New Mexico Public EducationATLANTA  – Sept. 14, 2021 – 7 Mindsets, the leader in online social emotional learning (SEL) solutions, and New Mexico’s Public Education Department have partnered to make free SEL resources available through a new online state portal. Starting in early September, the portal will give students, parents, and educators no-cost access to 7 Mindset’s SEL courses and curriculums, leadership training, and teacher professional development.

The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) has found that SEL positively impacts students’ school performance and decreases behavior problems and emotional distress.

Additionally, New Mexico’s education department reports that 26% of the state’s children live in poverty. Consequently, families of those students have fewer resources and supports for fostering their children’s development. Plus, severe stress and depression resulting from such hardships often interfere with effective parenting.

“Both the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest have heightened children’s need for community and for positive relationships with their peers, teachers, and families,” said 7 Mindsets President Lupita Knittel. “With all the stress and trauma of the past year and a half, as well as the need to reacclimate to physical classrooms, students are going to need the help of SEL in order to focus on learning.”

The resources within the 7 Mindsets portal includes a full pre-K-12 core curriculum, student-facing content, adult SEL, and parent resources, in both English and Spanish. In addition to pre-K-12 student and adult curriculum, the 7 Mindsets curriculum consists of professional development and coaching. The program is designed to help educators facilitate healthy relationships incorporating strategies for preventing bullying, building resilience, and creating empathy. Courses include lessons, videos, discussion prompts, activities, projects, and reflective journaling activities for students.

Unlike programs that focus only on skill-building, 7 Mindsets is based on a multi-year research effort into the world’s happiest and most successful people. What the research uncovered was that their happiness and success were not predicated on what individuals knew or where they came from, it was predicated on how they thought – their mindsets. The key seven mindsets identified were:

  1. Everything is Possible
  2. Passion First
  3. We are Connected
  4. 100% Accountable
  5. Attitude of Gratitude
  6. Live to Give
  7. The Time is Now

“We have a lot of work to do to expand our social emotional learning,” said New Mexico’s Secretary of Education Dr. Kurt Steinhaus. “That’s why these new resources and tools from 7 Mindsets will be so valuable. I encourage our educators to get on the web page, let’s learn these new tools, and let’s make better use of social emotional learning in our work with parents, students, and each other. I appreciate so much the work that has been done so far to make social emotional learning an integral part –and an important part – of everything our educators are doing during their work in schools.”

About the New Mexico Public Education Department

The New Mexico Public Education Department partners with educators, communities, and families to ensure that ALL students are healthy, secure in their identity, and holistically prepared for college, career, and life. Rooted in strengths, our vision is that students in New Mexico are engaged in a culturally and linguistically responsive education system that meets the social, emotional, and academic needs of ALL students.

We believe in the capacity and imagination of our students, staff, and communities to recommit our energies to transform education across the state. Our focus on excellence and equity in education must include each student’s overall development and quality of life. We believe in transformational educational systems, frameworks, priorities, pedagogies, and daily practices as the means to address, support, and improve the well-being of students, staff, parents, and communities.

About 7 Mindsets

7 Mindsets offers a proven, research-based social emotional learning (SEL) solution that helps PK-12 districts and schools create and sustain positive school cultures rooted in healthy relationships. The 7 Mindsets SEL program has been implemented with more than 1 million students across the United States and internationally.

The SEL program, available in English and Spanish, nurtures the mindsets of both students and educators. The complete web-based PK-12 curriculum has 13 ready-to-teach courses that work with both in-person and virtual learning schedules. The courses include video, discussion prompts, activities, projects, and reflective journaling activities for students. Additionally, expert coaching, leadership training, and professional development help educators teach the 7 Mindsets and apply them to their own lives.

For more information go to https://7mindsets.com and follow 7 Mindsets on Twitter @7Mindsets