SEL Data In Action at Mineola UFSD, NY

The Challenge

Mineola UFSD was implementing a mindset-focused combination of social-emotional learning (SEL) programs but had no way to know how students were progressing with SEL skill development. Unlike other curricular areas where they regularly administered formative and summative assessments, Mineola educators had no assessment data to guide instruction and measure growth for SEL outcomes.

“We can’t expect students to have confidence without a measure of acknowledged competence.”
– Jennifer Maichin, Instructional Leader at Mineola UFSD

The Solution

In the fall of 2020 Mineola UFSD began implementing SELweb, a web-based system designed to assess key social-emotional skills that are associated with success in school and life and that are the targets of evidence-based social-emotional learning programs.

The Results

This data-informed approach to skill development and instruction improved teaching and learning and yielded significant growth in SEL outcomes. Across grades K-4 districtwide 5% more students met or exceeded national standards for overall SEL competency in the spring of 2021 versus the fall of 2020. Students demonstrated growth across all four SEL competency areas, with the greatest gains (11%) in social perspective-taking, where many PLC teams had decided to focus greater attention. In addition, every K-4 grade-level team had the greatest increase in the competency in which they set their fall goal.