The Willows and Celsiusskolan: Sharing our RULER & SEL Experience

To fully support each child’s educational journey, in addition to a comprehensive academic curriculum, it is crucial to provide a framework that also nurtures their emotional intelligence. For the past 10 years, The Willows has integrated the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence RULER approach to Social Emotional Learning (SEL) throughout our school community. Our commitment to SEL & the RULER approach has grown steadily, and recently, four teachers and Head of School, Lisa Rosenstein, had the opportunity to share our integration of the RULER approach with Celsiusskolan, a school in Edsbyn, Sweden!

“This exciting opportunity to share in a cultural exchange to train and observe Swedish teachers and educational practices was eye-opening,” says Lily Solomon. “We are a community school and this exchange takes “community” to an international level.”

The Willows is conducting a professional development, international collegial learning faculty exchange with the Celsiusskolan school, to discuss and observe classes focusing on the integration of our Yale RULER approach into curriculum, and other curricular highlights. Led by 4th Grade Teacher and RULER Team Chair Lily Solomon, the team presented on the implementation of the RULER approach into The Willows curriculum and life of the school.

“This exciting opportunity to share in a cultural exchange to train and observe Swedish teachers and educational practices was eye-opening,” says Lily Solomon. “We are a community school and this exchange takes “community” to an international level.”

The Willows RULER Journey

Describing the process in which the approach was implemented into our school’s community, the team detailed four distinct steps:

1 - Implementation

2 - Community Buy-In

3 - Innovation

4 - Integration/Training

The Impact of RULER & SEL

The effects of SEL & the RULER approach at The Willows can be seen throughout the school. In a visual sense, RULER tools such as Mood Meters, Class Charters, and Best Self creations are posted in each classroom, but more importantly, the emphasis on SEL helps students recognize the impact and validity of their own emotions. When students can self-regulate, it helps to create a co-regulated community, in which teachers & staff are able to work with their emotions more effectively as well. Creating an inclusive and supportive culture is just one byproduct of a well-regulated community, but in the classroom, SEL can also lead to other benefits.

One of the key points the team discussed was the effect that SEL has had on reading comprehension and literacy. Specifically mentioning how 6th Graders at The Willows read The Outsiders by S.E Hinton, they showed examples of character charts, in which students identify the emotions and motivations of each character in the novel. A developed emotional intelligence allows students to comprehend literature in a deeper manner, being able to clearly distinguish how emotions and relationships play a major role in each character’s development throughout the plot. This work provides a foundation and a wide-ranging impact, whether inside or outside the classroom.

The Willows is proud to be a RULER Spotlight School and grateful to have the opportunity to visit Celsiusskolan through a Swedish grant to share our experiences and findings using the RULER approach. Teachers from Celsiusskolan will arrive at The Willows for a week this fall. There will be an additional teacher exchange in the Spring 2024 and international zooms to follow up on the trips and discuss implementation in the classroom from the curricular ideas and classroom practices shared. Our commitment to world-wide community continues!

Learn More About The Social Emotional Learning At The Willows