Humanware Overview

Humanware is a Cleveland Metropolitan School District  initiative that aims to provide safe and supportive schools for students to succeed and thrive.

Humanware advocates for evidence-based best practices in social-emotional learning (SEL) practices.  Humanware Partners collaborate with CMSD Educators as thought partners, planners, professional learning providers, and coaches to integrate SEL core competencies into schools. The goal is to engage students, families, educators, and the community, and create safe, supportive, and successful learning environments.

Humanware advocates for best practices to ensure that all human resources in a child's school, family, and community work together, creating safe, supportive, and successful student learning environments. 

Why is SEL important?

The conditions for learning (safe, well-managed, rigors, and supportive learning environment) are essential to academic achievement. Published in 2011, a meta-analysis of 213 school-based, universal social and emotional learning (SEL) programs involving 270,034 kindergarten through high school students demonstrated significantly improved social and emotional skills reflected an 11-percentile-point gain in achievement.  Likewise, an analysis using only at CMSD data conducted in partnership with Cleveland State University and American Institutes for Education, revealed the conditions and school climate that support growth in the SEL competencies are as essential to academic achievement. When done well, the SEL framework and subject instruction are woven together to create seamless experiences to facilitate the intellectual, social, and emotional development of all students -- as James Comer states, "child development is academics ... you cannot separate the two."

Humanware/SEL Strategies are designed to:

• Facilitate students and educator's learning and practice the five SEL core competencies (Self-Awareness, Social Awareness, Self-Management, Relationship Skills, and Responsible Decision-Making)
• Develop early-intervention strategies
• Promote civility and decrease bullying
• Foster community-service partnerships
• Improve collaboration between schools & agencies
• Enhance the partnership between schools & families
• Facilitate effective Student Support Teams (collaborative problem-solving groups, which include administrators, teachers, student-support professionals, and parents)
• Facilitate effective use of SEL Curriculums

Leadership