SEL in Middle and High School: What Works, What Doesn’t

Stephen Sawchuk is an assistant managing editor for Education Week, leading coverage of teaching, learning, and curriculum.

Jennifer Fuller is the Manager of Curricular Innovation in the Office of Teaching and Learning at the District of Columbia Public Schools. She co-develops and manages the Cornerstones initiative, which provides student with authentic experiences designed to have a high impact in the classroom. Jennifer works to ensure students across grade levels and subjects experience Cornerstones which masterfully use academic content to solve real-world problems, prepare for future careers, design sophisticated creative works, and advocate for a better world.

Imwold began teaching in a bilingual classroom with Teach for America. He then joined KIPP NYC in 2008, first as a teacher at KIPP Academy Middle School. Imwold worked as a founding teacher at KIPP NYC College Prep High School, and went on to become the Director of Student Support Services, and then Assistant Principal of Intervention. He now leads student support services to ensure students with exceptionalities and all staff who support them receive a high level of attention in curriculum design and instructional coaching. In addition to special education, the S3 team is expanding to provide more support with social-emotional learning, restorative practices, and tiered behavioral interventions. Imwold earned his Bachelor’s Degrees in Marketing and in Spanish from the University of Maryland, and his Master’s Degree in Education from Pace University.

Alyson Klein is an assistant editor for Education Week.

Dr. John Kelly is a school psychologist in the Commack School District and an Adjunct Professor at St. John’s University in the School Psychology program. He earned his Ph.D. in Clinical and School Psychology from Hofstra University. Dr. Kelly has studied, published, and presented at numerous national and international conferences on topics that include mental and behavioral health services for children, advocacy training for school psychologists, legislative issues related to education and children, leadership development, violence and bullying prevention, and suicide awareness. Dr. Kelly is on the Executive Board of the New York Association of School Psychologists (NYASP). He is a Past-President of National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). Dr. Kelly has received numerous state and national awards, including the NYS School Practitioner of the Year in 2001 and the NASP School Psychologist of the Year in 2003.

Gregory L. Mellon, M.S. Ed is currently a New York City School Psychologist and is a Board Chapter Representative for The New York Association of School Psychologists (NYASP) in New York City, Chapter N. He’s earned a Master’s of Education from Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus (LIU-B) in School Psychology and an Advanced Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is in progress. He also holds a Bilingual certification in Haitian Creole. During his tenure at LIU-B, Gregory worked with NYASP as a Student Representative, representing students statewide. He also interned for the Psychologist in Training (PIT) program in the NYC Dept. of Education before transitioning to an early career position within New York City. As a practicing Bilingual School psychologist, Gregory serves students in Elementary and Middle Schools. Gregory also works as an ABA therapist in early intervention (EI) programs throughout the city. Gregory’s research interests include Socio-economic Justice, racial/ethnic disparities within special education, inclusivity in education, and trauma informed practices in schools.

Sarah D. Sparks covers education research, data, and the science of learning for Education Week.

Brittany McBride is the Associate Director, Sex Education at Advocates for Youth. She is responsible for strengthening the effectiveness of sexual health education instructional materials and their delivery while supporting youth serving organizations and school districts in providing sustainable and equitable sex education. Prior to joining the Advocates team, Brittany managed multiple teen pregnancy prevention programs funded by the Office of Adolescent Health in the state of Louisiana. Brittany also served as a curriculum consultant for the charter management organization Firstline Schools. She graduated from Tulane SPHTM with a Master’s in Public Health and earned a B.S. in Biology/Chemistry from Xavier University of LA. Brittany is based in New Orleans, LA.

Arianna Prothero covers technology, student well-being, and the intersection of the two for Education Week.

As a social studies teacher, Edelman centers learning on student-led activism and civic engagement, and his classroom serves as a learning lab and demonstration classroom to foster collaboration and elevate student voice. In addition to teaching government and economics, he provides instructional coaching, mentoring and professional learning.

Aileen Mokuria was born and raised in Dallas, Texas and proudly attended and graduated from Dallas Independent School District. She received a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Soka University of America in Aliso Viejo, California and her master’s in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She currently serves as the Dallas ISD Social and Emotional Learning Manager. Aileen is passionate about wellness, educational equity, justice, and living life joyfully.

Jenna Ryall is the Director of Civics for All at the New York City Department of Education. She co-designed the Civics for All initiative, a comprehensive K-12 civic education program available to all NYCDOE schools. Among Civics for All’s many components are a K-12 curriculum, a school-based participatory budgeting effort, and a student voter registration drive responsible for registering 50,000 new voters in the last three years. Jenna began her career in education as a middle school social studies teacher in the Bronx, New York. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Fordham University and a Master’s degree and Post-Master’s Certificate from Stony Brook University.

Terry Schmitz founded the Conover Company in 1980 to create personnel assessment and training products for private and public sectors. Terry has taught at the high school, college and university level and been involved in researching and developing proper procedures for assessing and improving human performance. He has also conducted hundreds of seminars on these assessments and skill interventions.

Dr. Donna M. Rice serves as a dissertation chair and provides curriculum development services for courses in teaching and ethics. Following 25 years as the Chief of Education for Army JROTC, she became the Program Manager for a leadership program pilot supported by the Army, National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE), and Department of Education.

Art has been helping educators for over a decade with implementing social and emotional learning. Art’s goal is to provide individuals with the tools they need to get ahead of their lives through success in education.