Quality social and emotional learning (SEL) programs are a key part of teaching the whole child. Aperture Education will showcase one district’s SEL implementation during a free webinar at 2 p.m. EDT on March 29th, 2017. The webinar, “The Behavior Side of the Triangle: Making Strides to Support Social Emotional Learning” will describe how Burlington Public Schools, in Burlington, Massachusetts executed its district-wide SEL initiative. To register, visit https://goo.gl/cnBi6j.

The webinar features Susan Astone, District RTI Director for Burlington Public Schools. She will discuss her district’s journey through the first year of its SEL implementation. After solidifying their structures and supports for the academics, the district’s next step was to develop the behavioral supports. Astone will discuss the district’s team-level approach to supporting positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS), its selection of a universal SEL screener, and its adoption of Responsive Classrooms as the foundation for its SEL instruction.

Astone has also been a classroom teacher, reading specialist, special education administrator and elementary school principal.

The webinar is part of Aperture Education’s ongoing work to support educators, administers and out-of-school-time providers in implementing social-emotional learning programs within their schools. Aperture Education provides strength-based assessments and resilience-building resources to help organizations address the whole child. Its goal is to ensure members of school and out-of-school time communities, including adults, have the social and emotional skills needed to thrive.

“Research shows that quality social and emotional learning (SEL) programs have a positive impact on academics,” said Aperture Education CEO Jessica Adamson. “We want to help schools meet their SEL goals. Our webinars provide practical advice, resources and examples for anyone who is interested in implementing an SEL program at their school. We are excited to showcase Burlington Public Schools’ initiative on March 29th.”

Aperture Education offers products and services to support SEL programs, including Evo Social/Emotional, a K-8 online assessment and intervention tool. It uses the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) to help educators measure students’ SEL skills and implement individualized, classroom and school-wide strategies for instruction and intervention. Evo Social/Emotional is currently available for grades K-8; a high school version will be released for the 2017-2018 school year.