Ep. 35 – SEL for All with Discovery Education’s Rachel Barrachina

Continuing our series of episodes centered on social-emotional learning (SEL), Dr. Oliver welcomes Rachel Barrachina, a digital content coordinator at Discovery Education.

Rachel and Discovery Education collaborated with community and corporate partners in April 2021 to create the Social-Emotional Learning Center, a library of digital resources that support the integration of SEL and wellness into classroom core instruction. In this interview, you’ll learn how and why SEL is for everybody, why it matters, and how it can be integrated into the curriculum. You’ll also hear about the various resources the SEL Center provides and the importance of this curated service for different grade bands for students, resources for educators, and resources for administrators.

Learn much more about the resources references in this episode:

Discovery Education: https://www.discoveryeducation.com/

Social-Emotional Learning Coalition: https://selcoalition.org/

About Our Guest:

Rachel Barrachina is a Digital Content Coordinator at Discovery Education.  Rachel is devoted to producing high-quality and engaging curricular resources to ensure all students, and especially children of color, receive an equitable education. Previously, she was a 4th grade ELA teacher in Hartford, CT, and high school Earth Science educator in Washington, D.C.  She earned her bachelor's degree in Geoscience at Skidmore College and her Master's degree in Education Advocacy and Policy at Georgetown University. Her experience in federal education policy and classroom teaching continues to support her work at Discovery Education.

About the Host:

Dr. Wendy Oliver is a highly qualified Tennessee teacher and administrator who has pioneered digital learning across multiple states and school districts. She has authored digital teaching standards and developed software that allows teachers to self-assess their knowledge of digital instruction. No matter which hat she's wearing, her goal is simple -- to empower learners. Follow Dr. Oliver on Twitter @oliver_dr