Gov. Evers Receives SELLY Award for Contributions to Advancements in Social and Emotional Learning
CHICAGO — Gov. Tony Evers yesterday attended the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) 2024 SEL Exchange conference in Chicago to accept the Ann S. Nerad Award for Distinguished Contributions to Advance Policies for Social and Emotional Learning. The annual CASEL conference and awards ceremony recognizes the outstanding achievements of individuals in the field of social and emotional learning (SEL) and presents annual SEL Leaders of the Year (SELLY) awards in research, practice, and public policy.
“From my time as state superintendent of public instruction to my role as governor today, I’ve been proud to champion the importance of social and emotional learning—a commitment shared by my wife Kathy as well in her work as First Lady—and together with dedicated education partners like CASEL, we will continue our work to do what’s best for kids’ learning, growth, and well-being.”
“On this special milestone of CASEL’s 30th anniversary, we are thrilled to honor a remarkable group of leaders whose dedication has shaped and strengthened the field of social and emotional learning,” said CASEL President and CEO, Dr. Aaliyah A. Samuel. “These SELLY Award recipients have demonstrated the profound impact that committed educators, students, parents, and community leaders can make in fostering environments where all young people thrive— academically, socially, and emotionally. With the addition of the James P. Comer and Timothy P. Shriver awards, we’re proud to honor two of the earliest pioneers in the field, and award those who represent the future of SEL and education.”
Similarly, First Lady Kathy Evers has made supporting SEL in early education a central platform in her work as Wisconsin’s first lady. First Lady Evers has partnered with Wisconsin’s Office of Children’s Mental Health (OCMH) and visited a number of successful SEL early childhood education programs in Wisconsin, as well as participated in virtual events and listening sessions with partners to connect the dots between agencies and sectors. Thanks in part to the work of the first lady, Wisconsin received a $35,000 grant from the National Governor’s Association to conduct a series of focus groups around parent and family engagement to help increase the mental, social, and emotional well-being of kids and families, as well as to create a template for schools to use to engage parents around new and ongoing social and emotional learning efforts with an emphasis on equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
The benefits of SEL are widely studied, and according to CASEL, when students have supportive relationships and opportunities to develop and practice social, emotional, and cognitive skills across many different contexts, academic learning accelerates. CASEL has shared research that demonstrates students participating in SEL at school have higher levels of “school functioning,” as reflected by their grades, test scores, attendance, and homework completion, and SEL has also been seen to promote positive attitudes about one’s self and others, enhance youth’s coping skills, resiliency, and emotion identification, and reduce bullying and aggression amongst kids.
According to OCMH, 93 percent of Wisconsin’s educators want a greater focus on social-emotional learning in schools, with many educators believing that these skills are teachable and would like schools to prioritize the integration of social emotional learning practices and strategies, and 81 percent of parents and guardians believe that SEL is just as important as academic learning. Similarly, according to a variety of indicators, most recent high school students believe a more positive school environment could be created if SEL programs were added to the curriculum.
Bolstering SEL programs and resources in schools can also be critical for addressing the multitude of mental health challenges facing kids today, as according to the 2023 Wisconsin Youth Risk Behavior Survey created by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, more than half of students are struggling with anxiety in Wisconsin, more than one in three students reported experiencing depression, and one in five students reported non-suicidal self-harm. For students who identify as LGBTQ, these rates are even more troubling.
CASEL has been a longtime partner of the state in improving and advocating for Wisconsin’s education system. More information on CASEL’s partnership with Wisconsin is available on their website here.
More information on Wisconsin’s SEL guide, initiatives, and investments is available at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s SEL webpage here.
An online version of this release is available here.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.