Prioritizing Racial Equity Within Social and Emotional Learning in Tacoma

One of Six Case Studies of Schools and Out-of-School-Time Program Partners

In Tacoma, an elementary school established social-emotional learning and equity as a nonnegotiable foundation for its work with students, staff members and families. Supports included a range of training opportunities and written social-emotional learning lessons incorporating racial equity.

September 2022

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Table of Contents

Overview

Research Approach

Ideas In Practice

Author(s)
Susannah Faxon-Mills, Heather L. Schwartz, and Catherine H. Augustine

Publisher(s)
RAND Corporation

Page Count 30 pages

DOI Link
https://doi.org/10.7249/RRA379-9

Summary

How we did this

Researchers drew on a variety of data for this case study of Lister Elementary School in Tacoma.

At some schools, introducing social and emotional learning (SEL) programs is all about evolution. Take Lister Elementary School in Tacoma, Wash. At Lister, new leadership spearheaded a school-wide emphasis on SEL. Then, over time, school leaders and staff members integrated a focus on racial equity and restorative practices into its SEL approach.

The story of those efforts is detailed in this case study. It’s one of a series detailing collaborations between schools and OST programs in six communities aimed at boosting social and emotional learning.

Part of a Larger Initiative

The communities were participants in Wallace’s Partnerships for Social and Emotional Learning Initiative, which brought together school districts and their OST partners to develop and put in place SEL activities across learning settings.

Key Strategies

The school used four key strategies as its work evolved, including:

Gaining and maintaining staff buy-in
Building racial equity and restorative practices into its SEL resources
Designing and delivering comprehensive support, including training and new curriculum, to build staff members’ SEL and equity capacity
Reframing SEL and equity work as complementary to (rather than competing with) academic priorities

School leaders also embedded SEL throughout the school’s policies and practices. For example, they included SEL in teacher evaluations and made commitment to racial equity a priority in the school’s mission statement. And they ensured that students and staff used a common vocabulary when communicating about SEL.

Noteworthy Achievements

These efforts resulted in significant successes, such as:

A clear road map for reaching specific SEL outcomes
A decline in disciplinary actions among students
A new, culturally-responsive curriculum
High levels of SEL implementation

As teachers we talk a lot about ‘we don’t have time, we don’t have time.’ But in my perspective, I have a lot of academic time, because I’m [no longer] helping kiddos problem-solve, because we’ve [already] taught them how to do that and we’re continually reinforcing.
— Michelle Hahn, Tacoma Whole Child facilitator, Lister Elementary

Key Takeaways

Lister Elementary School’s approach to SEL evolved. Starting with establishing a school-wide emphasis on SEL, school leaders and staff members then integrated a focus on racial equity and restorative practices into its SEL approach.
Establishing common terminology about SEL and equity supported consistent and open communication between and among staff and students.
The focus on SEL and racial equity resulted in a decline in disciplinary actions among students.