Village Talks Ep. 5 — Karen Van Ausdal on SEL, Ecosystems, and a Chicago Built to Thrive

What’s up, Village—Damien here. You know I get excited about every conversation, but today hits different. I sat down with Karen Van Ausdal—teacher turned system-builder, former head of CPS’s Office of Social Emotional Learning, longtime national leader with CASEL, and now a philanthropy leader at Polk Brothers Foundation. With decades at the intersection of education, human development, and community thriving, Karen brings both wisdom and courage to the moment we’re in.

“My fate is bound up with your fate. We have to weave the pieces together.”

Meet Karen

• Roots: 4th/5th-grade teacher who fell in love with building whole humans, not just test scores.

• CPS: Helped launch the Office of Social Emotional Learning, integrating climate, SEL skills, and restorative discipline across a huge urban district.

• National: Nearly a decade with CASEL, scaling districtwide SEL systems across the country (and globally).

• Now: Program leadership at Polk Brothers Foundation, investing in a Chicago where everyone can live with dignity and agency.

SEL, Reframed: What It Is—and Why It Works

Karen is clear: decades of evidence show that practicing skills like self-awareness, perspective-taking, relationship-building, and perseverance improves outcomes—from classroom to career.

• It’s not a Friday “add-on.” Real SEL is a systems question: safe climate, adult practice, and daily integration into instruction.

• Chicago data backs it up. Schools that tend to climate and SEL see stronger results for students and staff.

“If we want students to stay in college, sustain careers, and build healthy relationships, we must practice these skills.”

When “SEL” Is Under Attack

Some communities hear “SEL” and shut the door. Karen’s counsel:

• Keep the focus on outcomes. Purpose, belonging, and transferable skills are non-partisan needs.

• Name it locally. Character, human development, agency—call it what your community recognizes, but do the work.

Village = Ecosystem

Karen loves the “village” frame—and pairs it with ecosystem:

• Schools at their best function like a village, not an island.

• Learning stretches beyond school: workforce, faith communities, sports, arts—and the skills transfer across all of it.

• When students don’t feel identity, belonging, and connection, they “vote with their feet.” When they do, learning accelerates.

The Philanthropy Lens: What Chicago Needs Now

At Polk Brothers Foundation, Karen’s team is launching goals that braid issues together:

1. Close Chicago’s life-expectancy gap (which can differ by decades between neighborhoods).

2. Build community wealth across generations.

3. Foster a participatory multiracial democracy.

Funding follows interconnected solutions—coalitions that move health, wealth, and voice together.

Story Time: When the Village Shows Up

• Mutual aid in motion. From safe-passage lines to food drives that filled an entire high-school field house, Chicago neighbors keep showing up for each other.

• CPS discipline reform. Community orgs, the teachers union, central office, and restorative justice leaders co-crafted a new discipline policy and school-climate standards—moving from exclusion to learning and belonging. Not perfect, still in progress, but a real village win.

Magic Wand: Rethinking the School Day

If Karen could change one thing: transform the daily experience so students flow between classrooms, apprenticeships, sports, performance, and community learning—leaving with a portfolio, a sense of purpose, and a lived identity of belonging.

AI: Use Tech to Make School More Human

• Potential: Offload time-eaters (e.g., complex scheduling), support differentiation, and provide 24/7 coaching that hands off to people.

• Caution: Start adult-facing, protect student data, and deploy AI to create time for relationships, not replace them.

Parting Counsel for the Village

• Stop pretending academics and human development are a trade-off. They’re intertwined.

• Center youth voice. Invite students as co-designers and leaders.

• Build ecosystems—school + family + community + work—so learning feels real and connected.

Follow Karen’s current work: polkbrosfdn.org (find Polk Brothers Foundation on LinkedIn/Facebook for updates on the new grantmaking cycle)

Join the Conversation

What’s one way your school or organization is weaving the ecosystem—connecting classroom learning to community, work, and identity? Drop a thought or a link. If you want to share your story on a future Village Talks, hit me on any platform and let’s build.