Research and Presentations

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Sonya Whitaker, Ed.D. (Summit Moderator)

Welcome Address

Sonya Whitaker, Ed.D., is superintendent for Fairmont School District 89, in Lockport, Illinois. Her previous roles include director of literacy, principal, and teacher. Author of Is There Anybody That Can Teach Me How To Read?, she is also featured in The Culturally Responsive Teacher (DVD): How Understanding Culture Positively Impacts Instruction and Student Achievement: A Professional Development Workshop.
 

Summary

On January 14, 2013, the Beyond Bullying Summit offered a platform for district administrators, community organization leaders, and bullying prevention/social-emotional learning (SEL) experts to discuss the role of SEL in developing safe, positive schools that foster student success.

Summit attendees gained a deeper understanding about how the benefits of SEL and character education transcend beyond bullying prevention and even beyond the classroom. These skills, as attendees learned, positively impact students’ personal lives and social relationships and build the strong character that will help them develop into great citizens. 

Kirk Smalley

Keynote: Stand for the Silent Mission and Story

Kirk Smalley, spokesperson for Stand for the Silent, has spread his anti-bullying message to over 640,000 children and adults throughout the world. He has tirelessly labored to generate awareness about bullying and the real devastation it causes. His family’s story was featured in the 2011 documentary, Bully.

Summary

In his Keynote Address, Kirk Smalley focuses on the mission of Stand for the Silent, an organization that offers education and tools to prevent bullying. Created in 2010 by a group of students from Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City Upward Bound program, Stand for the Silent helps students (some for the first time) develop an empathic awareness. The organization provides children and adults—throughout the country and the world—with insight into the devastating consequences of bullying.

Ed Dunkelblau, Ph.D.

The State of Social-Emotional Learning

Ed Dunkelblau, Ph.D., is the director of the Institute for Emotionally Intelligent Learning and an internationally known speaker and consultant on social-emotional learning (SEL), character development, and safe schools programming. His work has been featured in numerous publications, and he has been the recipient of the Alumnus of the Year Award from Teachers College, Columbia University, and the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Kansas.

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Summary

Both experiential and didactic, this presentation highlights the elements of SEL programming, paying specific attention to three elements that are essential when endeavoring to implement an SEL initiative: Content, Process, and Gaining Buy-in. Examples of methods of working with a representative committee are also provided. These methods can be applied not only at the state level but also at the district and school-based levels.

Sheldon Berman, Ed.D.

Superintendents Panel— Local Perspectives on Social-Emotional Learning

Daniel Domenech, Ph.D. (Panel Facilitator), serves as executive director of the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) with more than 40 years of experience in public education teaching and administration, twenty-seven of those years as a school superintendent in New York and Virginia. He served on the U.S. Department of Education’s National Assessment Governing Board and is currently on the Board of the Baldrige Award, the National Student Clearinghouse, CNA Analysis and Solutions, and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Sheldon “Shelley” Berman, Ed.D., is the 26th superintendent of Eugene School District 4J in Eugene, Oregon. A school superintendent for nearly two decades, Dr. Berman has led both larger and smaller school districts. He served as the superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky, from 2007 to 2011. As the 28th largest school district in the United States, Jefferson County serves nearly 100,000 students in more than 150 schools.
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Eric Gordon, M.Ed., is chief executive officer (and former chief academic officer) of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD). Academic results in the CMSD have continuously improved under his leadership, with dramatic gains in student achievement in the first years of implementing an aggressive Transformation Plan (an academic improvement model that focuses on proven achievement strategies and improvement of the conditions for learning for students and families). In his first year as CEO, he joined Mayor Frank G. Jackson in leading the City of Cleveland toward ground-breaking system and legislative reforms designed to remove local and state barriers to school improvement.
View Presentation Slides

Gale Reeves, M.S.Ed., is the community superintendent of Community School District Five, which is part of the New York City Department of Education. An educator for over 27 years, she previously served as deputy regional superintendent and regional superintendent in Region 10, ensuring the provision of support to over 100 schools, while overseeing a multi-million dollar budget. One area of her expertise lies in designing tools, protocols, and professional development opportunities that help network leaders, principals, and other staff strengthen their instructional knowledge in order to support teaching and learning for all students.
View Presentation Slides

