Vision

Develop a Shared Vision and Plan for SEL

To build a house, you need two things: an idea for the kind of house you want (your blueprint) and a plan for everything you need to do to get that house built. It’s a similar process for bringing SEL to your district:

• You start with a shared vision, which articulates the kind of experience your district wants to offer its students.
• Then you use that vision to guide your creation of a plan for implementing SEL in your district—from the central office to the schools to the classrooms.

In this module, you’ll learn more about how to develop the shared vision and plan for SEL in your district.

What is a shared vision for SEL?

A vision statement is an organization’s description of what it would like to accomplish. It also serves as an inspirational call-to-action and provides a foundation for SEL planning and implementation. It emphasizes the importance of developing students’ social and emotional competencies in achieving the district’s overall mission.

Ideally, you should strive to articulate the priority for SEL in your overall district vision. Alternatively, you may decide to create a separate vision specifically for SEL[KD2] .

Why does my district need a shared vision?

An inspiring vision statement can help key stakeholders understand the depth of your commitment to SEL and how it connects to every aspect of the district’s work. This commitment can elicit support for and involvement in achieving the district’s vision for SEL. The[KD3] vision statement also becomes the basis for your district’s plan, allocation of resources, metrics, and monitoring for SEL.

When should my district develop a shared vision for SEL?

Your district may want to develop a vision for SEL:

• After introducing SEL to key stakeholders. This includes the superintendent, various leaders throughout the district office, board members, principals, families, community members, and out-of-school time intermediaries and providers.
• Before developing a plan, adopting a formal SEL curriculum, or engaging in significant or multisite implementation. The development of a vision allows you to communicate your intent behind adopting SEL before systemic implementation begins.

Who needs to be involved?

Ideally, you’ll want to assemble a group of key stakeholders—including senior leadership, board members, and the strategic planning committee—to develop the SEL vision statement. However, due to logistical or time constraints, some districts may need to work with a smaller group of representative leaders.

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