Dear RE1 School Board,
Dear RE1 School Board,
Once again I’m writing you this letter in hopes the board will write up a resolution opposing the SEL curriculum to keep it out of the schools. This has been previously mentioned several times, but we cannot stress this enough that this is all being done on a Volunteer Basis! It needs to be mandated by the School Board.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing
Proverbs 22: 6 “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Photo by Yonkers Public Schools
Luke 6:40 “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when fully trained will be like his teacher.”
Social Emotional Learning (SEL): The opposite of learning academic (fact based) content (English, History, Math, Science, etcetera). Pseudo- therapy that conditions children to exhibit the “Correct” values, attitudes, mindsets, and behaviors. New openly focused indoctrinating them with biased political and Education cultural attitudes. Synonym: Whole Child Education. We are starting to hear more and more from our Superintendent Risha VanderWey about Social Emotional behavior. This is being laid out by this toolkit. Risha has said she does not use this tool kit and seemed to not acknowledge what it even was. She made a comment (I know a lot!)
D I S T R I C T W I D E is A Toolkit to Support District Leadership in Systemic
Implementation of Social and Emotional Learning ESSENTIALS FOR SUPERINTENDENT in there you will find
I have mentioned SEL in several emails; we have learned that SEL is a curriculum in itself. Here’s some more information we all need to be aware of, we know this is all done on a volunteer basis. When we see keywords comprehensive or sustainability, this is in the name of the United Nations, to transform American Society into a socialist controlled country, transforming the human race. WE now know the background of this 4 day week and the importance of it. Just like a lot of the bills the governmant is pushing, if it doesn’t go through the first time they will change the number and language until it does pass. The RE1 School Board turned the 4 day week down twice. So, what did they do? They kept working with it until it did pass.
Pay close attention to the language that is yellow highlighted and is in bold!
Page 15 in the tool kit we need to go down the rabbit hole and we will see the big picture. We will have to sign into this by creating an account….
Scroll down to
Connect SEL with the district's vision/mission and strategy and then create an account.
We clicked the box (other)
We clicked the boxes in elementary and middle school.
Click the first box and not the other one asking about emails.
Create and then we should be there. Once you are enrolled,
((((The intention is to have the group realize that SEL is required if we are to meet our vision and mission ))))))
This is very concerning!!!!! ????
This will help us move forward with the different educational meetings we will be attending by our Superintendent. We are going to have to click on the blue highlighted areas going down the rabbit hole if we want to see the big picture. It is now infiltrated into our Schools. This new Comprehensive BluePrint has become our new Constitution. If we don’t do something about this, this will become the new America.
Starting on Page 34 of the tool kit
The Process
To strengthen your knowledge about SEL, you’ll want to dig into the research and best practices behind SEL, as well as your district’s SEL plans. Develop an answer for each of the questions above by taking the following steps:
1. Describe why SEL is important and what it looks like in practice: Become fluent in communicating about how your district defines SEL as core to student success and the SEL standards you have for all students. You’ll want to be able to explain clearly what SEL looks like, feels like and sounds like across your district. These resources can help you get started:
• The CASEL Indicators of Schoolwide SEL can help you identify and expand on the SEL practices underway in your district schools. • SEL Talking Points for Superintendents can help you craft your messages about the importance of SEL. • What does SEL look like in elementary, middle, and high school? Is a curated list of articles and videos that can deepen your knowledge about proven and promising SEL practices in elementary, middle, and high schools.
• Learn about SEL in the classroom, which can take many forms. It is promoted through explicit instruction, often using an evidence-based program, and should also be integrated across classroom instruction and academic curriculum. • Knowing what SEL at home and in the community looks like will enable you to engage parents and community members as partners in SEL. 2. Prepare for concerns of “initiative fatigue”: A frequent challenge for district leaders is the perception that SEL is just one more thing being added to an already crowded list of priorities and to-do’s. Teachers and principals may feel they can wait out any new mandates or strategic plans, assuming district leadership will soon turn over or another initiative will soon take priority—“this too shall pass.” We have heard this multiple times.
