The Mississippi Department of Education is in the process of finalizing the state’s first ever Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Standards and is seeking your feedback on the proposed standards. The overarching purpose of the Mississippi SEL Standards is to address the social and emotional needs of all students to ensure their success in school and in life. Developing SEL skills improves student capacity to engage in academic learning and prepares them to meet college and career readiness standards (CCRS). The Mississippi SEL Standards assists school staff with their respective roles in integrating social emotional learning into daily classroom and school experiences of students. The standards will establish social and emotional learning as a priority in education and will support children beyond academics.
The Mississippi K-12 SEL standards are divided into five domains:
- Domain 1: Self-awareness is the ability to identify one’s thoughts, values and emotions and recognize how these shape behaviors. Self-awareness involves the assessment of one’s abilities (i.e., strengths and areas of growth) and includes the need for confidence, optimism and knowledge of which areas can be improved.
- Domain 2: Self-management is the ability to self-regulate emotions, thoughts and behaviors across settings and to set and work towards personal and academic goals.
- Domain 3: Social awareness is the ability to empathize with and relate to others, including those from diverse backgrounds. Social awareness involves understanding societal norms for behavior and contribution to community well-being.
- Domain 4: Relationship skills include the ability to effectively communicate, cooperate, seek and provide support to others, manage conflict, and effectively handle peer pressure in order to establish and maintain positive relationships.
- Domain 5: Decision-making skills includes the ability to make constructive choices and problem-solve based on safe, ethical, and social norms while evaluating the outcomes of previous choices.
Please review the proposed SEL Standards at www.mdek12.org/OAE/college-and-career-readiness-standards and provide any feedback that you feel is relevant to ensuring this guidance document meets the needs of teachers and students. Comments may be emailed to Ginger Koestler at gkoestler@mdek12.org.