This summer, our research team published three papers exploring topics related to who and what we teach, and how we assess SEL while continuing work on a comprehensive meta-analysis to update the state of the evidence for universal, school-based SEL interventions. If you are interested in learning more or contributing studies to the analysis , please visit the project webpage.
P.S. 60 Alice Austen School Featured in The New Yorker
P.S. 60’s school Charter
Third graders at P.S. 60 Alice Austen School (Staten Island,NY) use their emotion skills to help them be their best selves and educators create a learning environment where emotions matter. Take a closer look inside this RULER school in this New Yorker article.
2021 Marvin Maurer Award Winner: Mariela Chevry
Parents and caregivers have become even more important to their children’s education in the past few years, as life in a pandemic required more coordination between home and school due to navigating constant changes. Mariela Chevry, a parent coordinator at P.S. 101Q - The School in the Gardens, is responsible for bridging the gap between school and home life and has made it her mission to prioritize the importance of emotion skills with students and their families. Her incredible work earned her the 2021 Marvin Maurer Award for Outstanding Implementation with Families.
Joining a new staff can be challenging. It means learning about the culture and climate of the school, in addition to finding ways to make meaningful connections. School administrators often set the tone by empowering staff, students, and families and modeling best practices for their school communities. When Mariela joined the staff at P.S. 101Q, her principal did just that for their school. “I saw how passionate she (her principal) was, and I noticed that when we had meetings she would ask, ‘How are you feeling?’ and she really wanted to know,” Mariela explained. The principal’s commitment to the approach and enthusiasm piqued Mariela’s curiosity.
After learning more about RULER, Mariela felt inspired to help students and their families grow emotion skills together. Her first step was to bring the RULER tools and skills into her own home. She wanted her children to be empowered to express their feelings and to feel free to ask her questions. She wanted them to experience the permission to feel, the same permission she was granted by her principal, the permission that she did not have as a child growing up in a culture where expressing emotions was discouraged. Mariela remembers vowing as a child that when she became a parent, she “would not rule with an iron fist.” Even at a young age, she knew that she wanted her children’s experience to be different than her own. RULER provided exactly what she needed to enhance the great relationship she already had with her own children and to allow her to keep the promise she made to herself as a child. With this in mind, she knew that if RULER could open these doors for her, surely it could for other parents.
Mariela with her 2021 Marvin Maurer Award.
One of the goals of P.S. 101Q is to have an emotionally intelligent community that includes educators, staff, students, and their families. Recognizing the impact of bringing RULER into her own home, Mariela set out to reach as many families as possible. Mariela started by partnering with P.S. 101Q’s Parent Association so that families were aware of how RULER was being used with students. “We wanted our children to use what they learn about RULER, not just while they are in our school with us, but to really take it home and exercise what they learn and develop it more.”
A flyer from Mariela’s book club for families
Mariela’s number one goal has always been to educate parents. She firmly believes that the only way for students to learn the skills and tools of emotional intelligence is to practice them both at school and at home. She has found great success in hosting parent workshops where staff members teach families about the RULER skills and approach, the vocabulary they may hear, and the responses they may get to questions they have, based on what their children were learning at school. As more families come on board, Mariela shares more RULER for Families resources and even encourages families to read Permission to Feel as part of her book club for families. Through her leadership, she uncovered how passionate families and caregivers can be about earning an emotion education, while their children are earning theirs.
““Parents didn’t realize that they were helping us meet our goals of having an emotionally intelligent school community by helping themselves.””
Parent Coordinators, like Mariela, are key members of the RULER Implementation Team. RULER works when everyone in a school community shares a common language around emotions. At the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, we consider Mariela Chevy a leader in the school to-home partnership. When we can bridge what is being done in the classroom and create helpful conversations at home around emotions, families grow together. We are honored to have Mariela Chevry pioneering best practices in this part of our work.
2021 Marvin Maurer Award Winner: Reyna Texler
Reyna Texler, the Lead SEL Teacher at the North Rockland Central School District in NY and 2021 recipient of the Marvin Maurer Award, shares her RULER journey and how fond memories of her 5th grade teacher led her to become just like the teacher she once had as a child.
