Let’s Talk About Social and Emotional Learning

 Five-episode podcast series explores how children could benefit from SEL partnerships between schools and out-of-school programs

Posted:
5/4/2021

​​Five new episodes of The Wallace Podcast bring to life findings and early lessons from the first two years of the Partnerships for Social and Emotional Learning Initiative (PSELI), exploring whether and how children can benefit from partnerships between schools and out-of-school-time programs. The series features in-depth conversations with practitioners and leaders from the PSELI communities (Boston, Dallas, Denver, Palm Beach County in Florida, and Tulsa).

Listen to the whole series or dive into an episode based upon your current needs or interest.

  • Episode One: Discover the “what” and “why” behind the PSELI initiative with our partners at CASEL and the Forum for Youth Investment. The wide-ranging discussion covers the importance of social and emotional learning (SEL) and the settings in which children acquire these skills.
  • Episode Two: Practitioners from both in- and out-of-school-time in Palm Beach County, Fla., provide insights on building adults’ SEL skills. “Every adult on campus has a very important role in a child's life, and they might not even realize it,” says Kristen Rulison, SEL manager for the Palm Beach County School District. A cafeteria manager also recounts the story of her staff’s experience with SEL training.
  • Episode Three: Leaders from school districts and out-of-school-time intermediary organizations discuss how to build effective partnerships in this episode. Perspectives from a newer partnership in Tulsa and a decades-long partnership in Dallas are featured.
  • Episode Four: Explore the role of SEL coaches, who were found to play a critically important role in the initiative, according to the RAND report on the initiative’s first two years. “I would say absolutely, coaches are necessary and you're going to see the outcomes for it,” said Kimberley Williams, former principal of Joyce Kilmer School in Boston. “The school leader needs to have that person to help them balance the many demands and initiatives in a school.”
  • Episode Five: Here’s a discussion of a useful tool for instructional “walk-throughs” developed in Denver, along with several examples of how schools and OST programs are integrating SEL across the school and out-of-school day. 

You can stream the PSELI podcast on our site​, where you’ll also find more information about each episode, or download them from iTunes, Google Play or Stitcher​.​​