The Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education took a critical step on June 14 to expand social emotional learning by approv­ing a resolution establishing a process for the district to adopt a set of SEL competencies and standards.

The resolutions was authored by board president Kelly Gonez, and cosponsored by board members Scott Schmerelson, Jackie Goldberg and Tanya Ortiz Franklin. It calls for an SEL guide, which will include strategies for teacher, staff and fam­ily support, the development of con­sistent SEL standards and the revi­sion of the annual school experience survey to better monitor social emo­tional outcomes.

“As we work to recover from the pandemic, it’s more critical than ever that our schools strive to meet the holistic needs of our students,” Gonez said. “Deepening the work of social emotional learning by establishing consistent standards and expanding instructional support will ensure that our students master critical social emotional skills to succeed both in our classrooms and beyond.”

“I am happy to support this affir­mation of our board goal and strate­gic plan priority to invest in the socio-emotional learning, growth and development of all our stu­dents, [which is] especially impor­tant as we continue to navigate the path to recovery in our school com­munities,” board vice president Nick Melvoin said.

SEL teaches concepts like self-awareness, growth mindset and interpersonal skills that have been shown to support personal growth and improved academic outcomes. The resolution builds on strategic goals set out by the board in 2021 that prioritized social emotional learning and student wellbeing.

For information, visit lausd.net.