When asked why they became teachers, many educators share that they aspired to be a cherished teacher they had as a student or to become the teacher they never had. As a young student, Reyna Texler was fortunate enough to have exemplary teachers who inspired her journey to become an educator who would positively impact the lives of her students. She credits her 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Bunyard, as one of them. Mrs. Bunyard created a physically and emotionally safe learning environment where students felt free to share their feelings because they knew that they were genuinely loved and cared for. “She made us feel like there was nothing she couldn’t help us with.”
Fast forward decades later to Reyna’s education preparation experience as she worked toward obtaining certification as a classroom teacher. She found herself drawn to learning more about addressing the social and emotional needs of students. Doing so meant implementing many of the strategies and techniques she benefited from as a 5th grader sitting in Mrs. Bunyard class. That same spark was reignited years later when the School Improvement Planning Team at her school initiated their SEL journey with the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.
Reyna is incredibly passionate and driven about integrating SEL into her practice. One of her most notable initiatives was the creation of the West Haverstraw Elementary School reflection room. The reflection room is a dedicated space where students can check in with their emotions on the Mood Meter, practice mindful breathing, touch base with Reyna, and more. When the COVID-19 pandemic closed West Haverstraw’s doors, Reyna took action. Having witnessed the benefits of the reflection room, she knew that her students needed a virtual option. Leveraging her creativity, tech-savvy, and care for her students, Reyna created the North Rockland Virtual Reflection Room. Here, students and their families experiencing a range of emotions could continue growing their emotion skills.
“ “RULER has helped me to grow both personally and professionally. It has helped me to gain a deeper understanding of the science of emotions and how they influence every aspect of our lives,” she states. “The RULER skills have helped me to communicate my feelings, become a better listener, have greater empathy, give myself and those I connect with permission to not only feel but have a healthy relationship with the full spectrum of our emotions. I’m a better wife, friend, family member, and educator because of it!””
When asked about Reyna’s candidacy for the Marvin Maurer Award, Dr. Marc Brackett has this to say:
“Reyna’s dedication to creating more positive learning environments for students is inspirational. From her RULER hallway boards to her social media inspiration, to the incredible ways she has leveraged technology to continue RULER implementation with students and their families, Reyna is an educator my Uncle Marvin would admire.” The RULER community is grateful for Reyna. Without a doubt, Mrs. Bunyard would be proud.
Dr. Marc Brackett and Reyna Texler at the 2020 RULER Implementation Conference.
Reyna is a respected SEL thought leader and influential voice who can be found serving as a keynote speaker sharing the importance of making families an instrumental part of the RULER process. Learn more about Reyna by following her on Twitter @Ruby_SneakersRT and on Instagram @reyna_rubysneakers.
2022 Marvin Maurer Award Winner: Maureen Lang
Maureen Lang is a lifelong educator and recipient of the 2022 Marvin Maurer award for school-wide and district-wide RULER implementation. Starting her career as a classroom teacher and later moving into administration, Maureen roots her work in the importance of building relationships with her colleagues, students, and their families. Early in her career, becoming a teacher was her way of ensuring she could build meaningful relationships that made a difference in others’ lives. When we asked Maureen what brings her joy, she said, “the ability to get to know other people.”
As the Executive Director of Learning Services at Academy District 20 in Colorado, Maureen and Academy District 20 began their work with RULER seven years ago. Like many schools and districts implementing RULER, integrating the approach into the fabric and culture of the community has taken Academy District 20 years. In the last few years, the district created their first strategic plan, which included RULER as their systemic approach to social and emotional learning (SEL).
Maureen with her Learning Services Leadership Team which supports the implementation of SEL in her district.
Strategy and Impact
When RULER and SEL became an even more vital component of Academy District 20’s strategy, Maureen recognized the importance of defining SEL. Being able to clearly define what SEL is, how it benefits the district community, and how it relates to the district’s core set of values was a critical step to instill confidence, especially with parents.
