Supporting, Connecting, and Empowering Schools
What Schools are Doing to Stay Connected 
Please take a moment to complete this short form to let us know what you have been doing to stay connected to staff, students, families and the community. We’d love to hear your story and to share it with others. If possible, please upload a photo or a video that can accompany your story. We will feature a few submissions in each of our upcoming newsletters. 
Unity Charter School’s Virtual Compliment Booth
It began several years ago as a fun project for a group of middle school students. They created a compliment booth located in the main hallway of the school where staff, students, families and community members could enter and record a compliment on the tablet located inside the booth. After screening the compliments, the technology education teacher would stream the compliments on the TVs in the two main hallways at various times throughout the day.

These days, those hallways are empty and quiet – but the compliments keep flowing at Unity Charter School because the compliment booth has gone virtual! Staff, students, families and community members can still record acknowledgments and compliments through a free resource called Flipgrid . The “commUNITY” is able to access the password-protected Flipgrid to view these moments of gratefulness. This creative strategy has helped keep the school community connected and focused on the positive. And, after all, who doesn’t love a compliment?
Our friend and fellow educator, Mario Rodas, Principal at Center Grove Elementary School, made this video to inject a little humor into your day. Enjoy!

Inspiration from Out of State
Check out what these teachers in Pennsylvania did to stay connected to their students what a fun way to bring the community together and to brighten up the day!

SEL Day Recap - Congratulations New Jersey!
The inaugural International SEL Day which was held on Friday, March 27, 2020 was a huge success with almost 2 million (!!) views for #SELday with 49 out of 50 states participating!  New Jersey led the way and had more schools and organizations signing up and participating than any other state in the country!

If you followed #SELDay, you saw that it was a day where the SEL community came together to celebrate and recognize the significance and value of SEL in our schools, homes and communities. People posted photos, podcasts, videos and fun SEL activities – many that can be used remotely while students are learning at home.

Our friend and colleague, Deb (Warner) Minieri fr om Denville School District, graciously shared their SEL Day  video . Thank you, Deb, for sharing this with us – we had as much fun watching it as you did making it.

We encourage all of you to make every day SEL Day! 
Upcoming Webinars & Virtual Meetings
So Now What? Supporting SEL at Home
April 3, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. ET
CASEL CARES INITIATIVE has invited Jennifer Miller from Confident Kids, Confident Parents  to share SEL strategies and ways to support learning during this unique time at home.
SEL and Arts Education: Navigating Uncertain Times, Preparing for the Future
April 6, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Explore how arts educators can incorporate social-emotional learning (SEL) into their artistic practices with intention, learn strategies for supporting students' emotional needs, and how these strategies will create a foundation for student learning in our post-COVID-19 world.
Virtual SSN Meeting
April 8, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. ET
We look forward to connecting and hearing from you! Share what's happening in your district and hear what others are doing to stay connected and to support staff, families and students. 
The School Culture and Climate Initiative is based at the Center for Human and Social Development at the College of Saint Elizabeth
For questions about SSN meetings, contact Liz Warner
For questions about or difficulty with registration, contact Leighann Garland
SchoolCultureandClimate.org