Research
United States
The Impact of a Social-Emotional
Learning Curriculum on English
Language Arts Achievement
Chile
Teacher Perception of SEL
Instruction Using Cloud9World
México
Evaluation of the
Cloud9World Program in
Public and Private Schools.
Colombia
Transforming Schools
With Cloud9World
Brief
Building Literacy Through SEL:
How Cloud9World Supports ELA Growth in High-Need Schools
Overview
A recent study published in the Journal of Advances in Education examined the effect of a social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum on English Language Arts (ELA) achievement among 5th-grade students in Title I schools. The research found statistically significant gains in reading comprehension and vocabulary development for students who received SEL instruction compared to a control group.
Key Findings
• Study Design: Conducted in high-poverty public schools using a pre/post control group format. One group used a structured SEL curriculum (not named, but with features aligned to Cloud9World), while the control group followed the standard ELA curriculum without additional SEL.
• Academic Gains: Students receiving SEL instruction outperformed peers in both reading comprehension and vocabulary, with particularly strong improvements in reading fluency and text-based reasoning.
• Student Engagement: Teachers reported that students in the SEL group were more engaged with ELA content, participated more frequently in class discussions, and displayed stronger comprehension of character-driven narratives.
Implications for Cloud9World
These findings reinforce the link between emotional intelligence and language development, supporting Cloud9World’s approach of embedding SEL into literacy instruction.
• Cloud9World’s bilingual stories and character-based ELA activities are well-positioned to replicate or exceed the outcomes documented in this study.
• Particularly in Title I or high-poverty settings, combining SEL and literacy may be one of the most effective ways to boost student achievement without adding time or testing burden.
Recommended Use
District leaders, principals, and curriculum directors can reference this study when justifying the integration of Cloud9World into existing ELA blocks, especially for Tier 1 instruction or in schools seeking both behavior and academic gains.
Chile
Teacher Perception of SEL
Instruction Using Cloud9World
México
Evaluation of the
Cloud9World Program in
Public and Private Schools.
Colombia
Transforming Schools
With Cloud9World
Brief
Teacher Perception of SEL Instruction Using Cloud9World
Objective:
To evaluate teachers’ perceptions after implementing Cloud9World’s emotional education programs in their schools.
Schools Involved:
Four schools: one private, one rural subsidized, one urban subsidized, and one municipal.
Programs Used:
Let’s Learn About Emotions with Kiwi (Pre-K)
Fundamental Strengths (Elementary)
21st Century Skills (Upper Elementary)
Implementation Period:
6–8 months, 3 sessions per week (1 in “orientation,” 2 integrated into other subjects).
Key Results for Cloud9World
1. Global Appreciation:
Teachers across all schools rated Cloud9World very highly: “didactic,” “dynamic,” “clear,” “precise,” “wonderful.” The platform centralized emotional content that was otherwise scattered across the web and made large-scale emotional planning easier and more organized.
2. Benefits Identified:
Bilingual resources (Spanish and English) were appreciated for classroom flexibility. Cross-curricular integration allowed teachers to use the platform in language arts, history, and even religion classes. It helped schools meet national educational improvement goals (PME) and showed strong alignment with Chile’s curriculum and emotional learning policies.
3. Emotional and Academic Outcomes:
For students: greater self-awareness and emotional vocabulary, improved self-regulation (even among students with autism spectrum disorder, TEA), and social-emotional growth observed at school and at home.
For teachers: increased capacity to detect emotional needs, clearer insight into students’ home environments, and strengthened ability to teach emotional concepts with confidence.
4. Meaningful Activities
Teachers identified the most effective and engaging components as stories and characters (especially in the Kiwi program), word searches and interactive games, daily emotional logs that allowed students to reflect on how they felt and how their emotional understanding evolved, and evaluations that measured emotional progress through self-assessment.
5. Platform Strengths
The platform offered a wide range of downloadable resources (videos, worksheets, stories, games). It was easy to access, saved teachers time, and was organized by age groups and character strengths. Parents also had access, creating strong home-school connections. Teachers noted it helped students learn to talk about emotions naturally, “just like they talk about math or science.”
