Critics and supporters have expressed concern that social-emotional learning (SEL) has not been adapted to children suffering from trauma. While SEL has been identified as a mechanism through which trauma-informed schools can be created, this does not make SEL implementation, in and of itself, trauma-informed. Erica Pawlo, Ava Lorenzo, Brian Eichert, and Maurice J. Elias explain why calls for trauma-informed SEL are, in fact, calls for all SEL to be trauma-informed. They discuss how a trauma-informed approach to SEL is related to SEL’s emphasis on school climate, the need to build infrastructure for SEL learning, and the role of emotions in SEL instruction.

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The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) has identified 5 sets of social-emotional learning (SEL) skills (the CASEL 5): self-awareness; self-management; social awareness and empathy; relationship skills; and responsible, ethical decision-making. SEL is critical for students to be able to manage their own internal stressors, navigate their social environment successfully, and then access a comprehensive curriculum. It provides students with critical life skills such as problem-solving and perspective-taking that will span well beyond their schooling years, helping them to become productive members of society. In this chapter, the authors describe how to assess a school system’s infrastructure for SEL and discuss how to implement SEL at both Tier 1 and Tier 2 levels in an urban disadvantaged school district where many students have been impacted by trauma. A case study is presented.