Humans at the Heart: What Social-Emotional Learning Means at WSA
A conversation with the Waldorf School of Atlanta's school counselor, LeAndrea Wallace.
At the Waldorf School of Atlanta, we believe that human relationships are at the heart of a healthy school community and a meaningful life. Our elementary and middle school programs emphasize not just skills and achievements, but emotional intelligence and personal character.
“It’s important for us to get into the practice early of learning how to forge healthy relationships with each other so we can contribute positively to our community, to our jobs, to our friends, to our relationships, because it's something that's going to be a constant,” says school counselor LeAndrea Wallace, who joined the WSA staff in the 2024-2025 school year with a rich background in education, social work, therapy, and the arts.
We spoke to Ms. Le about the importance of social emotional learning, how it’s taught at the Waldorf School of Atlanta, and where Waldorf education is getting it right.
Why Do We Teach Social Emotional Skills?
Recently, social emotional learning, or SEL, has become a buzzword in education—and not just because research shows that SEL is linked to improved student performance and overall well being. With the rise of AI, uniquely human capacities—like communication, collaboration, and empathy—are expected to become increasingly critical in the future.
Most importantly, emotional intelligence and social connections form the rich fabric of our lives—bringing meaning and purpose to our experience as human beings. “One thing that's going to stay with you forever are our relationships,” says Ms. Le. “Everything we do affects others and vice versa.”
What do we mean, exactly, by social emotional learning? “We have the social piece that helps us learn about others,” Ms. Le explains. “And we have the emotional piece that helps us understand how we feel and how it shows up in our bodies and how it shows up in our relationships with others.”
“There is the evidence-based term social-emotional learning, but deep down, it is really just learning about character traits,” Ms. Le continues. “Helping each student identify what character traits are, and what character traits help us move forward in positive ways and down positive paths.”
How Are Social Emotional Skills Fostered at WSA?
In and out of the classroom, teachers at the Waldorf School of Atlanta encourage compassion, collaboration, and cooperation among students. They do this in many ways: Through group work and collaborative projects in the classroom, through noncompetitive games, through choir and music ensembles, through daily opportunities for unstructured play, and through meaningful chores and responsibilities in the classroom and on campus, which reflect a commitment to our shared environment and to each other.
Strong and trusting teacher-student relationships are also essential to our program. One of the principal ways we build relationships is through looping, or the practice of having the same teachers stay with a class over multiple years. This practice allows teachers to develop an in-depth understanding of each student's strengths, challenges, and unique learning style.
“There's an extreme extension of grace and understanding that I see from many of the teachers here,” Ms. Le observes. “The accommodations and the considerations and the pacing that they allow for each student, regardless of where their performance level is, is outstanding to me. I see some of the teachers truly going above and beyond to meet their students where they are.”
Students can also request individual time with Ms. Le. “As a school counselor, I do one-on-one sessions. Typically grades two through eight are the ones that I see the most. They have a little card that they can fill out and put in my box, and then I'll put them on my schedule to see that week.”
An Articulated Program in SEL
Research shows that programs that explicitly teach emotional intelligence can have a positive impact on learning, social skills, and confidence in children—not just in school but over the course of their lifetime. At WSA, Ms. Le teaches SEL classes in grades 1-8 twice a month, which offer an opportunity for students to explore their experiences, emotions, and interactions in a deeper way.
“I always want the classes to be fun and engaging,” Ms. Le tells us. “I usually start having them breathe with me, we do a couple of yoga stretches, we do maybe some funny hand movements or percussion, something to just kind of warm them up.” Then the work of the class begins.
“I define a topic, just as you would in a dictionary,” Ms. Le continues. “So I would say, What is empathy? And then I ask questions. What does it mean for you? Where have you seen it? Where have you not seen it? What are your questions about it? We really engage. The students are leaders in this discussion.”
“We know that with students, the smaller the group, the more intentional the work can be. And so in the fall semester, I do SEL work with each grade,” Ms. Le adds. “In the spring semester, I rotate between groups of about six students for each grade, bringing in those more intentional and smaller subjects that kind of delve deeper in the general work that we're doing.
A Focus on Middle School
In the past decade, there have been rising concerns about how anxiety and stress are affecting children at increasingly younger ages—particularly children in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. Ms. Le’s curriculum is tailored to meet the times, with topics like digital citizenship and technology covered in all three years of middle school.
The program is also tailored to address each group of students as individuals. Before planning lessons, “I go to the middle school meetings to ask them about the concepts or things that they want their students to learn more about,” explains Ms. Le.
With their vivid emotions and increasing focus on social interactions, “The biggest focus for middle school is relationship building and understanding self and using that as an extension to understand others,” Ms. Le continues. “Teaching them how to communicate directly, effectively, using ‘I’ statements, being empathetic, and waiting until we are not in a heightened state before we react to things.”
Where Waldorf Gets It Right
When we asked Ms. Le what stands out about SEL at WSA, she pointed to the freedom students feel to take risks and interact with the world around them—embracing challenge and even discomfort. “We are out there when it is cold. We are out there when it is rainy. And you'll see the students run around and just get soaking wet in the rain and just be free in that experience,” she says. “They walk barefoot. They are not scared to go on a trip and go camping or get up to watch a meteor shower at 4 a.m.”
And, as a musician and music therapist, Ms. Le praises WSA’s excellent instrumental and choral music program, as well as how fine and applied arts give children an outlet to think creatively. “I love that they get to learn how to sew, learn how to make pin cushions. They get to do woodworking, they get to do glass blowing. These specialties make them well-rounded students who get a chance to really find their niche.”
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About LeAndrea Wallace
LeAndrea Wallace joined the Waldorf School of Atlanta staff in the fall of 2024 as school counselor. Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, she received a bachelor’s of music in music therapy from Belmont University in Nashville, and a masters in social work from Florida State University, where her clinical focus included educational social work in after-school programs, particularly with marginalized populations.