Bud to Blossom Project: One Solution to Closing the Information Access Gap for SEL

By Yvonne Macias

Photo by Carlos from Pexels

All over my social media platforms, I have come across links to documents and spreadsheets that contain various forms of media (articles, books, websites) on a particular topic to help anyone learn about the topic on their own. This method helps aggregate many free, accurate resources together into one place. It provides people with the option to read through various forms of media on a particular topic of interest. Resource gathering and sharing are important because it makes accurate information accessible to the general public, and can be truly beneficial to low-income communities.

Given the costs of accessing research and news articles, many low-income individuals and communities do not receive information at the same advantage as higher-income, educated individuals. With paywalls to journals and subscription requirements for certain news outlets, it is important to question who can have the resources to pay for those costs and what message this is giving to individuals about who has a right to accurate, data-informed media (Benton, 2017). In addition to financial costs, time is another non-sacrificable resource for low-income folk. The task of finding free, accurate resources becomes a burden to low-income folk. It reduces their access to essential resources that help them navigate concepts of SEL and mental health.

The Bud to Blossom Project aims to provide resources and guidelines on Social Emotional Learning to underserved school communities. Teachers, administrators, and parents will find resources to help disseminate information to children as they grow in this society. This project’s ultimate goal is to elevate understanding on social-emotional well-being and healthy well-being practices for underserved communities." This resource gathering ensures that unbiased, data-driven information is presented, articles and other forms of media are present for people’s different needs, and individuals are not burdened with the task of finding the information on their own when they have other responsibilities. This ensures access to information is equitable.

During my time with Effective to Great Education, I will be producing a database of resources including articles and other types of media to help raise awareness and spread information on Latinx mental health and history. This resource will be presented to all via the Bud to Blossom website linked here. The ultimate goal is to have a website with resources for parents, teachers, students, and all stakeholders in the movement to reshape the U.S. education system to benefit Black and Latinx students. To stay up to date with the crucial and innovative work of Effective to Great Education and the Bud to Blossom Project, follow this link here.