Routines & Structures

Social emotional learning is a foundation for effective classroom management, enabling educators to build safe, inclusive environments where strong relationships, shared expectations, and student belonging foster positive behavior and engagement.

Creating safe, inclusive, and affirming classroom communities is not just a management strategy; it’s a foundational condition for learning. In Boston Public Schools, we are committed to a vision of equitable, student-centered learning where every young person is empowered, supported, and known. That means moving beyond compliance-based classroom management to approaches that build connection, foster identity, and promote holistic growth. 

When SEL is intentionally woven into daily routines, interactions, and curriculum, children learn to understand themselves and others, build healthy relationships, and feel safe and valued. Building social-emotional skills is not about helping children “behave,” it is about equipping them with the tools they need to recognize and manage their emotions, navigate social situations, problem-solve, and engage with learning. When children feel emotionally safe and supported, they are more able to access academic content, form meaningful relationships, and develop a positive sense of self. 

At BPS, our approach to implementing social-emotional learning is grounded in Transformative SEL. This means we intentionally center equity and relationships in every classroom by actively building the social, emotional, and academic skills of both students and adults. Rather than relying on compliance or punitive behavior responses, we focus on co-creating inclusive, emotionally supportive learning environments where all students, especially those historically marginalized, can thrive. We work to foster strong routines, trusting relationships, and shared expectations, while also teaching the emotional, interpersonal, and critical thinking skills needed to navigate and challenge inequity. Transformative SEL in BPS supports students in developing a positive sense of identity, strong self-management, and the agency to contribute to personal, communal, and societal well-being across lines of race, class, culture, language, gender identity, sexual orientation, and learning differences.Strengthening Routines and Structures to Support SEL: A Guide for BPS Educators

This resource includes:

• A Self-Assessment to help get educators started
• Examples of Classroom Management practices to intentionally build SEL Competencies, focusing on identity, agency, belonging, collaborative problem-solving and curiosity

Strengthening Routines & Structures to Support SEL: Deepening the Work

The strategies included in this resource are based on our BPS SEL Competencies and UDL 3.0. They are organized into “Do Now” and “Build Toward” actions to help educators focus their SEL efforts. “Do Now” strategies represent low-effort, high-impact practices that can be implemented immediately to strengthen both SEL and classroom management. “Build Toward” strategies require deeper planning, collaboration, or sustained implementation, offering longer-term opportunities to embed SEL into classroom culture. By starting with the most essential practices and layering additional strategies over time, educators can proactively cultivate a learning environment that supports students’ social, emotional, and behavioral growth while reducing disruptions and fostering shared responsibility.