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The Purpose of the SEL Committee:

Was established in 2021 to support Affiliates with supporting their Dreamers and implementing and streamlining Social Emotional Learning
Comprised of 6 members across 4 Affiliates and National
Meets monthly for updates and next steps
Created the annual (pre and post) SEL Survey

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How did the SEL Survey come about?

Social Emotional Learning has been a long standing pillar of IHDF and the work we do with our Dreamers
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Center for Education Statistics reported students socio-emotional development was negatively impacted
Additionally, they reported 84% of public schools agreed or strongly agreed students’ behavioral development has also been negatively impacted

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The Survey

Self-awareness- full consciousness of one’s own feelings, behavior, desires, etc.
Self- management- the ability to handle one’s own feelings, behaviors, desires, etc. with full accountability
Responsible decision making- being able to make a decision that take into consideration one’s autonomy, accountability and consequences.
Relationship skills- the ability to create and maintain relationships that promote wellness
Social awareness- being able to give empathy and share a variety of perspectives of those around us with empathy

This is an annual survey is administered:

(pre)August- October with November 1^st deadline

(post)April- May- with May 31^st deadline

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The Survey

Categories	Pre K- 5th	6^th- 8^th	9^th- 12^th
Pre- Survey	Affiliate Name (optional) Mentoring program (1) Check- in question (1)	Affiliate Name (optional) Mentoring program (1) Check- in question (1)	Affiliate Name (optional) Mentoring program (1) Check- in question (1)
Self- Awareness	3	4	4
Relationship skills	4	4	5
Self- Management	5	4	4
Social-Awareness	4	5	4
Responsible Decision Making	4	4	4
Post- Survey	1	1	1
Total Questions	23	24	24

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Best Practices- Introduce Participants to the Survey

Always tell your participants ahead of time that there will be a survey happening and you can remind them through emails or even word of mouth.

This can look like including a simple and quick overview of the survey by answering the following questions:

Why was the survey made?
What type of questions will they be answering?
What data will their responses contribute to?

**Please note, for younger Dreamers, you can normalize this through a “get ready with me” activity.**

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Best Practices- Personalization

Remember, you know your Dreamers best and this includes their attention span, literacy level and level of engagement.

Decide whether you will personalize the survey. If you are reading the survey for kids or even teens who may have a short attention span, then personalization is your best route.

Common ways to personalize a survey include:

When asking them questions include the Dreamer’s name (i.e. “Robert, do you prefer blue or red?”)
If you know about their hobbies/lifestyle you can use that as well. (i.e. for a question that asks about exercise but the child does not know the meaning of that word, you can ask how much time they spend playing their favorite sport.)
Emotional assessment- is your Dreamer in a good place emotionally? If not, you may want to administer the survey at another time

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Best Practices- Elementary Dreamers (Pre k- 3^rd grade)

Using personalization to engage younger Dreamers is especially helpful for the following reasons:

They may not understand what the question is asking
They may not know how to read

You can help by:

Assessing them emotionally- are they in a happy space?
The right time of the day- did they have lunch/ snack yet?
Completing the survey with them, and asking the questions so they understand
Using an animated voice

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Best Practices- End of Survey Message

How do you want to say thank you to your Dreamers?

1. Say thank you!

A simple “thank you so much” always works
“We thank you for taking the time to complete this survey”

2. Offer an incentive!

Pizza (or whatever food they choose) party for younger kids
Extra play time for younger kids and teens
Gift cards for the older kids, teens and young adults

(i.e. Roblox; GameStop; Amazon; Chipotle; ETC…)

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Combating Survey Fatigue

What is survey fatigue? Exhaustion and frustration from completing too many surveys.

Types of survey fatigue:

Survey request- the respondent is feeling tired of being asked to complete a survey
Survey taking- the respondent is feeling tired of taking a survey

The effects of survey fatigue includes:

Low response rate
Skewed results
Loss resources

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Normalizing Survey-Taking for Dreamers

This can look like:

Make taking survey taking easy- organization, support, technology, etc.
Value Dreamers time- they have a short attention span, be quick and precise
Express the value of the survey- does the results help with funding? Explain in an age appropriate way and tie directly to an activity that is funded
Establish a peer survey champion- students are more willing to listen to a peer
Know your dates and timeline- it takes about 4 weeks to administer a survey to a cohort, plan accordingly so you’re not rushing. Your Dreamers don’t want to be rushed.

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Please scan the QR Code to fill out the Survey ☺

Melissa Hunte

Best Practices for Administering the SEL Survey