If you are considering traveling to Minnesota for the Supporting Student Mental Health Conference, I encourage you to stay for the weekend and experience all Minnesota has to offer. This is a great amount of time to experience the natural beauty of lake country and the urban offerings of Minneapolis. This is what I suggest …
As the pandemic has progressed, the mantra of self-care has come under attack by educators and leaders (https://www.boredteachers.com/post/teachers-cant-self-care-themselves-out-of-toxic-environment) as the idea of being able to care for yourself alone seems more impossible. I have seen a transition away from the highly individualistic strategies of self-care to an approach that emphasizes mutual care, connection and collaboration. …
SEL is the process through which students and adults develop the skills for fundamental life effectiveness. These are the skills we all need to handle ourselves, our relationships and our work effectively and ethically (definition adapted from Oakland Unified School District). Students need SEL skills to succeed in school, work and life. A focus on …
As I have started sharing publicly about this new adventure I have gotten questions about what a trauma-informed school really is. And while I give my elevator speech that reviews the research on Adverse Childhood Experiences, neuroscience, toxic stress, social-emotional learning and multi-tiered systems of support, for those out of education, I think sometimes my …
There are many different definitions for what a trauma-informed school is and I encourage you to check out the resource list available at the Resilience Impact website (resilienceimpact.com) to continue your learning on some of the different models. Some models have a clinical mental health focus, some focus on individual student or classroom interventions, and …
All worthwhile intervention starts with assessment. In order to know if what we are doing is working, we have to know where we started and where we are trying to get. Many times, school leaders and staff consider implementing trauma-informed practices in response to a crisis but the problem with a “quick fix” perspective is …
I came across this image on Dr. Jim Walter’s twitter feed this week and found it to be a good representation of the journey to become trauma-informed. Once we are able to think about the experiences of school from the perspective of a child who has experienced trauma, we are “trauma-woke” to how insensitive some …
In honor of SEL Day, I wanted to share a little about what is Social Emotional Learning and 3 mistakes I see schools make in their implementation of SEL. SEL is the process through which students and adults develop the skills for fundamental life effectiveness. These are the skills we all need to handle ourselves, …
With the recent release of the long-awaited Student Support and Academic Enrichment (also now as Title IV, Part A) allocations in Minnesota, districts need to make some decisions quickly on how the funds will be used in their district. These funds are part of a federal grant under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This …
It seems that everyone has an opinion on the best way to keep schools safe. From arming teachers and creating secure entrances, keeping students safe has become a priority in our country. If you work in a school you have probably been trained on your crisis plan, practiced lockdown drills, had discussions with students on …
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