Intended Audience: Elementary classroom teachers, physical education teachers, school nurses, school counselors, and others tasked with teaching health, well-being, and social-emotional learning.

The Vermont Education Quality Standards state that Vermont elementary schools must ensure all students have access to health curriculum and instruction. Classroom teachers and other elementary specialists (physical education, school counselors, school nurses, etc.) are often tasked to teach K-6 health without the training or content expertise in health-related topics.

This is a two-part session (participants must attend both days) that will focus on Social Emotional Learning (SEL). SEL provides a foundation for effective education and offers students the critical life skills necessary for success later in life. Teaching SEL promotes resilience, trust, and safety; builds students’ skills and confidence; and increases academic performance. This two-part series will provide educators with practical skills and information to begin implementing SEL strategies within their classrooms. Learning will include group discussion, as well as activities and skills-based content focused on implementation of SEL.

In these two webinars, participants will:
· Gain an understanding of SEL’s guiding principles and how to incorporate these tenets into their daily practice
· Understand how to talk about mental health and wellbeing in safe and developmentally appropriate ways
· Learn whole classroom strategies that promote emotional identification and self-regulation
· Increase understanding of explicit and implicit teaching strategies to implement SEL