As Shannon Wanless reflected on a unique day of social-emotional learning collaboration and discussion, she came away beaming with optimism.
Wanless, the Director of the Office of Child Development at the University of Pittsburgh, has long been a champion of social-emotional learning (SEL) and its importance in well-functioning societies and school systems. On Thursday, she served as the keynote speaker for the AIU’s and Project SEEKS SES’s SEL day at the Comfort Inn Conference Center.
“I am so optimistic,” Wanless said. “When I see all the energy in this room and all the potential resources, it feels like we’re connecting people and getting all of that together in a way that serves our kids well. I feel good about it.”
During the event, school districts had the opportunity to learn and discuss about SEL, as well as be connected with a number of SEL vendors. The day was well attended, seeing 50-plus participants from Allegheny County school districts and higher education universities, as well as 12 vendors.
Those vendors included Satchel Pulse, Imagine Learning, CharacterStrong, Rachel’s Challenge, Move This World, TeachTown, Waterfront Learning, Committee for Children, MindUP, UPMC Western Behavioral Health, Digital Bridges International and 7Mindsets.
Vendors came from across the country to participate, including companies from Washington, Illinois and New York. Such an exhaustive collaboration of school districts and vendors doesn’t happen often, Wanless said.
“It usually looks like one school district or one program at a time. To get everybody together helps us know we’re not alone,” Wanless said. “We’re not reinventing the wheel and we can learn from each other. This is how momentum really starts to build.”
Wanless led the day with a presentation about the ins and outs of SEL. Shanna Bradfield, a Behavior Training and Consultation coordinator at the AIU, then presented on how to best select a SEL program. Both presentations included plenty of time for discussion and collaboration. Those discussions left Wanless impressed and excited about the direction of SEL in Allegheny County.
“I was hoping to inspire people to think outside the box, but also to say there is a place to start, wherever you are. There is a step right in front of you,” Wanless said.
“I could hear it in the questions in the audience, like ‘what are you noticing?’ and ‘what are you doing in your district?’ Hopefully that continues.”