6. Family Involvement:
Family engagement was one of the most celebrated aspects. Activities sent home created a shared emotional vocabulary between children and parents. Parents actively participated and appreciated the value of the program. Emotional learning became part of home life, reinforcing school learning, and teachers noted improved family-school partnerships, especially during the pandemic.
7. Challenges & Future Vision
Teachers expressed excitement to continue the program in person, following a largely remote or hybrid implementation due to COVID-19. They noted Cloud9World provided critical emotional support during the pandemic and anticipate even greater impact in a full classroom setting.
Key Takeaways
Widespread teacher satisfaction and high usability of the online platform
Documented improvements in emotional intelligence among students
Effective teacher training led to strong adoption
Resources are engaging and easy to implement
Family engagement was highly successful
Cloud9World was seen as a powerful curricular support that met national goals in Chile and integrated smoothly into regular teaching
United States
The Impact of a Social-Emotional
Learning Curriculum on English
Language Arts Achievement
México
Evaluation of the
Cloud9World Program in
Public and Private Schools.
Colombia
Transforming Schools
With Cloud9World
Brief
Evaluation of the Cloud9World Program
in Public and Private Schools.
Cloud9World in Mexico City’s toughest zone: what changed
Setting and schools
The Mexico City trial took place in Region 1, Gustavo A. Madero, an area the study describes as highly complex with crime, violence, insecurity and multiple social and economic problems.
The public schools included Suave Patria, Lic. Alfredo V. Bonfil Pinto, Luis Martínez Murillo, Héroe Antonio Reyes, and Prof. Roberto Oropeza Nájera. Libertadores de México served as a control school. Some sites ran Cloud9World in the city’s Greetings after-school schedule, and Roberto Oropeza also used it during the school day.
What was taught
The Mexico City cohort focused on three core values that map directly to safety and coexistence in high-risk settings:
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Acceptance
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Cooperation
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Commitment
Headline results for Mexico City public schools
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Students learned the target values
Knowledge of Acceptance, Cooperation and Commitment increased significantly from pre to post in Mexico City public trial schools. The study reports chi-square p values of 0.000 for all three values in trial schools. Control schools in Mexico City did not show significant gains.
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Classroom behavior moved in the right direction, most for students with the highest needs
Results are broken out by four profiles that combine behavior and grades:
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Profile 1 good behavior and good grades
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Profile 2 good behavior and poor grades
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Profile 3 misconduct and good grades
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Profile 4 misconduct and poor grades
Acceptance
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Profile 4 improved by about ten percentage points across behaviors. Largest gains included recognizing differences (+29), following teacher instructions (+24) and willingness to try new things (+12).
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Profile 2 improved by about six points on average, with notable gains in self worth (+24), following instructions (+15) and respect for others’ opinions (+10).
Cooperation
Broad gains appeared for students who started behind. Average increases were +21 points for Profile 2, +18 for Profile 3 and +23 for Profile 4. Highlights included working in pairs or teams (+28 to +36), waiting one’s turn to speak (+24 for Profile 2) and helping classmates without making fun (+30 for Profile 4 and +26 for Profile 3).
Commitment
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Profile 2 rose by an average of +16 points. The biggest jumps were knowing how and when to ask for help (+52), responsibility (+25), rights and responsibilities (+25) and carrying out tasks (+21).
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Profile 4 rose by an average of +7 points. Highest changes were completing assigned tasks (+22), staying interested in a task even when difficult (+20) and fulfilling promises (+20). Profiles 1 and 3 showed no material change on this value.
3. School climate trends were less negative where Cloud9World ran
Across the year, all schools tended to see school climate decline. In Cloud9World schools the drop in positive responses was smaller (about one point versus two in controls), and negative responses fell by two points in Cloud9World schools while they rose by six in controls. In short, the usual slide was softened where Cloud9World was present.
How this lands in a high-violence zone
The biggest behavioral shifts concentrated in Profiles 2, 3 and 4. That means the students who most needed help moved the most on acceptance, cooperation and commitment.