Sonya Whitaker, Ed.D., is superintendent for Fairmont School District 89, in Lockport, Illinois. Her previous roles include director of literacy, principal, and teacher. Author of Is There Anybody That Can Teach Me How To Read?, she is also featured in The Culturally Responsive Teacher (DVD): How Understanding Culture Positively Impacts Instruction and Student Achievement: A Professional Development Workshop.
View Presentation Slides

Summary

This panel discussion, facilitated by AASA executive director, Daniel Domenech, features four unique, local perspectives on social-emotional learning (SEL). The superintendent panelists represent school districts from across the country that have taken steps to ensure that SEL, character development, and/or bullying prevention are an important part of their curriculum. Each panelist discusses his or her district’s approach to integrating these practices.

Eric Gordon, M.Ed.

Superintendents Panel— Local Perspectives on Social-Emotional Learning

Daniel Domenech, Ph.D. (Panel Facilitator), serves as executive director of the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) with more than 40 years of experience in public education teaching and administration, twenty-seven of those years as a school superintendent in New York and Virginia. He served on the U.S. Department of Education’s National Assessment Governing Board and is currently on the Board of the Baldrige Award, the National Student Clearinghouse, CNA Analysis and Solutions, and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Sheldon “Shelley” Berman, Ed.D., is the 26th superintendent of Eugene School District 4J in Eugene, Oregon. A school superintendent for nearly two decades, Dr. Berman has led both larger and smaller school districts. He served as the superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky, from 2007 to 2011. As the 28th largest school district in the United States, Jefferson County serves nearly 100,000 students in more than 150 schools.
View Presentation Slides

Eric Gordon, M.Ed., is chief executive officer (and former chief academic officer) of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD). Academic results in the CMSD have continuously improved under his leadership, with dramatic gains in student achievement in the first years of implementing an aggressive Transformation Plan (an academic improvement model that focuses on proven achievement strategies and improvement of the conditions for learning for students and families). In his first year as CEO, he joined Mayor Frank G. Jackson in leading the City of Cleveland toward ground-breaking system and legislative reforms designed to remove local and state barriers to school improvement.
View Presentation Slides

Gale Reeves, M.S.Ed., is the community superintendent of Community School District Five, which is part of the New York City Department of Education. An educator for over 27 years, she previously served as deputy regional superintendent and regional superintendent in Region 10, ensuring the provision of support to over 100 schools, while overseeing a multi-million dollar budget. One area of her expertise lies in designing tools, protocols, and professional development opportunities that help network leaders, principals, and other staff strengthen their instructional knowledge in order to support teaching and learning for all students.
View Presentation Slides

Sonya Whitaker, Ed.D., is superintendent for Fairmont School District 89, in Lockport, Illinois. Her previous roles include director of literacy, principal, and teacher. Author of Is There Anybody That Can Teach Me How To Read?, she is also featured in The Culturally Responsive Teacher (DVD): How Understanding Culture Positively Impacts Instruction and Student Achievement: A Professional Development Workshop.
View Presentation Slides

Summary

This panel discussion, facilitated by AASA executive director, Daniel Domenech, features four unique, local perspectives on social-emotional learning (SEL). The superintendent panelists represent school districts from across the country that have taken steps to ensure that SEL, character development, and/or bullying prevention are an important part of their curriculum. Each panelist discusses his or her district’s approach to integrating these practices.

Gale Reeves, M.S.Ed.

Superintendents Panel— Local Perspectives on Social-Emotional Learning

Daniel Domenech, Ph.D. (Panel Facilitator), serves as executive director of the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) with more than 40 years of experience in public education teaching and administration, twenty-seven of those years as a school superintendent in New York and Virginia. He served on the U.S. Department of Education’s National Assessment Governing Board and is currently on the Board of the Baldrige Award, the National Student Clearinghouse, CNA Analysis and Solutions, and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Sheldon “Shelley” Berman, Ed.D., is the 26th superintendent of Eugene School District 4J in Eugene, Oregon. A school superintendent for nearly two decades, Dr. Berman has led both larger and smaller school districts. He served as the superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky, from 2007 to 2011. As the 28th largest school district in the United States, Jefferson County serves nearly 100,000 students in more than 150 schools.
View Presentation Slides

