Social and emotional learning (SEL) is a vital curriculum component in the preparation of aspiring teachers and future administrators. HCDE’s Educator Certification and Advancement (ECA) division, a state-accredited educator preparation program that prepares and certifies aspiring teachers, principals and superintendents, provides extensive SEL training to all of its candidates.
As an alternative pathway provider offering a full suite of accelerated preparation programs for initial teacher, principal, and superintendent certificates, ECA’s curriculum includes a number of trainings to prepare candidates how to recognize and support students’ social and emotional needs. Each candidate receives an instruction on mental health, substance abuse, and suicide prevention.
Candidates complete National Council for Behavioral Health’s training in Youth Mental Health First Aid to help a student who is developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis, Kognito’s evidence-based health simulations that use virtual role-play to help educators learn common signs of psychological distress and how to approach an at-risk student for referral to the school counselor, and Texas Behavior Support Initiative training which focuses on providing foundational knowledge for the use of positive behavior interventions and support for all students.
To learn more about ECA’s educator preparation programs, please call 713.696.1348 or visit our website: https://hcde-texas.org/teach-and-lead/ .