Michigan Social Emotional

Learning Alliance

Join Us for The Heart of

SEL Conference

The Statewide Social Emotional Learning Conference

October 3, 2025

Mission

The mission of MiSELA is to advance, advocate for, and enhance social emotional learning (SEL) through research and the exchange of knowledge, fostering partnerships with allies in early childhood to higher education, government, universities, education organizations, local schools and districts, and community collaborators.

Vision

The Michigan Social Emotional Learning Alliance (MiSELA) envisions the effective implementation of SEL principles throughout Michigan from infancy to higher education.

Who We Are

Education practitioners, researchers, and policy-makers intentionally developing, disseminating, and implementing SEL-driven research, policy, and practice to support and promote high-quality social-emotional learning across the state.

MiSELA Background

The Michigan SEL Alliance (MiSELA) began in October of 2017, when a group of higher education professionals and state government staff met to network and share about their respective work in the field of Social Emotional Learning (SEL). During that inaugural meeting, the participants (from Michigan Department of Education, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Michigan State University, Eastern Michigan University, and the University of Michigan) decided to meet at least twice a year to connect and explore ways to collaborate and support one another’s efforts. Other Universities were invited to join and in March 2018, representatives from Ferris State University and Wayne State University joined the consortium.

This group officially named themselves the Michigan SEL Alliance in October 2018 and continue to meet twice a year, with representation from Education Associations, Local Districts, and Oakland University also now included.

As the Alliance has grown, its purpose has evolved. Our goal is to advance knowledge and practices for SEL, with the goal of implementing high-quality SEL in communities throughout the state, at all levels of practice, from working with individuals and families to developing SEL policy. This website serves as a place of collaboration for SEL knowledge, so we can share our findings with each other and the community. We invite you to learn with us, share with us, and to become more involved in SEL practices and policies.

What is SEL?

The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) is widely referenced when defining and exploring the facets of social-emotional learning and the associated evidence-based practices. CASEL defines social and emotional learning (SEL) as

an integral part of education and human development. SEL is the process through which all infants, toddlers, young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions. SEL advances educational equity and excellence through authentic early childhood care, as well as school-family-community partnerships to establish learning environments that feature trusting, collaborative relationships, rigorous and meaningful curriculum and instruction, and ongoing evaluation. SEL can help address various forms of inequity and empower infants, toddlers, young people and adults to co-create thriving early care and education settings and schools and contribute to safe, healthy, and just communities.