Defining SEL
In speaking with Maureen, her drive for a well-rounded RULER implementation strategy, based on clear and measurable data, was balanced with passion for the relationships she has in her community. She can see the big picture and drill down to the best practices that have helped make RULER a success over the last seven years.
Start Here
Continuing to Lead the Work
Maureen’s response to winning the Marvin Maurer Award was “this is just what I do!” She emphasized that she would not be able to do this without a team of leaders and educators at Academy District 20 who have supported RULER implementation every step of the way.
Receiving the Marvin Maurer Award
The momentum that Academy District 20 has built behind RULER and SEL is incredible and something in which Marvin Maurer would have taken deep pride. Next steps for Maureen and Academy District 20 include:
Aligning Colorado’s new social and emotional wellness standards with RULER classroom content
Analyzing new SEL survey data to be used as a baseline for future initiatives
Conducting focus groups with students and staff to learn more about their social and emotional needs
Developing and supporting the social and emotional leads at each school
On behalf of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, we feel humbled by and grateful to leaders like Maureen who make it their life’s mission to make a difference through SEL.
2022 Marvin Maurer Award Winner: Rafa Abrego
Rafa Abrego, an emotional intelligence advocate and educator, is the recipient of the 2022 Marvin Maurer award for his excellence in international communication and implementation of RULER. Rafa holds an M.B.A. and degree in computer science. Although he will tell you that his professional training has nothing to do with emotional intelligence, he also will say that RULER has changed his life and the lives of the students with which he works.
Rafa is the Director of Innovation and Student Life at Tecnológico de Monterrey in México. He was introduced to RULER and began integrating the approach into his personal and professional life seven years ago. Around this time, Rafa experienced a tremendous loss a of a friend to suicide. Through this experience, he became engaged in creating an environment at PrepaTec where students and educators has permission to feel supported by a common language around emotions.
RULER is a Lighthouse
In the wake of the pandemic, leadership at PrepaTec recognized the importance of preserving the reputation of their high-performing schools while administering to the social and emotional needs of students and their families. Rafa was instrumental in ensuring that the skills, tools, and principles of emotional intelligence were accessible to 35 high schools 27,000 students, and 300 educators in the PrepaTec system.
High Tech, High Touch
With many events being virtual, Rafa and our other 2022 Marvin Maurer Award winners received their awards in the mail. All of our award recipients described receiving the award to be a humbling experience. Rafa explained his experience in ways only an expert in RULER would be able to do, in terms of his emotional journey around the Mood Meter.
Receiving the Marvin Maurer Award
Rafa acknowledges that the work with RULER is never done. When asked about his goals for the future, he explained looking forward to a day when RULER can be accessible to all schools, both private and public, in México. As RULER reaches schools across the globe, leaders can turn to people like Rafa who have had great success in creating awareness and opportunities.
Drs. Chris Cipriano and Barbara Pape Offer Strategies for Building a Climate of Belonging in Schools
In a recent op-ed in The 74, Dr. Chris Cipriano, Director of Research at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, and Dr. Barbara Pape, Sr. Director of the Learner Variability Project at Digital Promise, discuss strategies schools can use to nurture a sense of belonging for each student.
Granting Yourself and Others Permission to Feel
Most educators hope to leave a lasting, positive impression on students. We smile when students come back to visit us or when they share stories of how they were touched by something we said or did years ago that supported them years later. We may think to ourselves: this is what makes the hard work of teaching worthwhile.
This month, we honor an educator whose legacy lives on in this way and in the work at the Yale Center of Emotional Intelligence. We honor Marvin Maurer, who not only gave his nephew, Center Director, Dr. Marc Brackett, permission to feel, but who served as a model of why we celebrate and appreciate teachers.
This month, we invite you to join us in honoring the legacies of Uncle Marvin Maurer and teachers everywhere.
Congratulate the 2022 Marvin Maurer awardees: Bonnie Brown, Rafa Abrega and Maureen Lang. All were acknowledged during this year's RULER Implementation Conference. Tune into the news and events section on our website or on social media this month for their stories.
