Virtual “SEL Vision Summit” Helps Participants Take Social and Emotional Learning to the Next Level

The Urban Assembly and Aperture Education host series for schools and districts wanting to learn how to overcome challenges to implementing SEL.

Charlotte N.C. (March 3, 2021) — Aperture Education has partnered with The Urban Assembly to host a three-part webinar series showcasing how four high schools in New York City overcame challenges to support their students’ social and emotional needs. Participants will hear from teachers, administrators and students about how to prioritize SEL during challenges such as virtual learning, lack of an “advisory” period at school, and being in an alternative school setting. The webinars take place March 3, April 12 and April 16, 2021. All are available on demand. 

“We wanted to address some of the concerns and challenges that schools are facing right now, and give them the opportunity to see solutions in practice,” said Brandon Frame, director of social and emotional learning for The Urban Assembly, a non-profit organization which serves a network of 23 urban schools in New York City. “For example, with the virtual learning showcase, I like to use the analogy of ‘what do you do when you’re football field turns into an ice hockey rink?’ We never pictured a pandemic happening, but we can have the structures in place to be prepared for the unexpected and ensure a continuity of learning.”

About the series

Each webinar will address a specific challenge to delivering SEL instruction, and provide advice on how to overcome that challenge. The webinars will include panels of school staff members and students, as well as virtual SEL demo lessons. The webinars are as follows:

Part 1: In-Person, Hybrid or Virtual: SEL Never Stops

10 a.m.-11:30 a.m. EST March 3, 2021

In this webinar The Urban Assembly School for Collaborative Healthcare, a high school in Brooklyn, shares how it adapted to support SEL after shifting to virtual instruction during the pandemic. To register, visit bit.ly/showcase-march3.

Part 2: No Advisory, No Problem: Implementing High Quality SEL When Advisory Isn’t an Option

1 p.m.-2:30 p.m. EST April 12, 2021

Often, SEL happens during “advisory,” a dedicated period of time set aside during the school day. But what if students can’t meet? In this webinar the Business Technology Early College High School (BTECH) in Queens shares how it adapted its SEL programming during the pandemic to provide robust SEL instruction, even though they weren’t able to do in-person advisory. To register, visit bit.ly/showcase-april12.

Part 3: Implementing and Sustaining SEL in Alternative Settings with New Visions AIM 1&2

1:30 p.m.-3 p.m. EST April 16, 2021

In this webinar the New Visions for Public Education AIM I and AIM II Charter High Schools, alternative schools in Brooklyn, will share how they integrate SEL to support students’ resilience and strengths. To register, visit bit.ly/showcase-april16.

All schools featured in the webinars use the DESSA social-emotional assessment from Aperture Education to understand the impact of their SEL programs.

“The pandemic has really highlighted the importance of social and emotional learning and our partners at The Urban Assembly have been doing some amazing work to prioritize SEL despite significant challenges,” said Jessica Adamson, CEO of Aperture Education. “This webinar series will give participants a chance to see successful SEL in action and provide valuable advice to help them overcome similar challenges in their own schools and districts.”

About Aperture Education

To date, Aperture Education empowers over 3,000 schools and out-of-school-time programs across North America to measure, strengthen, and support social and emotional competence in K-12 youth and educators. This system enables education leaders to make strategic, data-based decisions about SEL within their organizations. The Aperture system includes the DESSA suite of strength-based assessments, CASEL-informed intervention strategies, and robust reporting, all in one easy-to-use digital platform. Aperture has supported more than one million students in their social and emotional growth and continues to develop innovative solutions to bring the whole child into focus. To learn more, visit www.ApertureEd.com.

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