Leading Social-Emotional Learning in Districts and Schools

This book will provide educational leaders a comprehensive set of suggestions, recommendations, and resources related to leading the implementation process for social-emotional learning. We begin with an exploration of the meaning of social and emotional learning-and the various operational definitions currently in use among leading educators and SEL-related organizations.

The introductory section of the handbook also reinforces our assertion that SEL and equity are two closely interrelated priorities in education today-perhaps the two singularly most significant priorities we are all facing in our profession.

Next, the handbook explores the nature of effective SEL leadership, including priorities for superintendents and other educational leaders, as well as the importance of distributed leadership via networking and the building of communities of practice related to aligning social-emotional learning with student health, nutrition, and academic progress.

About the Authors

Daniel A. Domenech has served as executive director of the American Association of School Administrators since July 2008. Domenech has more than 36 years of experience in public education, twenty-seven of those years served as a school superintendent.

Morton Sherman has more than 30 years' administrative experience in raising academic standards, closing achievement gaps, and uniting stakeholders He has served in public education for over 40 years, 25 as a public school superintendent of schools. Now serving as the AASA Associate Executive Director for Leadership Network.

John L. Brown is currently writer-in-residence for AASA, The School Superintendents Association. In that role, Dr. Brown has been responsible for a variety of AASA publications, including The Superintendent's SEL Toolkit (in partnership with CASEL), six professional development modules on leading social and emotional learning, and a range of case studies. He was also the author of Leading Personalized Learning, a comprehensive professional development on-line course published by AASA and EduPlanet.