Names in the News: Downers Grove Teachers Visit Washington D.C. to Promote Social, Emotional Learning

Two Downers Grove teachers traveled to Washington, D.C. last month to address lawmakers, educational advocates and national news outlets about the benefits of social and emotional learning.

El Sierra sixth-grade teachers Patricia Incrocci and Lindsay Shea were selected by the Chicago-based Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) to speak at a Capitol Hill briefing Sept. 20.

The briefing coincided with the release of the 2013 CASEL Guide: Effective Social and Emotional Learning Programs (Preschool and Elementary School Edition). The Guide is the first comprehensive, national review of SEL programs since 2003, according to CASEL.

SEL helps children develop the skills to handle themselves, their relationships and their work. In 2011, a major research report from the University of Illinois at Chicago and Loyola University Chicago found that students who participate in SEL programs show again of 11 percentile points in academic achievement. 

CASEL invited Incrocci and Shea after experts at the nonprofit visited El Sierra School and witnessed the use of Responsive Classroom, a program that helps schools support social-emotional development in children. 

Click here to read more about Patricia Incrocci and Lindsay Shea.

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