We’ve reimagined the implementation process within the Second Step® Elementary and Second Step® Middle School digital programs. The Guided Playbook is designed to make supporting program implementation more manageable by providing a straightforward framework to help schools prepare, engage, and sustain the program effectively throughout the year.
What’s new?
The Guided Playbook organizes key tasks into a straightforward, easy-to-follow workflow for every school. Whether your schools are just starting with Second Step K–8 digital programs or have years of experience, these steps ensure consistent success.
Each step is grounded in best practices from implementation science, helping to build buy-in with staff by fostering a shared understanding of goals and expectations and creating a clear path to increased program usage and impact.1, 2, 3
A Simple, Phased Approach
The school year is broken into three phases: Prepare, Engage, and Sustain. These phases and their associated tasks are prominently displayed on the Leader Dashboard, ensuring leaders always know what’s next. During Prepare, leaders set a strong foundation for the year to come by creating an implementation plan and launching the program with staff.
Create Your Implementation Plan
Building leaders will:
- Choose an approach: Make key decisions about the program, such as identifying who will teach lessons and setting a date for when lessons should start.
- Define the “why”: Develop a purpose statement using our templates or starting from scratch to help staff understand the program’s importance. Staff will see this on their My Programs page when they log in.
- Set measurable goals: Establish objectives for program usage and align with other district initiatives.
- Build an action plan: Translate goals into a concrete, customizable plan for the year to ensure alignment and accountability across the team.
Launch the Program
Building leaders will:
- Plan to add staff: Consider the best way for your staff to gain program access. Our recommendation is embedded right into the step.
- Kick off with staff: For schools that are new to Second Step K–8 digital programs, use ready-made presentations to highlight the program’s importance and benefits and to outline school goals.
- Engage returning schools: Use the new All-Staff Check-In presentation to review lessons learned, clarify goals, and foster collaboration on achieving them.
- Create a pacing guide: Quickly access this critical resource for setting expectations and aligning your school on key dates.
How can district leaders support their schools?
On July 11, district leaders will see the same Guided Playbook experience on their Leader Dashboard as their building leaders. From the Leader Dashboard, district leaders will be able to:
- Monitor school progress: View each school’s completion status for the Guided Playbook steps directly from the Leader Dashboard.
- Support building leaders: Offer targeted support by reviewing the information schools have entered into the Second Step dashboard. Work together and make adjustments to align with districtwide goals.
Timeline for Rollout
We’ll roll out the Guided Playbook experience over the next few weeks:
- June 27: The Guided Playbook becomes available to building leaders on the Leader Dashboard.
- July 11: Prepare for kick-off steps become available to all, and district-level view becomes available for tracking school progress.
What can I do to get started today?
District leaders can encourage schools to begin exploring the Create Your Implementation Plan steps now. If you’re introducing the program to your district, the Implementation Leader Orientation presentation is available from the Implementation Guide. This resource:
- Communicates the benefits of Second Step programs for schools and helps align district goals with individual school plans
- Includes scripted slides for easy presentation to building leaders
By streamlining these processes, the Guided Playbook helps you save time while ensuring every school is set up for success.
1. Thierry, K. L., Kim, T. E., Page, A., & Randall, H. (2023). School leader engagement in strategies to support effective implementation of an SEL program. Social and Emotional Learning: Research, Practice & Policy, 2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sel.2023.100020
2. Scaccia, J. P., Cook, B. S., Lamont, A., Wandersman, A., Castellow, J., Katz, J., & Beidas, R.S. (2015). A practical implementation science heuristic for organizational readiness: R = MC2. Journal of Community Psychology, 43(4), 484–501. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21698
3. Durlak, J. A., & DuPre, E. P. (2008). Implementation matters: A review of research on the influence of implementation on program outcomes and the factors affecting implementation. American Journal of Community Psychology, 41(3–4), 327–350. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-008-9165-0