learning.
State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP):* Promoting positive behavior supports in early childhood ESE has developed a State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP) to improve outcomes for students with disabilities by supporting a cohort of approximately 18 districts in implementing an evidence-based, tiered intervention known as the Pyramid Model for Supporting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children. Initiatives to Support Inclusive Practice: Sharing resources to promote evidence- based inclusive practice1 The Educator Effectiveness Guidebook for Inclusive Practice has been distributed to approximately 1,000 principals through the Ambassadors for Equitable and Inclusive Practice project and over 3,000 educators and administrators registered for ESE’s Foundations for Inclusive Practice online courses. Select Additional and Upcoming Initiatives Massachusetts Standards for Preschool and Kindergarten (SEL/Approaches to Play and Learning); and revised PK/K Learning Experiences. Massachusetts Plan for Equitable Access to Excellent Educators Additional resources to promote Social and Emotional Learning Expanded Learning Time (ELT) and Out-of-School Time (OST) Grants (federal and state grants)
3. HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND SAFETY Substance Use and Abuse Prevention and Recovery: Sharing guidance on effective policies ESE has developed and shared guidance about effective district and school policies on substance use prevention to help school districts and charter schools to create and submit their substance use prevention and education policies to ESE which is required by the Legislature. Community Eligibility Program (CEP) & Mass Breakfast Challenge:** Expanding access to school meals ESE’s Office for Food and Nutrition Programs continues outreach, training, and technical assistance to increase the number of eligible schools and districts participating in CEP which allows districts in high-poverty areas to offer free school
1 Inclusive practice refers to the instructional and behavioral strategies that improve academic and social-emotional outcomes for all students, with and without disabilities, in general education settings. Guidebook tools are based on the frameworks of Universal Design for Learning, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, and Social and Emotional Learning.
: included in Turnaround Strategic Plan
: included in Educator Development Strategic Plan
: included in Standards, Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Strategic Plan breakfast and lunch to all students at no cost. Through the School Breakfast Challenge, Massachusetts schools can commit to statewide goals for increasing student participation in school breakfast programs. Select Additional and Upcoming Initiatives Considering a timeline to begin a review and potential revision of the state’s Comprehensive Health Curriculum Framework Recovery High Schools Safe Schools Programs for LGBTQ Students Emergency management planning support Youth risk behavior surveys and comprehensive sexual health education, with CDC and DPH
4. FAMILY ENGAGEMENT Many of the above initiatives incorporate family engagement as a key component, such as: Systems for Student Success Initiative, Urban Leaders Network for School Culture and Climate, LEAP, and ELT/OST Grants. Family Literacy Programs: providing literacy strategies and support for families ESE provides resources for parents and family members that build foundational skills and boost their knowledge and confidence to support and advocate for the educational development of their children. Educational stability: ensuring children and youth who are homeless, in foster care, migrant, or in military families have full access to a consistent public education ESE provides technical assistance and guidance to school districts and families to ensure the enrollment, attendance, and opportunity to succeed in school. ESE plans to expand its work around family engagement, including recruiting new members for the Parent and Community Education and Involvement Advisory Council, the promotion of the Family, School, and Community Partnership Fundamentals, and increased resources available online.
: included in Turnaround Strategic Plan
: included in Educator Development Strategic Plan
: included in Standards, Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Strategic Plan