SEL PLUS

08/20/2026

When Jeanne Warsaw says “music saved me,” she means it.

She grew up on the sounds of the 60s and 70s – Marvin Gaye, the civil rights era, folk music that actually tried to change the world. After a career with Virgin, Sony, and Warner Bros., working shows for artists like Janet Jackson, she walked away from the industry with one goal:

Use music to reach young people who aren’t being heard.

On Village Talks, Jeanne shares how MEMA Music brings the songs kids already love into classrooms and community spaces. They break down lyrics, connect them to real life, and then help students turn their reflections into poetry, spoken word, PSAs, and songs – even taking them into real recording studios.

One moment that stuck with me: a student kicked out of class who only wanted his journal so he could keep writing. That journal, rooted in the music they’d been studying, became his way to finally tell his story.

If you care about youth, the arts, or how we build real community around our kids, this conversation is worth your time.

See podcast and blog post here - https://sel-plus.com/blog/helpyouthfindtheirvoice/

To learn more about the broader work and the SELvie platform, visit www.sel-plus.com/selvie.

Explore ways of Helping Youth Find Their Voice and empower them to express themselves confidently.

08/10/2026

When Tim Young said, “Music touches your emotions without your permission,” it stopped the conversation.

On this Village Talks segment, Tim – a producer, singer, songwriter, educator, and founder of U Music LLC – shares how he’s using music and even video games to help young people build real social and emotional skills.

He talks about writing a test-prep anthem for his son’s school so kids could remember strategies for the Illinois Assessment of Readiness, and creating a theme song that helped reconnect a nonprofit’s staff and youth across Chicago.

Instead of treating the arts as optional, Tim shows what happens when we put music at the center of youth development and mental health work.

If you care about how we support the next generation, this conversation is worth your time.

View podcast and blog here: https://sel-plus.com/blog/youthdevelopmentthroughthearts/

To learn more about tools helping coordinate care across the Village of Support, visit www.sel-plus.com/selvie.

Explore Youth Development Through The Arts and how creative expression fosters growth and confidence in young individuals.

08/07/2026

1 Mentor. 1 Tool. 3 Massive Wins.

When youth-serving organizations equip their mentors with SELvie, the results speak for themselves:
📉 50% reduction in behavioral infractions.
📚 0 failing grades across mentored youth.
📈 Consistent, real-time attendance and progress tracking.

You don't need a massive team or endless spreadsheets to change a young person's trajectory. You just need the right infrastructure in the hands of caring adults.

See how it works at www.sel-plus.com/selvie.

08/06/2026

Board members and funders don't just want good intentions. They want measurable outcomes.

For school networks, after-school programs, and nonprofits, proving your impact shouldn't require endless spreadsheet wrestling.

SELvie’s organizational dashboards turn daily mentor notes and student BAG metrics into real-time reporting boards.
📈 Track holistic progress.
📑 Generate funder-ready impact data.
🔍 Prove what’s working, instantly.

Spend less time chasing data and more time changing lives. Explore how at www.sel-plus.com/selvie.

08/05/2026

"I want to mentor, but I'm not a teacher. I don't have a background in counseling."

We hear this all the time. The truth? You don't need a degree to change a young person's trajectory. You just need to show up.

That’s why SELvie embeds skill-based mentor training directly into the platform. From our Mentor Standard of Excellence to monthly SEL curriculum modules, adults get bite-sized, practical professional development they can access anytime, anywhere.

No prior experience required. Just presence, a plan, and the right tools in your corner. Learn more at www.sel-plus.com/selvie.

08/04/2026

Managing student well-being shouldn’t mean drowning in guesswork.

That’s why SELvie tracks student progress across the BAG framework: Behavior, Attendance, and Grades.

Instead of waiting for a crisis, mentors and school staff get clear quarterly trend data broken into Tiers 1 through 3.
📊 Behavior tracked and supported.
📈 Attendance monitored in real time.
🎯 Academic progress clearly visualized.

Real data gives mentors the exact focus they need to make every session count. Explore the platform at www.sel-plus.com/selvie.

08/03/2026

When was the last time you saw a whole classroom go completely silent?

That’s what happened when speaker and author Shameco Lattia Moore walked into a high school in Englewood, unsure of what she could possibly say that would matter.

Instead of a polished speech, she shared her real story: losing her mom at 15, being told she’d go “down the wrong road,” and deciding to write a different ending for herself. As she talked about being a change agent in your own life, one young man in the back put his head down and began to cry. No one laughed. No one talked. They just listened.

That moment set Shamika’s path. Today, through her work with Impact and her book Excellence Is Required, she’s focused on the students in the middle — the ones who aren’t top of the class or in crisis, but are quietly slipping through the cracks. She talks identity, skill-building, leadership, and how one opportunity (or one phone call) can open a door.

If you care about young people finding their voice and seeing real options after high school, this conversation is worth your time.

To learn more about the larger work to support young people and coordinate care across their Village of Support, visit www.sel-plus.com/selvie.

07/30/2026

Equipping the adults who guide our youth is how we scale the village.

Meet SELvie : our comprehensive Mentor Support Platform designed specifically for the adults doing the heavy lifting in youth-serving organizations.

Instead of guessing or drowning in paperwork, mentors and program staff get a centralized command center to:
📊 Track student progress across BAG Tiers (Behavior, Attendance, and Grades) with clear quarterly trend data.
📅 Schedule and manage weekly mentoring sessions effortlessly.
📚 Access our Training Center, featuring the Mentor Standard of Excellence and ISELP methodology courses.
📝 Log session progress notes in real time.

When mentors have the right structure, training, and data in their pocket, they show up with confidence.

07/29/2026

Every child in Chicago deserves a caring adult in their corner.

But for many faith leaders, the desire to help often hits a wall: capacity.

The heart is there. The volunteers are willing. But without a system, burnout is inevitable.

That’s where the village meets the tech.

Together Chicago Education partners with churches to be that village for youth in the city’s most dangerous communities. We don’t just ask for mentors; we equip them.

With SELvie, your congregation gets:
- Real-time AI coaching for every mentor.
- Individualized SEL Plans (ISELP) built for each youth.
- Progress tracking across academics, safety, and employment.

No prior experience required. No manual tracking. Just a data-driven infrastructure that lets your people focus on the relationship while we handle the roadmap.

Let’s build the village together.

07/28/2026

One of our mentors from a South Side Chicago Elementary School tells the story of a student who was shot.

After that trauma, the student fell into the wrong crowd. Attendance dropped. Assignments went undone.

But the mentor stayed in their corner.

Over time, something shifted. The student opened up. Started coming to class. Completing work. Showing more effort than ever before.

This is what happens when mentors have the right tools and training to respond with care, consistency, and confidence : even in the hardest moments.

No prior experience required. Just presence, a plan, and a village that won't give up.

At SEL Plus, we built SELvie to give every mentor that support system : real-time AI coaching, an individualized SEL plan for each mentee, and progress tracking so they always know where to focus.

Because every young person deserves someone in their corner. Especially when the road gets rough.