Eric Gordon, M.Ed., is chief executive officer (and former chief academic officer) of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD). Academic results in the CMSD have continuously improved under his leadership, with dramatic gains in student achievement in the first years of implementing an aggressive Transformation Plan (an academic improvement model that focuses on proven achievement strategies and improvement of the conditions for learning for students and families). In his first year as CEO, he joined Mayor Frank G. Jackson in leading the City of Cleveland toward ground-breaking system and legislative reforms designed to remove local and state barriers to school improvement.
View Presentation Slides

Gale Reeves, M.S.Ed., is the community superintendent of Community School District Five, which is part of the New York City Department of Education. An educator for over 27 years, she previously served as deputy regional superintendent and regional superintendent in Region 10, ensuring the provision of support to over 100 schools, while overseeing a multi-million dollar budget. One area of her expertise lies in designing tools, protocols, and professional development opportunities that help network leaders, principals, and other staff strengthen their instructional knowledge in order to support teaching and learning for all students.
View Presentation Slides

Sonya Whitaker, Ed.D., is superintendent for Fairmont School District 89, in Lockport, Illinois. Her previous roles include director of literacy, principal, and teacher. Author of Is There Anybody That Can Teach Me How To Read?, she is also featured in The Culturally Responsive Teacher (DVD): How Understanding Culture Positively Impacts Instruction and Student Achievement: A Professional Development Workshop.
View Presentation Slides

Summary

This panel discussion, facilitated by AASA executive director, Daniel Domenech, features four unique, local perspectives on social-emotional learning (SEL). The superintendent panelists represent school districts from across the country that have taken steps to ensure that SEL, character development, and/or bullying prevention are an important part of their curriculum. Each panelist discusses his or her district’s approach to integrating these practices.

Sonya Whitaker, Ed.D.

Superintendents Panel— Local Perspectives on Social-Emotional Learning

Daniel Domenech, Ph.D. (Panel Facilitator), serves as executive director of the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) with more than 40 years of experience in public education teaching and administration, twenty-seven of those years as a school superintendent in New York and Virginia. He served on the U.S. Department of Education’s National Assessment Governing Board and is currently on the Board of the Baldrige Award, the National Student Clearinghouse, CNA Analysis and Solutions, and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Sheldon “Shelley” Berman, Ed.D., is the 26th superintendent of Eugene School District 4J in Eugene, Oregon. A school superintendent for nearly two decades, Dr. Berman has led both larger and smaller school districts. He served as the superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky, from 2007 to 2011. As the 28th largest school district in the United States, Jefferson County serves nearly 100,000 students in more than 150 schools.
View Presentation Slides

Eric Gordon, M.Ed., is chief executive officer (and former chief academic officer) of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD). Academic results in the CMSD have continuously improved under his leadership, with dramatic gains in student achievement in the first years of implementing an aggressive Transformation Plan (an academic improvement model that focuses on proven achievement strategies and improvement of the conditions for learning for students and families). In his first year as CEO, he joined Mayor Frank G. Jackson in leading the City of Cleveland toward ground-breaking system and legislative reforms designed to remove local and state barriers to school improvement.
View Presentation Slides

Gale Reeves, M.S.Ed., is the community superintendent of Community School District Five, which is part of the New York City Department of Education. An educator for over 27 years, she previously served as deputy regional superintendent and regional superintendent in Region 10, ensuring the provision of support to over 100 schools, while overseeing a multi-million dollar budget. One area of her expertise lies in designing tools, protocols, and professional development opportunities that help network leaders, principals, and other staff strengthen their instructional knowledge in order to support teaching and learning for all students.
View Presentation Slides

Sonya Whitaker, Ed.D., is superintendent for Fairmont School District 89, in Lockport, Illinois. Her previous roles include director of literacy, principal, and teacher. Author of Is There Anybody That Can Teach Me How To Read?, she is also featured in The Culturally Responsive Teacher (DVD): How Understanding Culture Positively Impacts Instruction and Student Achievement: A Professional Development Workshop.
View Presentation Slides

Summary

This panel discussion, facilitated by AASA executive director, Daniel Domenech, features four unique, local perspectives on social-emotional learning (SEL). The superintendent panelists represent school districts from across the country that have taken steps to ensure that SEL, character development, and/or bullying prevention are an important part of their curriculum. Each panelist discusses his or her district’s approach to integrating these practices.

Marvin Berkowitz, Ph.D.

