--- title: The secret sauce to accelerating student outcomes in math and reading? Prioritizing SEL. description: Tune into this NBC Bay Area clip to learn how a Title I elementary school in CA defied national odds to accelerate student outcomes in math and reading. image: https://blog.powermylearning.org/hubfs/Screenshot%202023-04-11%20at%2010.58.19%20AM.png --- [Skip to content](https://blog.powermylearning.org/prioritize-sel-nbc-bay-area#main-content) [![pml-logo-1](https://blog.powermylearning.org/hubfs/pml-logo-1.svg "pml-logo-1")](https://powermylearning.org/) - [Home ](https://powermylearning.org/) - [About ](https://powermylearning.org/about/) - [MathVoice ](https://powermylearning.org/mathvoice/) - [Impact ](https://powermylearning.org/impact/) - [Why PowerMyLearning ](https://powermylearning.org/why-powermylearning/) - [Content Hub ](https://blog.powermylearning.org) - [Contact Us ](https://powermylearning.org/contact-us/) - [Donate ](https://toolkits.powermylearning.org/donate) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. # The secret sauce to accelerating student outcomes in math and reading? Prioritizing SEL. by [PowerMyLearning](https://blog.powermylearning.org/author/powermylearning) on April 11, 2023 [Our Impact](https://blog.powermylearning.org/tag/our-impact) Tune into this [NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/south-bay/social-emotional-learning/3158908/) clip to learn how a Title I elementary school in San Jose, CA, defied national odds to accelerate student outcomes in math and reading. Their secret sauce? Prioritizing SEL.  During the 2021-22 school year, Jeanne R. Meadows Elementary School partnered with PowerMyLearning to implement our [social emotional learning (SEL) program](https://www.powermylearning.org/learn/programs/social-emotional-learning). After integrating SEL into academic instruction, Meadows improved student behavior, strengthened SEL skills, and saw a statistically significant difference in the proportion of students who exceeded or met district math and reading benchmarks. "The principal says taking the time to address students' social-emotional learning boosted reading scores by 13% and math scores by 7%." ([NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/south-bay/social-emotional-learning/3158908/)) Relationships were at the core of the school's success. Through our trusting partnership, Meadows' leadership supported and valued SEL, and families and teachers had a collaborative environment with one another and their coach. "Teachers and families [...] found that taking the time to grow social-emotional connections helped students feel better and perform better on tests." ([NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/south-bay/social-emotional-learning/3158908/)) Meadows continues to build on their success in the 2022-23 school year through an extended partnership, where PowerMyLearning is working with the school community to implement best practices around culturally responsive education.  As you plan your school's SEL goals for the next year, we invite you to explore our [evidence-based program](https://blog.powermylearning.org/learn/programs/social-emotional-learning). Spread the word: [Share this blog post on Twitter ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=I+found+this+interesting+blog+post&url=https://blog.powermylearning.org/prioritize-sel-nbc-bay-area) [Share this blog post on Facebook ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://blog.powermylearning.org/prioritize-sel-nbc-bay-area) [Share this blog post on LinkedIn ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.powermylearning.org/prioritize-sel-nbc-bay-area) ## Related Articles [![](https://blog.powermylearning.org/hubfs/1-PowerMyLearning%20Collateral/Meadows%20Impact%20Studies/Study%20Results%20-%20Individual%20Stats.png) ](https://blog.powermylearning.org/sel-impact-fy) ### [Impact of PowerMyLearning’s Social Emotional Learning Program](https://blog.powermylearning.org/sel-impact-fy) 2021-2022 School Year Analysis by Katie James, Ph.D., Director of Research and Neha Pandit, Senior... by [PowerMyLearning](https://blog.powermylearning.org/author/powermylearning) [![Teaching Matters: the STory of SEL at Jeanne R. 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These... by [Elisabeth Stock](https://blog.powermylearning.org/author/elisabeth-stock) [![pml-logo-1-1](https://blog.powermylearning.org/hubfs/pml-logo-1-1.svg "pml-logo-1-1")](https://powermylearning.org/) - [Home](https://powermylearning.org/) - [About](https://powermylearning.org/about/) - [Why PowerMyLearning](https://powermylearning.org/why-powermylearning/) - [MathVoice](https://powermylearning.org/mathvoice/) - [Impact](https://powermylearning.org/impact/) - [Content Hub](https://blog.powermylearning.org) - [Contact Us](https://powermylearning.org/contact-us/) - [Home](https://powermylearning.org/) - [About](https://powermylearning.org/about/) - [Why PowerMyLearning](https://powermylearning.org/why-powermylearning/) - [MathVoice](https://powermylearning.org/mathvoice/) - [Impact](https://powermylearning.org/impact/) - [Content Hub](https://blog.powermylearning.org) - [Contact Us](https://powermylearning.org/contact-us/) --- © PowerMyLearning. All rights reserved. - [Terms and Conditions](https://powermylearning.org/terms-and-conditions/) - [Privacy Policy](https://powermylearning.org/privacy-policy/) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "VideoObject", "caption" : { "@type" : "MediaObject", "contentUrl" : "https://blog.powermylearning.org/media-transcripts/110499538019/en.vtt", "inLanguage" : "en", "name" : "en Captions" }, "contentUrl" : "https://8144153.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/8144153/Brand%20Materials/Videos/2023-02-16%20NBC%20Bay%20Area%20Social%20Emotional%20Learning%2002m25s.mp4", "dateModified" : "2025-05-20T18:07:31.551Z", "duration" : "PT2M45.299S", "height" : 720, "name" : "2023-02-16 NBC Bay Area Social Emotional Learning 02m25s", "thumbnailUrl" : "https://8144153.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/8144153/Brand%20Materials/Videos/2023-02-16%20NBC%20Bay%20Area%20Social%20Emotional%20Learning%2002m25s.mp4/medium.jpg?t=1747764451551", "uploadDate" : "2023-04-11T16:45:23.922Z", "width" : 1280 } ```