Social-emotional learning (SEL) has become an essential component of education, helping individuals develop the skills necessary to navigate life’s challenges, build meaningful relationships, and achieve personal and professional growth. By fostering emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and interpersonal skills, SEL equips students with the tools they need to thrive.
This month, we celebrate National Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Week, beginning on March 3rd. SEL helps students understand and manage their emotions, set and achieve goals, build relationships, and practice empathy. By supporting students' health, safety, and overall wellness, SEL plays a crucial role in fostering academic success and personal growth.
My journey in youth development began in Chicago, where my agency collaborated with the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) to establish the first SEL learning standards for public schools. CASEL’s pioneering research laid the foundation for SEL integration into education nationwide. As I oversaw the incorporation of SEL principles into a new Youth Development curriculum, I witnessed firsthand the profound impact SEL had on students’ academic and personal development.
At Horizons at Carolina Day School, we deeply value the power of SEL and intentionally integrate it into our rigorous academic program, both during the summer and throughout the school year. Our mission to promote educational equity by fostering long-term partnerships with students, families, communities, and schools reflects our commitment to SEL.
CASEL’s vision reinforces our belief: “SEL advances educational equity and excellence through authentic school-family-community partnerships to establish learning environments and experiences that feature trusting and collaborative relationships, rigorous and meaningful curriculum and instruction, and ongoing evaluation. SEL can help address various forms of inequity and empower young people and adults to co-create thriving schools and contribute to safe, healthy, and just communities.”
Our strong partnerships with students, families, communities, and schools are what make our Horizons family unique. As we celebrate National SEL Week, we invite you to join us in recognizing the social-emotional growth of our students and the critical role SEL plays in their academic success. Together, we can continue to create a supportive and empowering learning environment for all.
My childhood summers could be encapsulated by the feeling of jumping in the water on a hot summer day, diving deep down in the water to explore the world from a new blue, green perspective, and the joy of doing a flip off the diving board. I swam mostly at a place called Barton Springs (you might have been there, it’s a great big spring-fed pool in the heart of Austin where the whole world seemed to come together to cool off when I was a kid). This was where my dad patiently taught me to swim and I lifeguarded there as I got older. Swimming brought me freedom and joy and play, but also swimming fostered in me a belief in community. Through that experience and the support that can come from feeling a part of a place, I built resilience and a belief in myself that remains with me today.
Many of our Horizons studentsdo not have the opportunity to learn to swim. Learning to swim and experiencing all the joys and freedoms and safety associated with that privilege is not something that many students from communities historically impacted by inequity enjoy. There are many factors at play influencing swim access - the availability of public pools (which I enjoyed), racial and economic disparities, affordable swim lessons or parents that can teach you. In fact, if parents don’t know how to swim, there’s only a 13% chance that their children will learn how to swim, according to a study from the USA Swimming Foundation and the University of Memphis. As well, water safety and swimming instruction saves lives. According to the CDC, in 2024 drowning was the second leading cause of unintentional injury death for children ages 5-14. And in swimming pools, Black children ages 10-14 years drown at rates 7.6 times higher than White children.
But at Horizons at Carolina Day School, ALL our students learn to swim and ALL participate in the YMCA’s Safety Around Water program. Some of our kindergartners have never even gotten their toes wet in a swimming pool, and slowly every Horizons student makes progress toward reaching the goal of being able to enjoy that freedom in the water - almost all being able to pass the YMCA’s swim test in the summer after 4th or 5th grade.
The work of making swim lessons and water safety accessible to all in our community is a key element of our Horizons program, and I know I can’t wait every summer to jump in the water and experience the joy of swimming together with our Horizons community!