Anti-Anti-Bullying: Rethinking Our Rhetoric and Framework

Marvin Berkowitz, Ph.D., is the Sanford N. McDonnell Professor of Character Education, co-director of the Center for Character and Citizenship, and President’s Thomas Jefferson Professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He is a developmental and educational psychologist and an expert in character development and education. He has also been a recipient of the Character Education Partnership’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Association for Moral Education’s Good Work Award. 

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Summary

In this presentation, Dr. Berkowitz discusses how schools are fundamental players in developing students’ character, values, and social-emotional competencies. Fields such as developmental psychology and educational psychology have much to offer here, as Dr. Berkowitz explains. Simply focusing on eradicating bullying is setting the bar too low and too narrowly. Just as a lack of mental illness is not a good definition of psychological health, so the elimination of an undesirable behavior like bullying is not a good definition of a healthy school (or classroom). And the constant rhetoric about “anti-bullying” only exacerbates this problem. Instead, Dr. Berkowitz notes that we need to envision, talk about, and promote healthy, caring, peaceful schools and classrooms. This shifts the focus from the undesirable behavior (bullying or bystanding) to comprehensive school climate reform. 

Allison Dymnicki, Ph.D.

The Impact of Social and Emotional Learning: Results from a Large Meta-Analysis of K–12 School-Based Programs

Allison Dymnicki, Ph.D., a researcher at the American Institutes for Research (AIR), focuses on understanding how school and community environments can foster students’ social and emotional competencies and prevent engagement in risky behaviors. At AIR, she is currently evaluating a national initiative focused on building capacity for evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) in eight large school districts. She has received several awards for her scholarship, including the Outstanding Dissertation Award from the American Educational Research Association – Division H, Research, Evaluation, and Assessment in Schools.

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Summary

This presentation focuses on the findings from a meta-analysis of school-based, universal, and SEL programs involving over 280,000 Kindergarten through high school students. Dr. Dymnicki explains that, compared to students who did not participate in SEL programs, SEL participants demonstrated significantly improved SEL skills, attitudes, behavior, and academic performance, as well as reduced conduct problems and emotional distress. Three additional findings are highlighted in Dr. Dymnicki’s presentation. First, programs that did not report problems with implementation versus those that did report such problems were associated with more positive effects. Second, programs that were sequenced, active, focused, and explicit (SAFE) produced stronger effects than programs that did not embody these characteristics. Third, school staff delivered the programs as effectively as, and in some cases more effectively than, non-school personnel. The findings add to the growing empirical evidence regarding the positive impact of SEL programs. Dr. Dymnicki notes that policy makers, educators, and the public can contribute to healthy development of children by supporting the incorporation of evidence-based SEL programming into standard educational practice.

Peter Yarrow

Educating the Heart: “This Little Light of Ours”

Peter Yarrow, of Peter, Paul, and Mary, has been a lifelong artist and activist. His talent is legendary, and has always gone hand-in-hand with a commitment to positive social change. In 1999, he founded Operation Respect, an educational non-profit that utilizes music, video, and character-education curricula to help assure each child and youth a respectful, safe, and compassionate climate. Launched in over 20,000 schools, Operation Respect: “Don’t Laugh At Me” was hailed by the education community as a key initiative in our nation’s response to the challenge of physical and emotional violence that severely diminishes children’s ability to learn and grow into productive adult citizens.

Summary

Kicking off the afternoon session in word and song, this presentation focuses on the importance of educators’ nurturing of students’ social-emotional and creative development, as well as their intellectual growth. Effective programs such as Operation Respect: “Don’t Laugh At Me” can diminish mean-spirited bullying and ridicule and simultaneously foster the character development of students so that they become more caring, responsible, and civically-engaged adults. Education of “students’ hearts” leads to safe schools, successful students, and a better future for us all.

Marc Brackett, Ph.D.

Bullying Prevention vs. Intervention: The Role of Social and Emotional Learning

Marc Brackett, Ph.D., is deputy director of the Health, Emotion, and Behavior Laboratory at Yale University, author of 90 scholarly publications, and developer of The RULER Approach to Social and Emotional Learning (which includes curricula for children from Kindergarten to high school and training for leaders, teachers, support staff, and families). He is on the Research Advisory Boards of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and the Born This Way Foundation. He also works with Facebook to prevent cyber-bullying.

