Changes to CASEL’s SEL Framework

What They Mean for Educational Publishing

by Megan Overman, Senior Supervising Editor, Literacy and SEL

The field of social-emotional learning continues to grow and evolve. Recently, CASEL announced updates to the criteria it uses to evaluate SEL programs for inclusion in its program guide. The CASEL Guide identifies, evaluates, and rates programs on the market and shares best-practice guidelines in order to help schools select and implement the best SEL programs for their districts.

This EdWeek Market Brief report (may require subscriber login) featuring an interview with Alexandra Skoog-Hoffman, CASEL’s director of research-practice partnerships, and Karen VanAusdal, CASEL’s senior director of practice, explores some of the criteria changes. The changes are primarily based around issues of equity, deeper considerations of students’ developmental stages, and the elevation of student perspectives. To read the full text of CASEL’s update along with the accompanying rationale, see the Evidence-Based Social and Emotional Programs: CASEL Criteria Updates and Rationale report on CASEL’s website. Additional updates to the actual SEL framework are expected later this year.

What does this update mean for educational publishers?

For publishers who currently have SEL programs, it might mean it’s time to review and consider updates to better align with CASEL’s new criteria. For publishers who have not yet dipped a toe in the SEL waters but are interested in doing so, it means now is the perfect time to start blueprinting with the latest information fresh in hand.

How can Westchester help?

At Westchester, we have experience not only creating SEL lessons, activities, video scripts, interactive games, and teacher guides—but also collaborating with publishers to build programs following CASEL’s SEL framework from the ground up. Our internal focus on culturally responsive education practices (led by Samantha Tucker, Senior Editor CRE) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (led by Nilofer Ali, Resources Manager and DEI Committee Lead) factor into every project we touch. When it comes to SEL, we are not only ready to meet CASEL’s deepened focus on equity—we are enthusiastic about the change.