GOAL: Increase understanding of the (k-12) Illinois Social & Emotional Learning Standards, how they are organized & progress developmentally. Examples of school-wide & classroom systems & practices will also be discussed.

CLAIM: “The investment in Social & Emotional development should have equal value with academic. The two areas are inter-related and often the Social/Emotional hinders or serves as a catalyst to student achievement. The point is that self-regulating emotions or recognizing feelings & perspectives of others has as much, if not more, effect on achievement than a few more multiplication facts in a minute correct. The goal is that no student is more prepared for College or Career or LIFE than our students. Much of this development is not inherited; it is learned. We must model & strategically reinforce with positive, timely (on demand) & specific feedback. There are personal & collective benefits to this development & the ideal system involves students that see value & progress. Students are definitely developing skills and confidence with exposure, practice and feedback for Reading, Writing, Math, etc… & they are also learning about themselves. “Who am I; who do I want to be?” We often learn this through mimicry, experiment & mistakes. Explicit instruction & positive reinforcement helps too. We need models; we need mentors.

The registration fee for this event is $15.00.