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Summary

This presentation focuses on The RULER Approach to Social and Emotional Learning (“RULER”), which was developed by Dr. Brackett. RULER is a CASEL SELect program that is anchored in emotional intelligence theory and developmental science. At the heart of RULER are five key skills that are particularly important to learn. These skills include recognizing and understanding the causes and consequences of emotions; labeling and expressing emotions to communicate precisely and effectively; and regulating emotions to promote personal growth. In this presentation, Dr. Brackett makes the case that in order to create caring, productive, and engaging learning environments—where students thrive and become successful citizens—schools should provide structured learning opportunities for all students and stakeholders (school leaders, teachers, support staff, and families) to develop and model RULER skills.

Dorothy Espelage, Ph.D.

Bullying Prevention vs. Intervention: The Role of Social and Emotional Learning

Dorothy Espelage, Ph.D., is a professor of child development in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on translating empirical findings into prevention and intervention programming. She is currently funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for a randomized clinical trial of a bullying prevention program in 36 middle schools. She has conducted research on bullying, homophobic teasing, sexual harassment, and dating violence for the last 20 years with over 110 professional publications.

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Summary

In this presentation, Dr. Espelage reviews her empirical research on the Second Step program and discusses the relationship of social-emotional learning to bullying perpetration. A summary of methods and results from a two-year randomized clinical trial of the Second Step middle school program in 34 middle schools is presented with attention to moderators of efficacy, such as implementation, school climate, gender, and race.

Robert Selman, Ph.D., and Catherine Snow, Ph.D.

Books as Windows, Books as Mirrors: Developing Perspective Taking Through Literacy

Robert Selman, Ph.D., is the Roy E. Larsen Professor of Human Development and Education and the founder of the Prevention Science and Practice Program within the Harvard Graduate School of Education. His research focuses on the child’s developing capacity to coordinate points of view, develop interpersonal negotiation strategies, and become aware of the personal meaning of risk in the context of social relationships and the larger culture. He currently studies the relationship between children’s social awareness and their literacy skills through children’s and young adult literature, as described in his most recent book, The Promotion of Social Awareness.

Catherine Snow, Ph.D., is the Patricia Albjerg Graham Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She focuses on issues of literacy development, in particular among students attending urban schools and among language minority students. She has been the leader of numerous national panels that have made recommendations for literacy practices and policies, and she has received extensive research funding for her work on first- and second-language development, predictors of literacy outcomes, and the effectiveness of intervention programs and curricular innovations.

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Summary

In this presentation, Dr. Snow and Dr. Selman demonstrate how some books act as windows, providing young readers with opportunities to see into worlds they would otherwise never encounter. Other books, they explain, work like mirrors, allowing young readers to better understand themselves. Both of these kinds of reading experiences—if the readers actually understand what they are reading—create opportunities for appreciating perspectives other than their own. Perspective taking is a basic human capacity—one accessible to young children following their mother’s gaze or anticipating another’s next move in a game. But, recognizing the linguistic cues to perspective is a challenge for many young readers, and a potential block to effective reading comprehension. Similarly, understanding the perspectives of others well enough to write about them is a significant challenge. This presentation shows how engagement in discussion offers a powerful mechanism for gaining access to others’ perspectives, thereby enhancing the window function of books. Whether a bully comes to understand how a victim feels from a story about persecution, or a skittish neophyte thespian learns to take hold of her own anxieties from a story about a girl who fears being in a class play, reading can open readers’ eyes. These stories help students talk to one another about their own lives in ways that promote oral language skills as they strengthen their own voices.

Ernest Morrell, Ph.D.

Social-Emotional Learning, Literacy Achievement, and Positive Classroom Climates in 21st Century Schools

Ernest Morrell, Ph.D., is a professor of arts and humanities and director of the Institute for Urban and Minority Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. He is also president-elect of the National Council of Teachers of English. Author of more than 50 articles, his work has been published in journals such as Action in Teacher Education and the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. He has also received several commendations, including the Distinguished Teaching Award from UCLA’s Department of Education.

Jodene Morrell, Ph.D., is a senior research associate and affiliate of the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University. She directs the Literacy Teachers Initiative (LTI) Project, which partners with K–8 teachers in Harlem, New York, to develop collaborative action research projects. Previously, she worked as a literacy specialist at a magnet middle school for culture, language, and communication arts in Lansing, Michigan, and an elementary school teacher in San Francisco and Lawndale, California.

