Webinar: Reconnect - SEL as Your First Strategy: Addressing Challenging Behaviors Through Connection

This is a recording of Session 2 of 4 from the webinar series Reset, Reconnect, Reignite: Building a Thriving Classroom in a New Era, presented by NNSTOY (National Network of State Teachers of the Year) in partnership with NEA. The live sessions run through September 2026; this recording remains available here for ongoing viewing. Visit Reset. Reconnect. Reignite. Building a Thriving Classroom in a New Era for details on the full series.

Session 2: Reconnect - SEL as Your First Strategy: Addressing Challenging Behaviors Through Connection

This session makes the case for social-emotional learning (SEL) as the foundational strategy for addressing challenging student behavior, rather than a program bolted on after discipline issues arise. The presenters argue that connection should come before correction, and that this requires educators to understand behavior as communication, recognize the role trauma can play, and attend to their own regulation as adults.

Recorded on: September 1, 2026