Student Wellbeing

Topic

Social and Emotional Learning

Social and emotional learning occurs when teachers and school staff help students develop the interpersonal skills they need to succeed in school and work. This skill-building happens in the course of everyday instruction, when teachers pause to encourage students to pose a question in a more respectful tone, imagine how others feel, take a deep breath to calm themselves down, break a goal into manageable pieces and more. Social and emotional self-management is thought to set the stage for productive, cooperative learning.

October 13, 2019

California mandates later start times for middle and high school students

Gov. Newsom signed the bill delaying start times for teenagers against the opposition of school groups that said districts know best how to set schedules.

John Fensterwald

October 3, 2019

Child care providers in California learn how to help children who have experienced trauma

The classes are part of a state program to help children in foster care find and enroll in child care programs.

Zaidee Stavely

August 15, 2019

Criticism of draft curriculum for ethnic studies in California intensifies

State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond and State Superintendent Tony Thurmond join those calling for a major revision.

John Fensterwald

August 14, 2019

San Francisco school board votes to cover up, not destroy, controversial murals

The school board will look into exactly how it will conceal the mural, but proponents of keeping the mural open to public view say they will now consider what options they have to do so.

Louis Freedberg

August 14, 2019

High school starts early for California freshmen in ‘summer bridge’

Studies show that freshman year can be one of the most critical years in a student's academic journey.

Sydney Johnson

July 8, 2019

End to random searches of students is a victory for entire school community

District policy of random searches disrupted instruction and made students feel less safe, principal says.

Mauro Bautista

June 30, 2019

School’s out for summer and my kid will be carrying celery

Promoting understanding and acceptance of people with disabilities can reduce microaggressions, overt discrimination and harmful conflicts.

Sarah Taylor

June 5, 2019

There’s value but also limitations to students’ grading their own interpersonal skills, study finds

California districts should use insights from surveys of students' habits of mind but not rate schools by the results, a PACE research project concludes.

John Fensterwald

May 6, 2019

Oakland Unified committed to fixing fiscal problems, but state must also step up

As district recovers after strike, superintendent calls on state to provide more funding.

Kyla Johnson-Trammell

April 24, 2019

For principals, biggest task is creating a school culture without the threat of gun violence

In survey, principals say more time is spent addressing problems associated with the threat of gun violence than any other challenge.

John Rogers

April 3, 2019

California schools find success building student confidence and campus culture

School officials are increasingly focused on students’ social and emotional learning.

Julie Patel Liss

January 9, 2019

Gov. Newsom proposing to expand services for babies and toddlers

The budget proposal is expected to significantly expand paid family leave, home visits to help parents teach and care for their babies and screenings to identify delays early.

Zaidee Stavely

January 4, 2019

Restorative justice reduces suspensions in elementary grades but not middle school, study shows

Many educators say restorative justice has transformed school climates. Others say it is over-hyped. A new study by the RAND Corp. lends support to both sides.

David Washburn

November 28, 2018

Plans come into focus for California schools ravaged by wildfires

Officials have identified three elementary schools that will take Paradise Unified students displaced by the deadly Camp Fire and are close to securing a site for middle and high schoolers.

David Washburn And Diana Lambert

August 31, 2018

The price of punishment — new report shows students nationwide lost 11 million school days due to suspensions

The report, based on federal government data from 2015-16, also found that racial disparities in suspensions remain an acute problem. Nationwide, African-American students lost five times as many days as white students.