Cooperation showed the broadest and strongest pattern of gains. In a context flagged for insecurity and conflict, more teamwork, turn-taking and peer help are exactly the day-to-day behaviors you want to see rising.
Climate data suggests Cloud9World helped curb the typical end-of-year deterioration that schools reported. The effect is modest but consistent in the aggregate.
Notes and limits to keep in mind
Teacher ratings on acceptance and cooperation improved overall in trial schools, although some Mexico City subgroups show mixed movement when you slice by grade band and value application tables. The behavior-by-profile results above provide the clearest signal for the Mexico City public sites.
The study could not obtain official grade records for the Mexico City public schools, so academic shifts cannot be verified from transcripts for this cohort.
Cloud9World in Mexico City Region 1
In one of the most complex and violent areas of the city, students in Cloud9World schools showed significant learning of key values and the largest behavior gains among the highest-need profiles, especially in cooperation and core self-management behaviors that matter for safety and classroom order. The overall school climate still drifted downward over the year, but less so where Cloud9World ran.
United States
The Impact of a Social-Emotional
Learning Curriculum on English
Language Arts Achievement
Chile
Teacher Perception of SEL
Instruction Using Cloud9World
Colombia
Transforming Schools
With Cloud9World
Brief
Transforming Schools With Cloud9World
What is Nube9 (Cloud9World)?
Nube9 integrates literacy (reading and writing) as a vehicle for teaching life skills using a socio-emotional education model. The program aims to impact student behavior, socio-emotional development, literacy levels, school climate, and family engagement.
Key Results from 2023
Grade 5 Students - SECI Assessments: Percent of correct responses by SEL dimension were: Self-management 77%, Self-awareness 78%, Social awareness 77%, Relationship skills 74%, and Responsible decision-making 76%. Results were collected through the online platform.
Grade 4 Students - Conceptual Quick Tests: Key findings from surveys showed that for Curiosity, 83% answered correctly and 77% associated curiosity with bravery, confidence, and commitment. For Empathy, 92.6% defined it as helping and caring, while 63.9% linked it to prioritizing others’ needs. For Initiative, 88.6% defined it as “doing something before being asked” and 64.8% linked it to planning ahead. For Resilience, 77% answered correctly and 86.6% recognized it as adapting to change.
Internal Impact Indicators
Growth in SEL Competencies (Educators): After participating in Nube9, 78.7% of educators improved in at least one SEL domain. Key SEL areas were self-awareness, assertive communication, creativity, and critical thinking. Regional breakdown: Antioquia 77.8%, Suroccidente 78.6%.
Growth by Educational Level: Early Childhood (Primera infancia) showed 78.8% of educators improved in at least one dimension, and Secondary Education showed 76.9% growth. Statistically significant improvements were seen in self-awareness, assertive communication, and creativity, with no significant change in critical thinking.
Emotional Self-Regulation in Children: Measured by parent and educator perception across four dimensions (observed behavior and school engagement), 76.7% of children improved in at least one dimension, with statistically significant results at the 99% confidence level. Regional results: Antioquia 87.6% showed improvement in one dimension, Suroccidente 68.4%.
USAID-Backed Testing Results
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Secondary Students (SECI): Global increase of +35% from entry to exit. Dimensions tested included effective communication, inclusion, equity, diversity, and empathy. For example, Grade 11 empathy improved from 47% to 93% and Grade 11 equity improved from 45% to 84%.
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Basic Education (Grades 6–9): Global increase of +18% with the largest gains in integrity, cooperation, and compassion.
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Impact on Teachers: Over 50% of teachers initially lacked strategies to diversify learning spaces. After the program, classroom observation showed marked changes in teaching methods and mindset. Teachers moved beyond rigid traditional instruction to more emotionally aware and student-centered environments.
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Regional Spotlight: Bajo Cauca: 80 public and rural schools were served, with 2,000 direct student beneficiaries and 2,800 indirect student and family beneficiaries. Conflict-resolution and peaceful coexistence were major focal points.
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2024 Projections: 3,990 total professionals qualified, 3,479 early childhood centers reached, 327 children directly served, and 18,540 students reached indirectly.