Thursday, February 28, 2013WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan is joining eight of his colleagues to impress upon Education Secretary Arne Duncan the importance of implementing social and emotional learning (SEL) programs in new education initiatives. In a letter to Duncan, Ryan, D-13 Ohio, said statistical evidence and proven results show how such programs can improve student performance while reducing inappropriate classroom behavior and other student stressors.
Ryan has secured federal funding to bring SEL programs to Williamson Elementary School in Youngstown (READ APRIL 2012 STORY). The congressman writes about the success of such programs in his book, A Mindful Nation: How a Simple Practice Can Help Us Reduce Stress, Improve Performance and Recapture the American Spirit, published in March 2012 (READ STORY).
His letter to the Education Secretary Duncan is also signed by U.S. Reps. Charlie Rangel, Michael Honda, Julia Brownley, Matt Cartwright, Barbara Lee, James Langevin, Jim McDermott and Joseph Kennedy. It points to the results of a “landmark meta-analysis” of such programs with a combined sample of more than 270,000 students that “clearly established the effectiveness of SEL programs across a number of areas critical to the success of students. The analysis showed students scoring 11 percentile points higher on standardized achievement tests compared to students not receiving SEL programming, and that such programs “positively impact issues that inhibit students’ ability to learn, be healthy and be safe” by curbing such problems behaviors as drug and alcohol use, truancy, student violence and bullying.
“We were encouraged by the recent recommendations by the White House to create safer and more nurturing school atmospheres by proposing a new $50 million initiative to help 8,000 more schools train their teachers and other staff to implement these strategies to improve student behavior,” the congressmen state. “We believe SEL programs would be an ideal component in these efforts to help continue the commitment of the federal government to improve our school environments while emphasizing the importance of teaching our children the social and emotional skills necessary for college and career success.”
The complete text of the letter follows:
We applaud the Department of Education’s renewed emphasis on early childhood education and school safety. As you begin work to create a comprehensive plan to improve school climates, we believe we have a unique opportunity to improve our children’s school environment by including Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in the proposal.
As you know, SEL is an established form of learning that promotes the development of core personal competencies:
A landmark meta-analysis of 213 SEL programs with a combined sample of more than 270,000 students clearly established the effectiveness of SEL programs across a number of areas critical to the success of students. Students scored 11 percentile points higher on standardized achievement tests, a significant improvement, relative to peers not receiving SEL programming. In addition, studies show SEL programs help positively impact issues that inhibit students’ ability to learn, be healthy, and be safe. Namely, SEL programs curb problem behaviors, such as alcohol and drug use, truancy, violence among students, and bullying. They also work to reduce students’ emotional stress and anxiety.
We were encouraged by the recent recommendations by the White House to create safer and more nurturing school atmospheres by proposing a new $50 million initiative to help 8,000 more schools train their teachers and other staff to implement these strategies to improve student behavior. We believe SEL programs would be an ideal component in these efforts to help continue the commitment of the federal government to improve our school environments while emphasizing the importance of teaching our children the social and emotional skills necessary for college and career success.
In addition, the White House’s recommendations emphasized that “exposure to community violence can impact children’s mental health and development,” and called for $25 million to improve mental health services. SEL programs have been shown to have a very positive impact on improving the mental health of both students and teachers. SEL programs teach students how to manage stress and strengthen their emotional response. We believe that social and emotional learning is not a luxury in our schools; it is essential.
As the Department of Education begins to respond to the White House’s recommendations to improve school climate and students’ mental health services, we urge you to take a closer look at the positive impact social and emotional learning can provide to school districts and communities around the country.
Thank you for consideration of this important issue, and we look forward to working with you and learning how the Department of Education intends to use SEL to improve school environments.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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