Rachael Cooper is a third grade teacher and literacy liaison at Thurgood Marshall Academy Lower School in New York City. She is also a teacher fellow with the first cohort of the Literacy Teachers Initiative (LTI) Project and her research focuses on how to use literature to improve students’ social and emotional wellbeing and writing achievement. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in educational leadership from the City College of New York.

Danielle Del Gatto, M.A., is a fourth- and fifth-grade special education teacher at P.S. 125, The Ralph Bunche School. She is also a teacher fellow with the first cohort of the Literacy Teachers Initiative (LTI) Project, and she currently researches how to use technology and literature to draw on students’ strong oral skills to improve and increase their writing production.

View Presentation Slides

Summary

This session demonstrates how diverse, 21st-century literacy classrooms can draw upon social and emotional learning (SEL) and multicultural literature to positively shape achievement, academic self-perception, and classroom climate. Dr. Ernest Morrell begins by briefly outlining the research evidence that supports a focus on SEL in literacy classrooms. Rachael Cooper and Danielle Del Gatto—teachers from the Harlem-based LTI Project—then share how they have used literature, specifically on bullying, to improve students’ literacy achievement, self-esteem, and classroom climate. Cooper and Del Gatto also talk about how they encourage dialogue, nurture positive relationships between students and the teacher, incorporate technology, and provide opportunities for narrative and persuasive writing assignments that emerge from read-alouds and discussions. Additionally, they share student work to show how teachers can introduce, discuss, reflect upon, and enact positive change in students’ attitudes and perceptions about themselves and others through the topic of bullying. Dr. Jodene Morrell concludes the presentation with key takeaways for educators and administrators.

Rachael Cooper

Social-Emotional Learning, Literacy Achievement, and Positive Classroom Climates in 21st Century Schools

Ernest Morrell, Ph.D., is a professor of arts and humanities and director of the Institute for Urban and Minority Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. He is also president-elect of the National Council of Teachers of English. Author of more than 50 articles, his work has been published in journals such as Action in Teacher Education and the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. He has also received several commendations, including the Distinguished Teaching Award from UCLA’s Department of Education.

Jodene Morrell, Ph.D., is a senior research associate and affiliate of the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University. She directs the Literacy Teachers Initiative (LTI) Project, which partners with K–8 teachers in Harlem, New York, to develop collaborative action research projects. Previously, she worked as a literacy specialist at a magnet middle school for culture, language, and communication arts in Lansing, Michigan, and an elementary school teacher in San Francisco and Lawndale, California.

Rachael Cooper is a third grade teacher and literacy liaison at Thurgood Marshall Academy Lower School in New York City. She is also a teacher fellow with the first cohort of the Literacy Teachers Initiative (LTI) Project and her research focuses on how to use literature to improve students’ social and emotional wellbeing and writing achievement. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in educational leadership from the City College of New York.

Danielle Del Gatto, M.A., is a fourth- and fifth-grade special education teacher at P.S. 125, The Ralph Bunche School. She is also a teacher fellow with the first cohort of the Literacy Teachers Initiative (LTI) Project, and she currently researches how to use technology and literature to draw on students’ strong oral skills to improve and increase their writing production.

View Presentation Slides

Summary

This session demonstrates how diverse, 21st-century literacy classrooms can draw upon social and emotional learning (SEL) and multicultural literature to positively shape achievement, academic self-perception, and classroom climate. Dr. Ernest Morrell begins by briefly outlining the research evidence that supports a focus on SEL in literacy classrooms. Rachael Cooper and Danielle Del Gatto—teachers from the Harlem-based LTI Project—then share how they have used literature, specifically on bullying, to improve students’ literacy achievement, self-esteem, and classroom climate. Cooper and Del Gatto also talk about how they encourage dialogue, nurture positive relationships between students and the teacher, incorporate technology, and provide opportunities for narrative and persuasive writing assignments that emerge from read-alouds and discussions. Additionally, they share student work to show how teachers can introduce, discuss, reflect upon, and enact positive change in students’ attitudes and perceptions about themselves and others through the topic of bullying. Dr. Jodene Morrell concludes the presentation with key takeaways for educators and administrators.

