The coronavirus disease of 2019 has had multifaceted effects on students, their families, and the educators who support their learning. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most notable changes for schools was the sudden move to distance learning-an unprecedented disruption to academic, social, and emotional instruction. Social and emotional learning (SEL) skills play an important role in human development by supporting academic success and overall well-being, including skills for effectively coping with stressors such as those imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Building on previous work, we created the Crisis Response Educator SEL Survey (CRESS) to examine predictors of SEL implementation during the pandemic. Structural equation models (SEMs) were used to predict: (a) educators' reported challenges implementing SEL during distance learning; (b) educator SEL implementation with students and use of social and emotional (SE) strategies for themselves; and (c) educator self-judgment and emotional exhaustion. Predictors included school/district guidance to support SEL, school/district support of educator SE needs, and the priority on SEL for the school and the educator. Our sample consisted of 219 educators committed to SEL who reported on their experience with SEL during distance learning toward the end of the 2019-2020 school year. Findings suggest that school/district support of educator SE needs predicts lower levels of challenge implementing SEL during distance learning and lower levels of educator burnout and self-judgment, whereas greater school/district guidance to support SEL was associated with more SEL implementation with students and more educator use of SE strategies for themselves. Impact and ImplicationsSchools and districts are prioritizing social and emotional learning (SEL) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings suggest that prioritizing SEL, without guidance and support for educators' social and emotional needs, is insufficient in overcoming challenges implementing SEL during this crisis. In this study, educators whose schools or districts provided social and emotional support and SEL guidance to their staff reported fewer challenges implementing SEL during distance learning, less self-judgment and emotional exhaustion, and used SEL with their students more.

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In this article, we provide insight into sharing power and balancing practitioner and researcher priorities during the process of establishing a research agenda for a research-practice partnership (RPP). We draw on the literature about effective collaboration within RPPs to identify concepts and factors that can help or hinder the research agenda-setting process. Concepts include boundary spanning, spheres of interest and action, and strategic knowledge leadership. Factors include early and ongoing engagement of partners, adequate representation of diverse perspectives, funder priorities, and the presence of trusting relationships. The authors then use examples from our own experiences in RPPs to illustrate how these concepts and factors play out in the agenda-setting process.

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