COLLIER COUNTY - Collier County Public Schools (CCPS) is one of six school districts nationwide to receive technical assistance, collaborative support, and a $4,000 grant from AASA, The American Association of School Administrators, to enhance professional development and strengthen its social and emotional program.

AASA, the nation’s premier organization representing school system leadership, is partnering with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) to launch the SEL (Social and Emotional Learning) Impact Project to better enable school districts to realize the benefits of SEL and provide a more supportive and effective return to in-person learning.

“Every staff member at our schools cares deeply for our students and the support necessary for their success,” said Dr. Peggy Aune, Associate Superintendent of Teaching and Learning for CCPS. “Social and emotional learning provides a pathway for our students to be successful. This generous support will enable us to scale up our efforts to reach more students in the critical area of SEL, which will not only benefit the young learners in our community, but also at school districts within our region and beyond as we share the important work we’re currently engaged in.”

In addition to CCPS, other school districts receiving grants are Bullhead City Elementary School District, Bullhead City, AZ; Marshalltown Community School District, Marshalltown, IA; Moriarty-Edgewood School District, Moriarty, NM; Naperville Community Unit School District 203, Naperville, IL; and Virginia Beach City Public Schools, Virginia Beach, VA.

“The school districts we’ve chosen realize how critical SEL programming will be for students emerging from the relative isolation of the pandemic and returning to the typical social interactions at school,” said Daniel A. Domenech, Executive Director, AASA. “We feel these grants will serve as a catalyst for recipients to take bold initiatives that will yield new areas of exemplary practices that others can learn from.”

“The school districts receiving these grants are deeply committed in the area of social and emotional learning,” said Sheldon Berman, Lead Superintendent, AASA SEL Cohort. “This initiative highlights the important work being done in these districts and provides them with a pathway to bring that work to higher levels—all on behalf of the young learners they serve.”

Acceptance into the SEL Impact Project requires a commitment on the part of the participating districts to make SEL a strategic priority and to utilize the resources provided by the project to further SEL planning and implementation.