Danielle Del Gatto, M.A.

Social-Emotional Learning, Literacy Achievement, and Positive Classroom Climates in 21st Century Schools

Ernest Morrell, Ph.D., is a professor of arts and humanities and director of the Institute for Urban and Minority Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. He is also president-elect of the National Council of Teachers of English. Author of more than 50 articles, his work has been published in journals such as Action in Teacher Education and the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. He has also received several commendations, including the Distinguished Teaching Award from UCLA’s Department of Education.

Jodene Morrell, Ph.D., is a senior research associate and affiliate of the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University. She directs the Literacy Teachers Initiative (LTI) Project, which partners with K–8 teachers in Harlem, New York, to develop collaborative action research projects. Previously, she worked as a literacy specialist at a magnet middle school for culture, language, and communication arts in Lansing, Michigan, and an elementary school teacher in San Francisco and Lawndale, California.

Rachael Cooper is a third grade teacher and literacy liaison at Thurgood Marshall Academy Lower School in New York City. She is also a teacher fellow with the first cohort of the Literacy Teachers Initiative (LTI) Project and her research focuses on how to use literature to improve students’ social and emotional wellbeing and writing achievement. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in educational leadership from the City College of New York.

Danielle Del Gatto, M.A., is a fourth- and fifth-grade special education teacher at P.S. 125, The Ralph Bunche School. She is also a teacher fellow with the first cohort of the Literacy Teachers Initiative (LTI) Project, and she currently researches how to use technology and literature to draw on students’ strong oral skills to improve and increase their writing production.

View Presentation Slides

Summary

This session demonstrates how diverse, 21st-century literacy classrooms can draw upon social and emotional learning (SEL) and multicultural literature to positively shape achievement, academic self-perception, and classroom climate. Dr. Ernest Morrell begins by briefly outlining the research evidence that supports a focus on SEL in literacy classrooms. Rachael Cooper and Danielle Del Gatto—teachers from the Harlem-based LTI Project—then share how they have used literature, specifically on bullying, to improve students’ literacy achievement, self-esteem, and classroom climate. Cooper and Del Gatto also talk about how they encourage dialogue, nurture positive relationships between students and the teacher, incorporate technology, and provide opportunities for narrative and persuasive writing assignments that emerge from read-alouds and discussions. Additionally, they share student work to show how teachers can introduce, discuss, reflect upon, and enact positive change in students’ attitudes and perceptions about themselves and others through the topic of bullying. Dr. Jodene Morrell concludes the presentation with key takeaways for educators and administrators.

Jodene Morrell, Ph.D.

Social-Emotional Learning, Literacy Achievement, and Positive Classroom Climates in 21st Century Schools

Ernest Morrell, Ph.D., is a professor of arts and humanities and director of the Institute for Urban and Minority Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. He is also president-elect of the National Council of Teachers of English. Author of more than 50 articles, his work has been published in journals such as Action in Teacher Education and the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. He has also received several commendations, including the Distinguished Teaching Award from UCLA’s Department of Education.

Jodene Morrell, Ph.D., is a senior research associate and affiliate of the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University. She directs the Literacy Teachers Initiative (LTI) Project, which partners with K–8 teachers in Harlem, New York, to develop collaborative action research projects. Previously, she worked as a literacy specialist at a magnet middle school for culture, language, and communication arts in Lansing, Michigan, and an elementary school teacher in San Francisco and Lawndale, California.

Rachael Cooper is a third grade teacher and literacy liaison at Thurgood Marshall Academy Lower School in New York City. She is also a teacher fellow with the first cohort of the Literacy Teachers Initiative (LTI) Project and her research focuses on how to use literature to improve students’ social and emotional wellbeing and writing achievement. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in educational leadership from the City College of New York.

Danielle Del Gatto, M.A., is a fourth- and fifth-grade special education teacher at P.S. 125, The Ralph Bunche School. She is also a teacher fellow with the first cohort of the Literacy Teachers Initiative (LTI) Project, and she currently researches how to use technology and literature to draw on students’ strong oral skills to improve and increase their writing production.

