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Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the Institute?
2. How is the Institute format?
3. Who should attend?
4. Can I receive academic credit?
5. If I have attended a past CSEE Summer Institute, what are the pros and cons of my attending for a second time?
6. I see that you will be inviting individuals and teams to consider a series of questions before the institute. I am not sure that I will have the time to focus on this. Do we need to do this?
7. If I have ideas that might aid your planning and/or the resources you are presenting at the Institute, can I send them to?
8. I see that the institute will include some information about policy. Historically, CSEE has not been involved with policy. Why this change?

What is the Institute?

This three day institute is designed to support school teams as well as individuals developing school climate improvement plans to promote safe and civil schools that support positive youth development, democratic school communities, student learning and achievement. The institute is organized around two processes: a continuous process of school climate improvement and evidence-based practices that promote safe and civil schools.

The Institute will provide important research-based guidelines and resources for school teams and individuals to reflect on current practice and develop new plans to promote safe and civil schools, measure and improve school climate. Research shows that when schools engage in these processes over time, student achievement, civic engagement and positive youth development significantly increases and school violence decreases.

Participants will join with colleagues to analyze case studies and experiences in their own schools, and to focus on ways to translate the core principles that characterize effective social, emotional, ethical and intellectual educational efforts into daily practice. Real-life examples will serve as the cornerstone for all presentations.

Throughout the Institute, two fundamental questions are asked:

• In what ways are we already using these strategies and practices in our classrooms and/or schools?
• What can we do to enhance our efforts in these areas?

Specifically, participants will:

1. Learn about recent research and best practices in social, emotional, ethical, civic and intellectual education.
2. Learn how to support a continuous process of measuring and improving school climate in ways that promotes academic achievement, student and parent engagement, democratic school communities and effective risk prevention/health promotion efforts.
3. Learn about classroom-based strategies and activities that further develop students' core social, emotional, ethical and intellectual abilities.
4. Learn about systemic strategies and crisis preparedness plans that foster a climate for learning and safety.
5. Begin developing action plans that build on your school's strengths, needs and goals.
6. Network with and learn from local and national leaders from the character education, social emotional learning, school climate, risk prevention and health promotion fields on the latest research, policy and practices.

At its best, an institute is a helpful "step" of an ongoing school improvement process. Prior to attending the Institute, members will receive two sets of information, suggestions and requests: (1) questions and pre-Institute goals that you may want to confer with colleagues in your school community about; and, (2) a request to gather information about your school (e.g. the schools mission statement; "code of conduct" and information about what you measure now) that we invite you to bring to the institute.

After the Institute, CSEE will provide an on-line forum to support all of us learning and teaching together about barriers and solutions to school climate improvement. CSEE also provides (optional) follow-up professional development opportunities for schools and networks of schools designed to support on-going, evidence-based school climate assessment and improvement efforts. This ongoing teaching and learning will become a part of the National School Climate Councils (http://nscc.csee.net/) effort to narrow the gap between school climate research and school climate policy and practice.

How is the Institute structured?

Institute sessions are varied and interactive. They include full-group meetings and breakout sessions in which participants have the opportunity to work in small groups and can learn about what to do, how to do it and how to get help.

The Institute integrates a variety of formats designed to enhance participants' experiences. These include:

• Keynote presentations
• Case studies
• Workshops
• Small groups: networking and action planning
• Informal evening activities

Who should attend?

• Teams of administrators, staff, teachers, parent liaisons, community leaders, and school-based mental health professionals who work in pre-K through 12: public, parochial and independent schools. Participants will have the opportunity to develop and/or build on past safe and civil school, social emotional learning, character education and whole school improvement efforts. Teams are encouraged to bring 3-5 members for optimal experience.
• Individuals who want to: change and/or enhance the current school and classroom climate, effectively promote students' social emotional competencies; reduce social emotional and/or physical violence and enhance a safe and caring school climate; and discuss and compare experiences or reaffirm or expand their repertoire of SEEA programs and strategies.

Can I get graduate college credit?

Registrants may earn three graduate credits by enrolling in the course Social, Emotional and Academic Education: Theory, Research, and Practice as part of the Summer Institute. This course is offered as part of the Institute in collaboration with the CUNY School of Professional Studies. Professor Cohen leads this course. Registrants who wish to earn graduate credit will enroll for the course through SPS.

The cost of tuition for this three-credit course is $810.00 plus a $40.00, non-refundable, application fee. If you are interested in enrolling in this course, contact Jennifer Lee by phone at (212)-817-7255 or by email at spsadmissions@mail.cuny.edu. Information about the program, as well as how to apply can be found on the SPS website at www.cuny.sps.edu/csee.

Graduate credit earned from SPS through the Summer Institute can be applied to the Social, Emotional and Academic Education Certificate program, offered by SPS. For more information, visit the SPS website www.cuny.sps.edu.

If I have attended a past CSEE Summer Institute, what are the pros and cons of my attending for a second time?

Every year CSEE's Institute changes based on two factors: participants feedback and our understanding of the field and what will support you to improve classroom and school life socially, emotionally, ethically and intellectually. This summer, we have significantly altered the Institute. It is even more focused on supporting teams and individuals to consider how to evaluate and improvement school climate on the one hand. And, the institute will also be grounded in five essential processes that support safe and civil schools; instructional, systemic, crisis preparedness, evaluation and policy-practice alignment related efforts. So, the pros are that you will learn about new material, many new presenters as well as new Institute participants. The con's are that there certainly will be some overlap from past years.

I see that you will be inviting individuals and teams to consider a series of questions before the institute. I am not sure that I will have the time to focus on this. Do we need to do this?

It is up to you. We certainly understand that educators are typically incredibly busy. We have also learned that when people spend even a minimal amount of time considering past and current efforts before they come to the institute, it is helpful.

If I have ideas that might aid your planning and/or the resources you are presenting at the Institute, can I send them to?

Yes! CSEE has always been learning as well as a teaching organization. In fact, we are deeply invested in understanding what people find most in the field and creating platforms to share this information with others.

I see that the institute will include some information about policy. Historically, CSEE has not been involved with policy. Why this change?

It is true that historically CSEE has been focused on translating research and best practices into educational guidelines and resource (e.g. books, our web site, training videotapes). However, over the last few years, we have learned - more and more - that research shapes policy, which in turn dictates practice guidelines. To most effectively foster socially emotionally and ethically informed school improvement we need to consider the policies (state and district level) and codes of conduct (building level) and work to insure that they are aligned with actual day-to-day school practice.