SEL in DeKalb County Schools

DCSD Vision of SEL

All DCSD students and staff will have the SEL skills and support needed to come to school feeling welcomed, supported, ready to learn, and capable of achieving educational excellence. DCSD’s Strategic Plan integrates academic and social-emotional growth to prepare students for the demands of the 21st century. Our theory of action includes DCSD’s commitment to the 3Es: Equity, Excellence and Empowerment. Our 3E focus on SEL highlights the district’s commitment to supporting students’ holistic success throughout their education and preferred future.

Our indicators of success:

  • All students will achieve our birth to postsecondary success milestones, and we will close access and achievement gaps
  • All students will grow towards the DCSD Vision of a Graduate
  • The District and DCSD schools will demonstrate all indicators of high-quality social emotional learning
  • DCSD schools will be at or above the 75th percentile for student and staff well-being as measured by district-wide surveys
Our core belief is to ensure we meet students’ academic, social, and emotional needs. By prioritizing SEL, DCSD will work to promote a community-wide approach and commitment to the value of SEL and its impact on students’ well-being and holistic success.
  • Providing support for social and emotional learning for all.
  • Increasing the % of staff trained in mental health awareness.
  • Increasing the % of staff trained in cultural competency and cultural awareness.
  • Our goal is to have 75% of staff trained in mental health awareness, and we have achieved a 73% completion of this goal.

To enhance the culture and climate of our learning community, we commit to focus our SEL programming on:

  • Creating and maintaining a safe, orderly, and positive learning environment for all.
  • Increasing the % of schools scoring 95% and above on the Safe Schools Audit rating.
  • Decreasing the number of in-school suspensions for all students.
  • Decreasing the number of out-of-school suspensions for all students.

Working in conjunction with the SEL framework to proactively address behaviors and set students up for success, the district also uses a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS). MTSS is a coherent continuum of evidence/research based, system-wide practices to support a rapid response to academic & behavioral needs, with frequent data-based monitoring for instructional decision-making to empower each student to achieve.

SEL Curriculum for Elementary and Middle School Students

  • DCSD will utilize the Second Step program for our students in grades K-8.
  • Recommended Scope and Sequence for Second Step Curriculum for grades K-8.

SEL Curriculum for High School Students

  • DCSD utilizes the Navience platform for our students in grades 9-12.

In addition to academic rigor and skill development, schools have a responsibility to address many contextual factors, including culture, health, safety, physical and mental health, socioeconomics, and social emotional learning. SEL is essential to creating schools that effectively prepare all students to succeed in school and in life. Therefore, DCSD is excited to expand its school wide SEL implementation through collaboration, problem-solving and continuous improvement.

schoolwide sel graphicDCSD Crisis teams are deployed to provide care response and recovery whenever schools experience the death of a staff member, student, or other significant crisis. The members of the crisis team include social workers, psychologists, and counselors. The focus is on recovery, grief support, and sharing and validation of emotions. Students who need more intensive grief or mental health support are referred to the appropriate services.