Domains
Social-Emotional Learning
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is the “process through which students acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions” (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning [CASEL], 2022). A focus on SEL helps cultivate skills in five interrelated areas (henceforth titled the “CASEL 5”), including: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsive decision-making (CASEL, 2022). The CASEL 5 “can be taught and applied at various developmental stages from childhood to adulthood and across diverse cultural contexts. Many school districts, states, and countries have used the CASEL 5 to establish preschool to high school learning standards and competencies that articulate what students should know and be able to do for academic success, school and civic engagement, health and wellness, and fulfilling careers” (CASEL, 2022).
Student Engagement
Kent ISD's Student Engagement Accelerators is a research-backed framework grounded in local and state-wide student voice. Kent County students shared what truly drives their engagement through focus groups, and their insights aligned with findings from the Handbook of Research on Student Engagement and Kent ISD's MI Student Voice survey: authentic engagement requires addressing behavioral, emotional, and cognitive dimensions of learning.
These five interconnected accelerators form the foundation of meaningful engagement in education:
- Relationships: Trust, empathy, and consistent care, anchoring learning in genuine human connection.
- Student-Centered Learning: Elevating voice, choice, and ownership so students feel agency and relevance in their learning.
- Climate & Environment: Cultivating safe, joyful, and belonging-centered spaces where students can take academic and emotional risks.
- Instructional Moves: Using high-leverage, curiosity-sparking practices that support deep learning and flexible thinking.
- Asset-Driven Teaching: Recognizing and building on students' identities, experiences, and strengths.
Belonging
The Belonging domain is designed to help school districts develop a robust understanding of supportive learning environments and students' sense of belonging. This domain is also designed to help districts understand how students develop a sense of belonging through promoting an inclusive environment, and learning about diverse perspectives and experiences related to cultural awareness and fairness.
Belonging refers to the extent to which students personally feel accepted, included, and supported at school - as valued members of the school community. A sense of belonging includes overall feelings of connectedness, mattering, and membership in school-based experiences and relationships with teachers and peers. “Belonging is a universal human need that is fundamentally linked to learning and well-being” (Healey & Stroman, 2021, as cited in Baumeister & Leary, 1995). A student’s learning environment and their confidence about performing in that environment are connected (Blad, 2017). Research states that students with a strong sense of belonging are more likely to feel understood, supported in their learning environments, respected, engaged in school, and to perform well academically.