Align Resources

To ensure the sustainability of SEL, you need to align two kinds of resources:

• Financial resources: This is the funding, both internal and external, that your district allocates to support SEL training and programs. By committing funding, your district signals its recognition of the benefits of SEL for students.
• Human resources: To implement and support SEL in your district, it is helpful to have dedicated, expert staff, including a district point person and coaches who provide guidance to schools. In addition, it can be beneficial to develop the capability to hire staff and teachers who are proficient in SEL and to provide professional development around SEL. As you assess your resources, don’t forget to include coaches in other areas in the district (such as instructional coaches) who may already be meeting some SEL needs or who could add SEL coaching to their repertoire.

These two types of resources are intertwined: Your funding ensures your district’s capacity to staff for SEL, and your plans regarding staffing and training inform your operational budget. In this module, you’ll learn more about how to align financial and human resources to support SEL in your district.

Note: If you’re new to budget management, you may first wish to review the Financial Sustainability for Social and Emotional Learning website, beginning with the Build Your Knowledge section.

Align Financial Resources to Support SEL

What does it mean to align financial resources to support SEL?

Funding is central to the long-term implementation of SEL. Your district needs to develop a funding strategy that can survive changes in leadership, politics, and the economy.

To develop this strategy, you need to take a close look at:

• Your district’s existing budget
• Your district’s priorities and goals
• The resources currently dedicated to SEL (funding, staff, etc.)
• Future resources required for SEL support and expansion (staff, professional learning, curriculum, etc.)
• Funds for existing programs that could be reallocated to support SEL
• Potential new sources of support (foundations, donors, grants, etc.)

By aligning your financial resources to support SEL and building your funding strategy, you provide a solid foundation for sustaining SEL in your district over the long term.

Note: If you’re new to budget management, you may first wish to review the Financial Sustainability for Social and Emotional Learning website, beginning with the Build Your Knowledge section.

Why is it necessary to align and develop financial resources to support SEL?

Dedicated, long-term funding is critical to the success of SEL in your district. Even a small-scale launch may fail without dedicated financial resources. And once the initiative is launched, your district will need to continue that support to ensure long-term, systemic implementation of SEL.

There’s another important reason to align your financial resources for SEL: By dedicating necessary resources to SEL, your district sends a strong message to teachers, parents, and stakeholders that it’s a priority that is here to stay.

When should my district align and develop financial resources to support SEL?

Your district may want to align and develop resources:

• After gaining support for SEL among district leaders. Once you’ve outlined a district plan for SEL, you’re ready to assess and align your financial resources.
• Before committing to a large-scale implementation or launching a major fundraising campaign. With a financial strategy in hand, you’ll be ready to demonstrate to external funders how you intend to use their support to achieve SEL outcomes and that you’re committed to matching their support with both staffing and internal financial resources.

Who needs to be involved?

To align financial resources to support SEL, you need to develop a full grasp of the costs, income, and potential new funding sources for SEL in the district. A variety of district staff can provide input:

• SEL leads and teams
• Chief financial officer
• District fund development staff
• Chief human resources officer

Process

Understand the process you can take to implement this module within your district. Use these steps to help you structure your approach, build your plan, and access resources for each step along the way.
See Process

Resources

Access resources organized around the most common areas of need districts face when implementing this module. Resources include real world examples from districts engaged in this work, as well as information and worksheets designed to help you build your own.
See Resources