It is undeniable that for something to work in your school, you need to generate teacher buy-in. Teachers are the ones in the classroom daily, implementing your grand plans. They are also exhausted, overworked, and short on time.

That leads us to the question. . . “How do we generate teacher buy-in?”.

Share the Data

By now, you hopefully have gathered data to prove that you need an SEL program. This data might include attendance, office referrals, and counseling requests.

Other forms of data that are very impactful are your student needs surveys. Survey your students if you have not already surveyed them to see where they feel they are struggling with school. You will also want to ask them to self-report if they know how to control their emotions. You will want them to report to you about their SEL skills.

Do a needs assessment if you have not done one yet. There are companies that you can use to run a needs survey. There are also needs surveys online for free, or you can create your own survey using google forms or another survey platform.

Share your data with your teachers. It will be challenging to gain their buy-in if they do not see a need for the program.

Show the Benefits

In the counseling world, many of us are aware of the benefits of SEL. We hear it at conferences, we read it in articles, and we see it during professional development. Your teachers might not be aware of the benefits of SEL.

Take the time to share the benefits of SEL with your teachers to obtain teacher buy-in. CASEL is an amazing resource that highlights the benefits of SEL. They even have videos you can share.

CASEL reports that Students participating in SEL programs showed improved classroom behavior, an increased ability to manage stress and depression, and better attitudes about themselves, others, and school. This means that students will be in the classroom longer.

The research shows us that when students are in the classroom longer, their academics improve. Standardized test scores go up. They have a clear mind to think and learn. Not only are they able to learn, but their fear of failure is decreased.

Check out our podcast episode and blog post on the benefits of SEL. It will be airing in a few weeks!

Designate a Time

We have so many things that we want to teach our students. Teachers are overwhelmed and often feel short on time. One way to reduce this is by establishing a set time to do SEL.

You can do this by creating an advisory period. We have an episode on this coming soon! Having an established time to do SEL will prevent anything from getting in the way. Teachers do not feel like you are taking away classroom time for a lesson they may or may not feel like teaching.

This is also a great time to build relationships with students. Classroom behavior and performance soar when we have solid relationships with our students.

Start Small

You might be super excited and eager to begin an SEL program. Remember that everyone in your school may not feel the same way you do. This is something new to them, and they will be cautious. Plus, you will have kinks to work out.

One suggestion is to start with a pilot group. Ask for volunteers. You will have some teachers that are very eager to try out an SEL program in their classrooms. Work out the kinks with them. They are going to be motivated to make it work and will give you good feedback.

There are several benefits to starting small. First, you can work out any kinks in your program.

Second, the teachers that are using your program are going to be a walking advertisement for it. They are going to generate teacher buy-in just by talking about their experiences. Teachers are more likely to get on board when they see it working for other teachers.

Last, your pilot teachers will be a great resource for the other staff in the building if they are having problems with the program.

Be a Teacher

Not every teacher feels comfortable teaching SEL. Be sure to give plenty of training to those teachers that want it. Show your staff the program you are using and how to use it.

During this time, if you have concerned teachers, offer to come into their classroom and model the program for them. Once you model a lesson, you can co-teach the next lesson and then observe the third lesson. This is a great way to offer step-down support.

Volunteer to give support and feedback. Make yourself available to teachers that have questions about the program. They might have questions beforehand or after they have taught a lesson or two.

Let them know that you are always available if a student’s concern comes up. They do not need to be counselors. You do not expect them to be counselors, just the facilitator of conversations. If something comes up, that goes above and beyond that, you are available.

Make it Easy to Generate Teacher-Buy-in.

Don’t forget to make it easy for them! What can you do to make the implementation as easy as possible? If your program has worksheets or copies that need to be made, put them in the teachers’ mailboxes. This is one less thing they need to worry about.

Layout a schedule for the entire year. This will help them always know what needs to be done and when. Add any additional activities to your schedule that you do during the designated time. Make a chart with the date, and activity title, and add the link to where they find the activity.

Ask them for their feedback. What can you do to make this easier for them? This will help them but also let them know that you are there to support them.

Pick a program that is teacher-friendly! The Mind Trek Program is very teacher-friendly. It offers an online version that teachers can play for the class and a scripted PDF version. Teachers can choose their preferred method.

SEL Unfiltered

Do you want to hear more? Check out Episode #2, Generating Principal Buy-in, on our SEL Unfiltered podcast, wherever you stream your podcasts.

You might also be interested in the rest of our series on buy-in. Check out our other episodes: Principal Buy-in, Student Buy-in, and Community Buy-in.

Game of the Week

Every week on SEL Unfiltered, we like to bring you a game or activity. You can use the game with your students, in the classroom, or in a small group. This week Kaitlin and I played a game of This or That.

This or That is very similar to Would you Rather. We used the actual game, but you can find many This or That questions online. You pull a token from the bag and ask the class This or That.

There are many variations you can play. One variation is that the class tries to guess which choice the student will pick. Kaitlin and I played this way, and it was a blast. This would work well in a small group.

If you are playing with an entire class, think about asking the question and then have the class answer. They can even stand on one side of the classroom for each answer. This is a great way to get the students up and moving. It also helps them realize that other people are like them.