If SEL implementation is not fully integrated with other district priorities, it is easy to see why educators would be wary of another “new thing.” Rather than adding another layer of initiatives, systemic SEL means leveraging SEL to align all of your work—from strategy and budgeting to hiring and classroom instruction.
Here are some ways to acknowledge and prepare for the issue of “initiative fatigue”:
• Work with your cabinet/leadership team to identify and analyze recent and current initiatives. How are they going and what issues is the staff facing? Can any “fall off the plate?” Can you bring any to closure so it doesn’t feel like SEL is competing against them? Are there any high-quality initiatives that you may want to merge with SEL or put under the SEL umbrella? • Reinforce to your SEL lead and the SEL team that “initiative fatigue” is real and help them collaborate across departments to align SEL to existing work in the district and schools. One example is to consider whether a new school site SEL leadership team is needed. Perhaps if there are other site teams, such as PBIS or climate and culture, they could be repurposed into the site SEL team.
• Make the case that SEL, when done well, saves teachers classroom management time, reduces their stress, and improves teaching and learning. Taking an easy first step (such as implementing morning meetings or CASEL’s 3 SEL signature practices) will help teachers see SEL, not as a new initiative but as an approach that makes their classroom more welcoming and productive.
3. Position SEL as a universal (Tier 1) approach: Make sure, particularly as the SEL initiative launches, that all stakeholders understand that SEL is for all students, not just those identified as needing Tier 2 and 3 supports and/or those facing behavior or mental health issues. Focus your messaging on universal/Tier 1 SEL. Be ready to help expand the thinking of those who want to put SEL in a single box: as mindfulness, as PBIS, or as equated with a single SEL curriculum.
A good place to start is learning about the science behind universal SEL. More than two decades of research demonstrate that education promoting SEL gets results. The findings come from multiple fields and sources, including student achievement, neuroscience, health, employment, psychology, classroom management, learning theory, economics, and the prevention of youth problem behaviors. CASEL has many online resources that delve into the research behind SEL, including a summary of The Impact of SEL on the CASEL website and The Case for Social and Emotional Learning, a downloadable slideshow you can share or integrate into your own presentations.
Universal SEL is also a good investment: A study out of Columbia University demonstrated that the average return on investment for SEL evidence-based programs is 11 to 1. This means that for every dollar invested in SEL programming, we save 11 dollars on interventions, including remediation and dropout prevention that would have otherwise been needed.
4. Articulate the strong connection between academics and SEL: Simply put, it is difficult to sustain SEL unless it is part of the district’s core teaching and learning program, connected deeply to the district’s vision and mission. SEL should be both explicitly taught and practiced like any other academic subject and should be integrated into teaching and learning across all curriculum areas. The systemic integration of SEL into students’ daily classroom experiences is a vital component of what makes schools and students successful. If SEL is perceived as a program focusing on student mental health, behavior, discipline, or social services, it will not last.
Rena Michaud, a fifth-grade teacher at Ravenwood Elementary in the Anchorage School District focuses on explicit social and emotional skills within her classroom and integrates SEL throughout all academic lessons. She builds community and student social and emotional competence, as well as academic skills and knowledge, all day long. In a video about Ms. Michaud’s classroom and instructional methodology, she says about SEL:
“It just carries over wherever we go—every content area. The subject matter is different, but the way we talk with each other, the way we focus, the way we assess our needs and the awareness of ourselves and manage that is the same no matter what setting or subject area
Page 36, it states • Read more about how SEL impacts Teacher Stress and Health in this issue brief created by Pennsylvania State University with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Remember on page 2 it's Chan Zuckenburg and RW Johnson that is funding this curriculum. Support for this toolkit was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative DAF, an advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
Page 40 What is Adult SEL? SEL is the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.
Thank you for your long tireless efforts on protecting the future of our children.
Kind Regards,
Mindy Nelsen