Best Practices for District-Wide Implementation of SEB Screenings
10 MIN READAuthor: Steven Dahl, M.Ed.
Director of Professional Learning & Content Development
The Center for Educational Effectiveness
Author: David Tudor
Director of K-12 Systems Change & Implementation
The Center for Educational Effectiveness
As the educational landscape shifts toward a more comprehensive view of student success, district leaders are increasingly turning to Social Emotional Behavioral (SEB) screenings. These tools provide a crucial insight into the student experience and pave the way for effective interventions. But how can districts best implement these screenings? The following best practices offer a roadmap for successful SEB screening initiatives.
In prior articles in this series, we provided the research-backed rationale for implementing SEB screenings and addressed the most common barriers for leaders to navigate. In this article, we will turn our attention to creating the roadmap for and indicators of a successful multi-faceted SEB screener implementation.
Setting the Stage for SEB Screenings
The journey toward implementing Social Emotional Behavioral (SEB) screenings is rooted in a deep-seated recognition of their intrinsic value: these screenings are a pivotal element in sculpting an educational environment that not only nurtures academic prowess but also fortifies the mental and emotional resilience of students. It is a proactive stance, one that underlines the commitment of educational leaders to embrace the multifaceted nature of student growth and well-being. By instituting SEB screenings, schools lay a strong foundation for a support system that is attuned to the holistic needs of students, recognizing that academic success is inextricably linked to social and emotional health.
Research backs the efficacy of this approach, with findings indicating that students who receive support in SEB areas exhibit notable improvements in academic performance. For instance, Durlak et al. (2011) conducted a meta-analysis revealing that students participating in SEL programs showed an 11-percentile-point gain in academic achievement compared to their non-participating peers. Additionally, a study by Jones et al. (2015) found that students with strong social-emotional competencies are twice as likely to attain a college degree in early adulthood. These facts underscore the tangible benefits of SEB screenings, highlighting the dual triumphs of enhanced student welfare and heightened academic outcomes.
Embracing SEB screenings is, therefore, a strategic and research-informed decision that can lead to a transformative educational culture—one where every student can thrive in a supportive and nurturing environment. The following items provided are the road markers districts need to be aware of to determine whether they are on the road to a quality implementation of a screener or veering off course.
Collaborative Planning
Involving a broad range of stakeholders from the onset ensures that multiple perspectives are considered. Engaging teachers, support staff, parents, and students in the planning process fosters a sense of shared purpose and commitment to the success of the SEB screening initiative.
Identify the Questions a Screener Will Address
One of the most important aspects to a quality screener implementation process is pre-determining the guiding questions that will be addressed through implementation. The School Mental Health Collaborative (SMHC) provides several valuable considerations including a list of guiding questions spanning the purposes of the screener to how the results will be used to support decision-making and providing student supports.
Connect Screener Data to Organizational Climate Priorities
Prioritizing the implementation of a proactive screener will support student success both academically and nonacademically. Districts are increasingly making the intersection of student wellness and achievement outcomes explicit which allows leaders to take advantage of this newfound clarity and throughline. Said differently, it’s best to think of implementing SEB screening as one side of a district’s strategic planning coin.
This emphasis shines through the Learning Policy Institute’s 2017 report, Encouraging Social and Emotional Learning in the Context of New Accountability, which emphasized that indicators for accountability purposes live in different categories ranging from individual students to the organizational level: “This report offers guidance on how states and districts might determine which measures of social and emotional learning, development, and supports they can use in different parts of their accountability and continuous improvement systems, and how they might use the resulting data. We consider (a) measures of students’ social and emotional skills, habits, and mindsets; (b) measures of school climate and supports for SEL; and (c) measures of student outcomes, such as chronic absenteeism and suspension rates, that are related to school climate and supports for SEL.”
The upshot is that systems lacking a SEB screener diminish their organization’s collective capacity to implement their strategic plan down to the classroom and individual level. At best, students experience a lack of coherent support strategies each day. At worst, there is a vast disconnect between the district’s espoused theory of action and its theory in action.
The often quoted saying “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” attributed to Peter Drucker applies here. Leaders are wise to implement a SEB screener in conjunction with their multi-year strategic plan because the two lenses are inextricably linked. Learn how Gwinnett County Public Schools, the 11th largest district in the nation with over 180,000 students, moved from reliance on surveys to implementing a SEB screening tool as a key component to achieving their district’s strategic goals focused on empathy, equity, effectiveness, and excellence.
Choosing the Right Tools
Selection of the appropriate screening tool is paramount. It should be evidence-based, culturally responsive, and align with the district's educational goals. The tool must be able to provide actionable data that can inform interventions and support services. As has been emphasized here, the ‘right tool’ is not based solely on cost alone but should be rooted in best practices that positively impact professionals responding to the needs of individuals, groups, and all students served by the organization. The ‘right tool’ is the one that fuels clarity around student need, staff responsiveness, and organizational coherence.
Professional Development
Professional development is essential for the effective implementation of Social Emotional Behavioral (SEB) screenings in schools. Educators need to be well-versed not only in administering these screenings but also in interpreting the results and taking appropriate action. To facilitate this, districts can harness Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to provide comprehensive training. Investing these resources in professional development ensures that staff are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to respond to the diverse needs of students, thus maximizing the impact of SEB screenings on student well-being and academic success. This strategic use of ESSER funds can transform the capacity of school systems to support the social and emotional health of their students.
Data Management and Privacy
Robust data management systems need to be in place to handle the sensitive information garnered from SEB screenings. Adherence to privacy laws and ethical standards is non-negotiable, and districts must ensure that data is used solely to enhance student support.
Actionable Insights and Interventions
The efficacy of Social Emotional Behavioral (SEB) screenings hinges on the actions they precipitate. For these screenings to truly benefit students, districts must develop detailed protocols that outline the process for converting data into tangible interventions. This process should encompass the creation of personalized support plans for individual needs, the implementation of targeted programs to address specific issues, and the initiation of comprehensive school-wide initiatives that promote overall well-being. It is the strategic application of this data that can steer educational efforts towards fostering a nurturing and responsive learning environment for all students.
Monitoring and Evaluation
Continuous evaluation of the SEB screening process is vital. Districts should monitor the implementation's effectiveness, assess the impact of interventions, and adjust practices based on the findings.
SEB Screener Defines Progress
Implementing SEB screenings is a strategic process that requires careful planning, execution, and evaluation. It's a commitment to education that values and nurtures the whole child, preparing them for the complexities of the world beyond the classroom. District leaders who embrace these best practices will find themselves at the helm of a transformative educational movement—one that truly understands and supports the multifaceted nature of student success. For example, Gwinnett County Public Schools’ shift to the use of SEB screenings equated to progress and has supported momentum as a system.
Leaders are encouraged to critically evaluate their current approach to both SEB screening and how the resulting data could prove to be transformative throughout their entire organization.
Please reach out to connect if we can be of assistance in any way to support your planning process or remove barriers to your progress.
If you would like to learn more about CEE’s Student Universal Wellness Screener (SUWS), [Click Here] to schedule a meeting or call 425-584-2354.
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