EDUCATOR SPOTLIGHT | SEL & CR-SE

Educator Spotlight
Written By Josh Morales
Credit | unesco.org

Social Emotional Learning and Culturally Responsive - Sustaining Education

by Stephanie Clagnaz, Ed.D.

Universally, educators work to provide nurturing and supportive environments for students to flourish. Tireless efforts are invested in planning to meet the academic, social, physical, mental, and emotional needs of the whole child. Various frameworks and recommendations exist to guide teachers in meeting student needs, including the widely used social emotional framework developed by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and the Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework (CR-SE) developed by the State University of New York. The intersectionality of these frameworks is worthy of review, as they contain commonalities that serve the needs of the whole child when implemented.

Interestingly, academic performance is positively impacted when we work toward meeting the needs of the whole child. “When students have supportive relationships and opportunities to develop and practice social, emotional, and cognitive skills across many different contexts, academic learning accelerates.” (CASEL; casel.org, 1994). “The CR-S Framework was designed to support education stakeholders in developing and implementing policies that educate all students effectively and equitably, as well as provide appropriate supports and services to promote positive student outcomes. Student difference, historically, has sometimes been viewed as an individual deficit. The framework marks our journey forward and begins the evolution toward leveraging difference as an asset.” (Culturally Responsive- Sustaining Education Framework; nysed.gov, 2018). As such, our efforts to fully engage and support students’ comprehensive needs will result in better academic outcomes.

An awareness of how the CR-SE and SEL frameworks work together is important. Although some may use each in isolation of each other, the use of the two frameworks together provides us with crucial insights into meeting the needs of the whole child and the academic implications of doing so. The table below highlights several significant similarities within the two frameworks. Each structure provides guidance individually, but when combined, a more comprehensive understanding of ways in which educators can plan, implement, revise, and support curriculum, assessment, and ways of interacting within the classroom. Some key commonalities include:

  • Providing guidance for students to demonstrate a growth mindset

  • Uncovering personal and structural biases

  • Recognizing individual gifts and talents and those of others

  • Supporting students in exhibiting empathy and identifying injustice

  • Promoting stress management and collaborative work

  • Encouraging students to demonstrate personal and collective agency

  • Guiding the development and accomplishment of goals

  • Opportunities to examine influences on behavior

LEDbetter can help schools and districts in implementing the CR-SE and SEL frameworks. We provide individualized professional development sessions and coaching to a wide variety of educators: individual teachers, teacher teams, leaders, and whole-school implementation. Our experts guide you through gathering and analyzing data to drive personalized learning for your organization. Contact us today for a free consultation! 



To learn more about how we can support you, please email excelerator@led-better.org, or schedule a call with us.

Josh Morales
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