Throw an SEL Family Night
By Rebecca School | May 2026
Making connections with our families and communities is crucial – so many students and adults feel anxious, and there are so many misconceptions about our role as school counselors. Whether you call it social/emotional learning (SEL), people skills or what Forbes recently called the most valuable professional skills of 2026, we help teach our students how to communicate effectively, manage conflict, be both good team members and team leaders, be adaptable, be critical thinkers, solve problems and advocate for themselves and others. Welcoming parents/guardians into our lessons in a fun and engaging family event can help them see us as the partners we are meant to be in helping their children grow into independent and successful community members.
Considerations to keep in mind: What staff might be willing to help? What is your budget? Can you offer a free dinner and dessert? Can students attend without a parent/guardian? What data can we collect?
Using surveys early in planning to gauge interest in potential activities and how many people might attend can help you narrow your options and function within your budget (see our samples, below).
An evening of rotating activities, guided by interest surveys of PTA or other parent/guardian groups, might include:
Use prize pressure to increase interest – in addition to offering a free dinner, in the days before the event, show off inexpensive or donated prizes that will be given away in the raffle.
Include student groups such as:
While helping families get a sense of what Tier 1 SEL lessons look like, this is an opportunity to ask what else you can do for them. Include an open-ended question in your survey or offer a QR code for families to use to reach out for additional support. Have pamphlets available for parents/guardians to take home listing resources they might need: contact info for your SEL team, information about the dual enrollment process, your state and district requirements for playing on school athletic teams, and extracurriculars to consider. You can also partner with local law enforcement to discuss internet safety issues or with pediatricians to address frequently asked questions on health concerns for your grade levels.
Here are sample programs that were used for Elementary and Middle School SEL Family Nights:
Elementary School SEL Family Night
Middle School SEL Family Night
At the end of the event, consider a paper survey to gather feedback on the activities and to ask questions about how families would like to support their students. Require families to turn in the completed survey to receive their raffle ticket. You might even manage to have one prize available for every family that attends (thanks to the RSVP ahead of time).
Hint: The support options on the survey (see sample below) are the things that help their kids attain our ASCA Student Standards. Then, when you share your annual calendar with families, they will appreciate seeing that the topics they considered most important are being covered.
Your event should be tailored to your school community and your district’s mission. This chance to build relationships with your families can have long-lasting dividends. Removing the fear of the unknown and sharing how you are trying to reinforce many of the lessons they are teaching their students at home, while showing them new and fun ways to practice those skills, helps everyone.
Contact Rebecca School, a member of the Ohio School Counselor Association Board of Directors, at BeckySchool1852@hotmail.com.
Considerations to keep in mind: What staff might be willing to help? What is your budget? Can you offer a free dinner and dessert? Can students attend without a parent/guardian? What data can we collect?
Using surveys early in planning to gauge interest in potential activities and how many people might attend can help you narrow your options and function within your budget (see our samples, below).
An evening of rotating activities, guided by interest surveys of PTA or other parent/guardian groups, might include:
- Sports and SEL (teaching persistence and teamwork)
- Bucket Drumming (listening and contributing to a group)
- Cooking as a Coping Skill (five senses grounding while cooking for others)
- Using Art for Anxiety (painting with guided relaxation/breathing)
- Coloring Your Feelings (group coloring of mandalas)
- Intention Bracelets (bracelets with a word like persistence, focus, gratitude, faith or strength), and more.
- State: “Registration limited to the first 200 participants!” Set the number high but affordable within your budget, so it encourages people to RSVP sooner.
- Use social media and targeted emails/texts – include pictures of food, prizes, activities
- Use pre-registration, but then allow walk-ins only up to a set limit.
- For elementary school events, paper RSVPs have a high response rate.
Use prize pressure to increase interest – in addition to offering a free dinner, in the days before the event, show off inexpensive or donated prizes that will be given away in the raffle.
Include student groups such as:
- choir to lead a sing-along or karaoke activity (expressing yourself through music)
- cheerleaders/dance teams to lead a dance party (the power of movement in self-regulation)
- basketball team to lead a layup contest (good sportsmanship)
- band kids to help with bucket drumming
While helping families get a sense of what Tier 1 SEL lessons look like, this is an opportunity to ask what else you can do for them. Include an open-ended question in your survey or offer a QR code for families to use to reach out for additional support. Have pamphlets available for parents/guardians to take home listing resources they might need: contact info for your SEL team, information about the dual enrollment process, your state and district requirements for playing on school athletic teams, and extracurriculars to consider. You can also partner with local law enforcement to discuss internet safety issues or with pediatricians to address frequently asked questions on health concerns for your grade levels.
Here are sample programs that were used for Elementary and Middle School SEL Family Nights:
Elementary School SEL Family Night
Middle School SEL Family Night
At the end of the event, consider a paper survey to gather feedback on the activities and to ask questions about how families would like to support their students. Require families to turn in the completed survey to receive their raffle ticket. You might even manage to have one prize available for every family that attends (thanks to the RSVP ahead of time).
Hint: The support options on the survey (see sample below) are the things that help their kids attain our ASCA Student Standards. Then, when you share your annual calendar with families, they will appreciate seeing that the topics they considered most important are being covered.
Your event should be tailored to your school community and your district’s mission. This chance to build relationships with your families can have long-lasting dividends. Removing the fear of the unknown and sharing how you are trying to reinforce many of the lessons they are teaching their students at home, while showing them new and fun ways to practice those skills, helps everyone.Contact Rebecca School, a member of the Ohio School Counselor Association Board of Directors, at BeckySchool1852@hotmail.com.