Credit: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning

The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), at the University of Illinois at Chicago, recently released a comprehensive guide, Safe and Sound: An Education Leader's Guide to Evidence-Based Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Programs (Download a PDF of the guide.) Considering the plethora of SEL programs being offered around the country and around the world, it's not surprising that educators, program developers, scientists, policy makers, and the general public are often overwhelmed when it comes to choosing the best program for their students.

Respected academicians, including Professors Maurice Elias, of Rutgers University, and Joseph Zins, of the University of Cincinnati, and CASEL executive director Roger Weissberg, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, conducted a three-year review of SEL programs and provide a well-informed guide to their effectiveness that demonstrates a deep understanding of what good programs look like that help children make healthy decisions and become self-confident, caring, responsible, and academically successful.