New Report Highlights Early Lessons from SEAL Implementation

Our partner, the Wallace Foundation, recently released a report that presents findings from the first two years of the SEAL Initiative, a multiyear, multi-city project that Denver is participating in to build the capacity of select day-school and afterschool providers to integrate social, emotional and academic learning into their practices, staff structure and goals for youth. 

As the most comprehensive study of SEAL implementation to date, the report highlights early lessons that are useful to those carrying out SEAL instruction in schools, afterschool programs, or both. According to Maxine Quintana, director of out-of-school-time initiatives for the City and County of Denver and DAA’s lead, the lesson that is most relevant to sustaining Denver’s SEAL work moving forward is developing adults’ capacity to promote SEAL in across their organizations, schools and programs. 

“Turnover in the afterschool world is real,” she says. “We have created a comprehensive professional learning series that addresses this reality. Grounded in Relationships, Planning and Presence, this series provides a space for staff to build their own SEAL skills and sets them up for success as they begin working with young people. The DAA’s goal is to build the capacity of all youth-serving organizations to integrate SEAL into their practices, staff structures, and goals for the youth they serve.” 

To read the full Wallace Foundation report, click here, and watch this video to learn more. For more information on the DAA’s Relationships, Planning and Presence series, click here, and sign up for future trainings here.