The New Jersey Department of Education, in collaboration with the Social-Emotional and Character Development Lab at Rutgers University, is in the process of developing a statewide training series for school leaders on implementing systemic SEL in schools. This asynchronous SEL leadership course will include five modules, each 1.5 hours in length. Once finalized, the course will be available for all current and aspiring school leaders via a virtual platform.

To garner feedback from a diverse group of educational leaders with various levels of familiarity and involvement in fostering social and emotional learning for both staff and students, the NJDOE and Rutgers are seeking to recruit up to 30 New Jersey school leaders and aspiring school leaders within public, charter, or renaissance schools to participate in a focus group, according to an NJDOE advisory.

Participants will provide feedback on both the pedagogy and content of the SEL leadership modules that will be incorporated into the course.

Participants must:
• Be employed in a K-12 public, charter, or renaissance school in New Jersey.
• Be a school leader or aspiring school leader with interest in the application of SEL within schools.
• Have capacity to spend up to 4.5 hours outside of contracted school hours to review materials from three
learning modules in preparation for the focus group session.
• Attend a one-hour virtual focus group to be held after contracted hours the week of July 29, 2024.
• Following attendance at the focus group, submit final feedback through a brief online survey.

Next Steps

Prospective participants should fill out this Microsoft Teams form. All submissions must be received by June 23, 2024.

For any questions or technical assistance needs, please contact the Office of Student Support Services via email or by phone at 609-396-9109.