Share a story of how an exemplary educator in your life gave you permission to feel. Invite students in your school to do the same. Post the stories on social media accounts and use #BeAnUncleMarvin. Don’t forget to check the hashtag throughout the month to learn about other educators who are making a difference in the lives of their students.
Share our new staff development facilitation guide, Permission to Feel with the adults in your school community to. Hear what Uncle Marvin meant to students, brainstorm how envisioning your best self can help you live your why, and learn how to grant yourself and others permission to feel.
2022 Marvin Maurer Award Winner: Bonnie Brown
Bonnie Brown is a lifelong educator and recipient of the 2022 Marvin Maurer award for lifetime achievement. She began her career as a teacher and moved on to become a staff developer, director of operations of special education system, and then superintendent of special education in NYC. The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence has the great fortune of Bonnie’s expertise as a senior coach and trainer for over 12 years.
RULER became a part of her 37-year long career journey when she was working in a NYC district that served children with cognitive, behavioral, and physical challenges. These students needed many extra/support services and staff to work with them. As such, they could not attend their local community schools. At that time, Bonnie worked with anywhere between 11,000 - 12,000 students, identified as “emotionally challenged” who were in need of direct behavioral interventions. She aspired to make a difference in the future lives of these children. She hoped for them to develop the skills necessary to identify the cause and effect of their behaviors and the tools to regulate their emotions so that they could eventually return to their local neighborhood schools.
Getting Started with RULER in NYC Schools
Bonnie continued piloting RULER with her schools and kept a watchful eye on implementation fidelity as well as measurable outcomes. She saw firsthand the impact RULER had on students and staff was creating positive change in the school communities she served.
The Impact with Students
The Impact with Staff
Bonnie’s work with RULER in NYC schools is on aspect of her accomplished career. As an advocate for social and emotional learning, she worked closely with the team as the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence grew. This included Marvin Maurer himself.
Bonnie and Uncle Marvin
As the Yale Center for Emotional intelligence celebrates its eight-year anniversary this year since it transitioned from the Health, Emotion, and Behavior Laboratory, we celebrate the educators who have helped bring RULER to over 3,500 schools across the globe. This wouldn’t be possible without leaders like Bonnie Brown who put Uncle Marvin’s teachings and words into action.
How to discipline in the heat of a moment
How parents discipline in the heat of the moment has a lasting impact on the emotional well-being of their children. Dr. Marc Brackett encourages parents to take the approach of a "compassionate emotion scientist" who seeks to understand the emotions behind why children are behaving a certain way.
YCEI and YSM Staff Pen Op-Ed on the Power of Emotions During the End-of-Life Journey
Emotion skills can help us all reframe our relationship with death. In this op-ed in Better, YCEI’s Krista Smith, Dr. Robin Stern, and Yale School of Medicine’s Dr. Emily Mroz share advice from the late Dr. Roger Weissberg that can help us all navigate the end-of-life journey.
YCEI Releases Brief on Making Universal SEL Accessible for All
SEL approaches are often designed in ways that are inaccessible to students with learning differences, like autistic students. A team at YCEI is working to create inclusive practices that support accessible SEL for all learners. Read the latest research brief on how to integrate support for executive functioning within SEL.
Yale Daily News Covers the Importance of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy
New Haven Public Schools have increased support of culturally responsive pedagogy amidst challenges caused by the pandemic. In this Yale Daily News article, YCEI's School Climate Walkthrough is featured as a way for students and teachers to address changes needed to improve learning environments.
Dr. Chris Cipriano Talks Family Life and SEL in The Tot
Bringing SEL home to family life can have its benefits. YCEI Director of Research, Dr. Chris Cipriano, describes how creating a foundation where emotions are valued creates stronger and healthier family connections in this The Tot article.
Building Emotion Skills Through Literature
We know that literature is a great way to introduce students to concepts and themes. It also can help us learn about emotions through characters. How many times have you read a book, immediately connected with a character, and learned from their experiences? Perhaps something about their situation resonated with you, or maybe you or someone you love shared a lived experience. When we can identify with characters, we tend to learn more from them. In this way, literature can help us understand and label our emotions, develop empathy for others, and evaluate strategies to regulate our own emotions and achieve our goals.
