Mission Statement
Hearts and Hands P.D. is committed to providing highly effective, hands-on Professional Development for educators and preservice educators that is unique in its philosophy surrounding Social and Emotional Learning. It also provides consulting services and workshops for school districts, private schools, charter schools and parents, maintaining the same philosophy. What sets us apart from all other PD organizations is that we operate, instruct and facilitate through the lens of Social and Emotional Learning that will benefit all educators and parents, and ultimately, students.
Social Emotional Learning is….
…the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to:
understand and manage emotions,
set and achieve positive goals,
feel and show empathy for others,
establish and maintain positive relationships,
and make responsible decisions.
(*CASEL)
Research surrounding social and emotional learning supports the claim that the development of SEL skills is best acquired when embedded in daily instruction and NOT in “stand-alone” targeted SEL lessons (Brown, 2013).
We believe that embedding SEL into daily instruction from the classroom to the lunchroom begins with an understanding of the benefits for all, resulting from SEL infusion and the continued practice in schools.
SEL is the lens through which we engage, instruct, coach, guide and collaborate.
In other words, everything we do begins and ends with SEL.
Understanding SEL + Continuous Infusion = Increased Social and Academic Skills