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The purpose of this study is to analyze Illinois school board members' perspectives on SEL, educational equity, and responses to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Survey responses were collected from 61 Illinois school board members in the summer of 2021. The survey included openended questions regarding administrator's opinions about different aspects of education related to social emotional learning (SEL), mental health, equity, and the pandemic. Overall, findings showed that responding to the pandemic and addressing educational equity are both divisive issues identified by school board members. In addition to being contentious, some school board members do not think that addressing inequities is a necessary function of their board or district. SEL is less divisive, but some participants held relatively narrow ideas of how schools should address SEL. Importantly, these patterns occurred across district type--rural, urban, or suburban; majority minority or majority white; and poverty rates. In understanding how school board members are thinking about these issues, we are better prepared to support P-12 administrators in working with their school boards and community to advance policies and initiatives that can support students' SEL and mental health needs, regardless of the beliefs of segments of their communities.

The article discusses the background for the visit by 11 students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign during their 2023 spring break, the "bright futures" theme, and key experiences, reflecting the promise of university-community collaboration. Topics include the commitment of the University of Illinois to community engagement, field trip to the University as experiential learning for possible selves, and successes, challenges, and recommendations.

National certification has been available for most school professionals, including teachers, school counselors, and school psychologists, for a number of years. It provides opportunities for candidates to demonstrate that they have met the highest standards in their profession. Because school social workers play an important role in schools, the School Social Work Association of America (SSWAA) developed a national certification for school social workers as a means for school social workers to demonstrate excellence and recognize their contributions to youth, families, and schools. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the major reasons why school social workers pursue national certification. The initial group of candidates for certification consisted of thirty-six school social workers. Findings of this study indicated that the primary motivations for pursuing national certification included opportunities for achieving personal and professional growth, advancing the profession, demonstrating leadership, and expanding professional networks. This article suggests ways that school administrators, school social work researchers, and SSWAA can contribute to the sustainability of national certification for school social workers and support practitioners in pursuing national certification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the development of national certification for school social workers. The need for national certification emerged in the late 1990s, but many steps were required to establish this credential. These steps included developing a national practice model, documenting competencies outlined in this model, developing performance indicators that clearly describe what the competencies look like in practice, and creating a process for application. Although work began in 2003, national certification for school social workers did not launch until 2021. Now that national certification has become a reality, there is more work to be done. This article will describe those next steps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]