The Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program and National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development have forged a partnership with the goal of exploring the role youth sports can play in developing young people's social and emotional skills. With funding from the Susan Crown Exchange (SCE) and guidance from a strategic advisory…

Research demonstrates a wide range of positive outcomes for children who are physically active, including higher academic achievement, higher likelihood to attend college, increased success in the workplace, lower heath care costs, and decreased risk for obesity and other health problems (Aspen Institute Sport for All Play for Life; Menestrel…

The second case study from the Aspen Institute National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development highlights the need for teacher preparation and professional learning to focus on building teachers' own social and emotional competence and sharing strategies for building these skills in their students. "Supporting the Whole…

The promotion of social, emotional, and academic learning is not a shifting educational fad; it is the substance of education itself. It is not a distraction from the "real work" of math and English instruction; it is how instruction can succeed. And it is not another reason for political polarization. It brings together a traditionally…

The first case study from the Aspen Institute's National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development (SEAD) shows how schools and educators enhance learning when they teach a curriculum that simultaneously builds students' social, emotional, and academic understanding. "Putting It All Together" discusses how an integrative…