Beyond Differences
Beyond Differences
Dallas Innovative Educator Cohorts: SEL Professional Development for Middle School Educators
Founded in 2010, Beyond Differences mission is to inspire students nationwide to end social isolation and create cultures of belonging for everyone. As a student-led national organization, it empowers students to become activists and change the culture of belonging in their schools.
Beyond Differences provides schools with free social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum and tools for educators and students centered around their National Awareness Programs: Know Your Classmates®, No One Eats Alone® and Be Kind Online®.
The grant from All Points North Foundation will support a Dallas cohort of up to 30 middle school educators to join the SEL Professional Development Program. Beyond Differences also aims to engage an additional 50-70 DISD educators in their online Learning Community and through in-person trainings.
The SEL Professional Development Program goal is to bring educators together to learn, share and build confidence in their mental health, SEL, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) knowledge to increase student-to-student connections and promote a healthy sense of identity and belonging.
The 30 educators in the SEL Professional Development Program cohort will attend a foundational session, four content sessions, two community learning/support sessions, two National Awareness Day trainings. These educators will also have access to the Beyond Differences Learning Community (an online community for additional resources, trainings, and connection with other educators in the Beyond Differences national network). The foundational and the content sessions cover SEL topics that contribute to overall mental health and belonging, such as identity, student agency, social isolation, bias, and learning differences.
Beyond Differences believes that transformative social-emotional learning is the key to disrupting social isolation and that young people have the power to change the world, starting with how they treat each other at school and online.
Learn more at www.beyonddifferences.org
Photo credit: Beyond Differences
Click Here for All Points North Foundation’s Response to COVID-19
All Points North Foundation provides grants for U.S.-based projects and initiatives that support our priorities: improving public middle school education and teacher training, and implementing effective solar programs and/or projects.
Have a U.S.-based project you’d like to discuss?