View Presentation Slides

Summary

This session demonstrates how diverse, 21st-century literacy classrooms can draw upon social and emotional learning (SEL) and multicultural literature to positively shape achievement, academic self-perception, and classroom climate. Dr. Ernest Morrell begins by briefly outlining the research evidence that supports a focus on SEL in literacy classrooms. Rachael Cooper and Danielle Del Gatto—teachers from the Harlem-based LTI Project—then share how they have used literature, specifically on bullying, to improve students’ literacy achievement, self-esteem, and classroom climate. Cooper and Del Gatto also talk about how they encourage dialogue, nurture positive relationships between students and the teacher, incorporate technology, and provide opportunities for narrative and persuasive writing assignments that emerge from read-alouds and discussions. Additionally, they share student work to show how teachers can introduce, discuss, reflect upon, and enact positive change in students’ attitudes and perceptions about themselves and others through the topic of bullying. Dr. Jodene Morrell concludes the presentation with key takeaways for educators and administrators.

Ruth Cross, M.A., and Pamela Randall, Ed.D.

How Social and Emotional Learning Supports the Common Core State Standards

Ruth Cross, M.A., is a social-emotional learning (SEL) trainer and project manager for the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and DuPage County Regional Office of Education (ROE) Partnership (which was formed to develop a regional model for SEL implementation that could be replicated in other states). Her responsibilities for the CASEL/DuPage ROE partnership include coaching school districts that are implementing the SEL Standards and leading workshops on teaching these standards to help students develop skills that promote success in school and life. Previously, she spent 34 years as an educator, working as a teacher, principal, and assistant superintendent.

Pamela Randall, Ed.D., is director for practice at the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). Previously, she served as school improvement officer for high schools in the Houston Independent School District, where she was responsible for supervising and coaching principals to create teams and programs focused on student academic growth and community involvement. She has also worked as an area instruction officer and deputy chief officer in the Office of High School Programs of the Chicago Public Schools, interim superintendent for St. Louis Public Schools, and principal of Metro Academic and Classical High School in St. Louis.

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Summary

During this presentation, Cross and Randall discuss helpful tools that align SEL competencies with the Common Core State Standards. Some of the tools discussed during the presentation were developed by CASEL and others are examples from school districts (e.g. Villa Park School District 45 in DuPage County, Illinois) with which the presenters work. An overview of the Illinois State SEL Standards and CASEL’s five SEL Competencies are also provided.

Sonya Whitaker, Ed.D. (Summit Moderator)
Welcome Address
Kirk Smalley
Keynote: Stand for the Silent Mission and Story
Ed Dunkelblau, Ph.D.
The State of Social-Emotional Learning
Sheldon Berman, Ed.D.
Superintendents Panel— Local Perspectives on Social-Emotional Learning
Eric Gordon, M.Ed.
Superintendents Panel— Local Perspectives on Social-Emotional Learning
Gale Reeves, M.S.Ed.
Superintendents Panel— Local Perspectives on Social-Emotional Learning
Sonya Whitaker, Ed.D.
Superintendents Panel— Local Perspectives on Social-Emotional Learning
Marvin Berkowitz, Ph.D.
Anti-Anti-Bullying: Rethinking Our Rhetoric and Framework
Allison Dymnicki, Ph.D.
The Impact of Social and Emotional Learning: Results from a Large Meta-Analysis of K–12 School-Based Programs
Peter Yarrow
Educating the Heart: “This Little Light of Ours”
Marc Brackett, Ph.D.
Bullying Prevention vs. Intervention: The Role of Social and Emotional Learning
Dorothy Espelage, Ph.D.
Bullying Prevention vs. Intervention: The Role of Social and Emotional Learning
Robert Selman, Ph.D., and Catherine Snow, Ph.D.
Books as Windows, Books as Mirrors: Developing Perspective Taking Through Literacy
Ernest Morrell, Ph.D.
Social-Emotional Learning, Literacy Achievement, and Positive Classroom Climates in 21st Century Schools
Rachael Cooper
Social-Emotional Learning, Literacy Achievement, and Positive Classroom Climates in 21st Century Schools
Danielle Del Gatto, M.A.
Social-Emotional Learning, Literacy Achievement, and Positive Classroom Climates in 21st Century Schools
Jodene Morrell, Ph.D.
Social-Emotional Learning, Literacy Achievement, and Positive Classroom Climates in 21st Century Schools
Ruth Cross, M.A., and Pamela Randall, Ed.D.
How Social and Emotional Learning Supports the Common Core State Standards