If we are to help ourselves and our students navigate emotions in ways that best serve us as individuals, we can look for examples of how emotions have impacted the lives of others. Exploring examples of real or fictional character triumphs and tragedies through fiction and non-fiction literature allows us to take on the perspectives of others. Having students role play or rewrite story or scene endings helps them explore cause and effect, illustrating how action or inaction fueled by emotions has consequences.
Schools with access to RULER Online can use the links below to view some books that can be used to spark Early Childhood and Elementary discussions about feelings:
Do you have a book that has helped you or your students become better emotion scientists? Please share your recommendation with us so that we can add it to our book lists. We are looking for books at every level: Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle, and High School. We are also open to book suggestions for the adults in students’ lives. Add your recommendation here. We will publish the updated book lists in a future edition of the newsletter.
RULER Mentor School, John Philip Sousa Elementary, in the News!
RULER Mentor Team. From the left; Jen Biblowitz, Meg Sheehan, Marisa Johnson, Suzy Potucek, Maria Buffolino and Jane Candido. (Contributed photo)
It's always great to see RULER schools in the news. John Philip Sousa Elementary was recently accepted into the RULER Mentor School program headed by Kathryn Lee. Learn more about their RULER Implementation team's work with the approach in the article below.
Emotional Intelligence Goes to Work
Like the school communities with which we work, corporate America is also feeling the effect of the emotional rollercoaster caused by the pandemic. In this Charter article, the author elevates the importance of emotion skills to work.
Community School District 10: Creating Positive Communities with the Charter
The emotional climate within schools directly impacts teaching and learning. Research shows that schools with more positive emotional climates have students and staff who report being more engaged and having better relationships with each other. The Charter is one of the four RULER tools that allows all the members of a school community the opportunity to express how they want to feel at school and the behaviors to support those feelings. Charters can be created for groups such as the entire school community, one grade level, staff, classrooms, families, and out-of-school programs.
Building a Charter is the first step to getting the full benefit from this tool. What is arguably just as important is making the Charter a “living document.” As we mention in RULER training, Charter creation is not a “one and done” process. Keeping the Charter alive and reflective of the people who created it is critical. Schools have strategies that make the Charter part of their culture and create opportunities where the Charter can be updated to reflect the needs of the community.
NYC District 10 school teams are keeping the Charter alive in ways that integrate into the existing culture of the school. We interviewed educators about how they incorporate the Charter into their work with staff and students.
Students at P.S. 303 proudly display their classroom Charter. The Charter is one of the four RULER tools that allows all the members of a school community the opportunity to express how they want to feel at school and the behaviors to support those feelings. Charters can be created for groups such as the entire school community, one grade level, staff, classrooms, families, and out-of-school programs.
Raising Staff and Student Voice
Creating and revisiting Charters can be a fantastic way to engage the creative talents of educators and students. P.S. 86 uses the Charter process as a method to raise staff and student voice. Each year, new staff members are asked to create a symbol and artwork that exemplifies the words chosen for their school’s staff Charter. Grade-wide Charter creation is led by a student charter committee who works with the staff RULER implementation team member for that grade. Each class chooses a representative to contribute and represent the class's creative ideas for the Charter. The students develop ideas and with their classmates for feelings and behaviors. The Charter committee then works on writing a paragraph together which explains the actions the students in that grade will take to live their Charter words. Next, the students work to create a piece of artwork together through painting, drawing, and other forms of mixed media. The final product is the grade’s Charter.
Aligning the Charter and School Mission Statements and Values
In addition to staff, grade-level, and classroom Charters, schools can work together to establish a schoolwide Charter. P.S. 051 works to make sure that their school Charters align with their school’s identity. This means taking the school logo, mission, and values into account when creating and revisiting their Charter. P.S. 008 connects their Charters to the schoolwide pillars of character. Since the Charter specifically focuses on feelings and behaviors, it couples nicely with other character-building initiatives a school might use. Even though a school mission statement and values can stay consistent throughout the years, the Charter is a tool that is meant to be adjusted to reflect the needs of the school community at any given time.
