This five-year (2018-2023), research-to-practice partnership between Yale University and local community stakeholders funded by the Tauck Family Foundation (https://tauckfamilyfoundation.org) was tasked with creating a community of practice by infusing SEL into the culture and infrastructure of the community and ensuring coordinated, equitable access to high-quality SEL programming and supports for early childhood educators, young children, and families of Bridgeport, CT. Led by the Initiative’s Steering Committee, BECSELI:
1. Provides access to RULER (https://rulerapproach.org) to all of Bridgeport’s center- and home-based childcare providers
2. Strengthens and coordinates SEL programming between Bridgeport’s early childhood settings and Bridgeport Public Schools
3. Uses SEL as a catalyst to share resources by creating and facilitating a community-wide professional development network of providers and stakeholders.
Data were collected to evaluate whether BECSELI is making a difference in Bridgeport’s early care and education settings as well as in the lives of educators and leaders, including survey data collected from Bridgeport’s early childhood center- and home-based childcare staff. Data include indicators of school and classroom climate, efficacy, relationships, social and emotional skills, general indicators of wellbeing, and RULER implementation.
