Case Study: Indian Prairie CUSD 204 builds a sustainable SEL strategy with Newsela

How Indian Prairie Built a Sustainable SEL Strategy by Leveraging Newsela as a Trusted Resource

Indian Prairie CUSD 204, a large school district in Illinois, faced the challenge of integrating Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) into its curriculum without overburdening teachers, especially after the shift to remote learning exacerbated students' social-emotional needs. The district needed a consistent, district-wide resource that could seamlessly support SEL competencies within existing lessons, rather than being perceived as a separate, time-consuming requirement.

The district chose to implement the Newsela SEL Collection from Newsela. This trusted resource allowed teachers to integrate authentic SEL content directly into their daily literacy instruction seamlessly, which increased teacher buy-in and student engagement. The solution provided high-quality, flexible content that promoted instructional consistency across the district's hybrid learning model. Newsela's platform also gave administrators valuable real-time insights into program usage and success, helping to build a strong, sustainable foundation for the district's SEL initiative.

Indian Prairie Cusd 204