Using the Charter as an Outgrowth of Equity Work
Educators, students, and families in District 10 schools frequently participate in equity walkthroughs. This process includes welcoming community members to tour the school to observe where equity lives. If there are aspects of the school environment that the community does not identify with, a plan of action is defined to address it. District 10 also works with NYU Steinhardt’s Metropolitan Center or Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools to examine curricula using the culturally responsive education audit tool.
The Charter can serve as a tool to guide and reinforce equity work like walkthroughs and curriculum adjustments. If a community states in their Charter that they want to feel included, supported, or heard, conducting frequent equity walkthroughs is an action or behavior to support feeling for the community. In this way, District 10 is living the Charter and making it part of a strategic initiative to sustain positive school climate.
Thanks to Good Samaritan, Inc.’s generous grant, District 10 is able to continue RULER implementation, supported by the RULER subscription, as part of our priority districts initiative. Their goals are the goals of so many other schools looking to use the power of emotions to create a more equitable, innovative, and compassionate world.
—> Join us in the coming months as we visit with District 10 educators, students, and their families to see what RULER in Action looks like and how it changes lives. We are thrilled to partner with this dynamic district to highlight how they leverage RULER to move forward as a community.
Are you interested in giving more districts the opportunity to implement RULER? Please visit our Donate page.
Learn more about District 10 and its commitment to creating more emotionally intelligent school communities in our previous articles
Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence Awarded the 2022 Horizons National Hero Award
Dr. Marc Brackett and Charlene Voyce accept the 2022 Horizons National Hero Award.
The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence (YCEI) has been named as one of two recipients of a 2022 Horizons Hero Award, which recognizes those who contribute in extraordinary and sometimes unexpected ways to the Horizons National Network. Horizons National supports a network of out-of-school time academic and youth development programs bringing science, art, reading, math, field trips, swimming, and much more to students in communities where those experiences are not available or not equally accessible.
YCEI and the Horizons Network's collaboration dates back to 2018 when work began with the center's out-of-school time learning team to create a pilot program to implement the RULER Approach at six Horizons sites in Georgia and Connecticut. In 2019, Horizons National and YCEI hosted a pre-conference RULER training for 45 Horizons leaders, which led to the implementation of RULER at over 20 Horizons sites.
Through tools designed at YCEI to enhance emotion skills, like Classroom Charters and the Mood Meter, Horizons students practice strategies to help them use emotions wisely, build healthier relationships, and promote more positive school climates. Since 2019, continued professional development and listening opportunities with Dr. Marc Brackett, Charlene Voyce, and Ashton Killilea Gauthier at YCEI have helped bring RULER to more than 30 Horizons sites and thousands of students and their families.
“Our collaboration with Horizons National has been such an enriching experience. Program leaders and teachers have really embraced the work and their enthusiasm for RULER is inspiring. And it’s been a win-win. Throughout our work together, they have shared insights and ideas that have made what we do even better!” – Charlene Voyce, Associate Director of Out-of-School Time at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence
“When pursuing a whole-child approach, you can’t separate emotional learning from academic learning. Our ongoing work with Yale has allowed us to go deeper in this understanding, strengthening not only our instructional delivery in support of students, but also supporting educators and program leaders in building their own social-emotional competencies.” – Deana Darling, Senior Director, Program Support & Innovation at Horizons National
The Horizons Hero Awards were presented at the Annual Dinner celebration during Horizons National’s 2022 Annual Conference, which convenes Horizons program leaders, teachers, and board members from more than 65 Horizons programs in 20 states.
Patterns of psychological vulnerabilities and resources in artists and nonartists.
Dr. Zorana Ivcevic Pringle's paper, "Patterns of psychological vulnerabilities and resources in artists and nonartists" is now available in Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. Her exploratory analyses showed that creative achievement is predicted by the interaction of high vulnerabilities and resources and that this effect is significant beyond the predictive power of openness to experience and age.