"BUILDING SYSTEMS OF CARE IN SCHOOLS" CONFERENCE

Earlier this summer, I got the chance to attend a research conference at the Harvard Graduate School of Education on “Building Systems of Care in Schools”

If you have followed me for any time at all, you know this is my love language!

This was an incredible conference with amazing educators and leaders from all over the world: America, Bangladesh, Switzerland, Australia, Alaska, and…Oklahoma!

I want to share the highlights of the conference with you as they pertain to the work we are all doing to create healthier, more flourishing schools for everyone

This is by no means comprehensive of all the content we engaged during the conference, but my hope is to share some of the research and findings as you pursue health and well-being in your own learning community

I also HIGHLY recommend checking out all the professional development learning opportunities provided by the Harvard Graduate School of Education

The Landscape of School Mental Health Services (Dr Vanja Pejic)

Defining Mental Health 

• Mental health affects every aspect of our lives: how we feel about ourselves and the world; solve problems, cope with stress, and overcome challenges; build relationships and connect with others; and perform in school, at work, and throughout life.
  

• Mental health encompasses our emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing, and is an essential component of overall health.
  

• Mental health is defined and expressed within a culture and is connected to how someone’s behavior is related to, or compared with, others in society.
  

From Exclusion to Belonging: Building Systems of Care in Schools (Dr. Maria Reina Santiago-Rosario)

Student exclusion (via disciplinary practices—in school / out of school suspension) = 64% increase in depression and anxiety

Protective Factors for Depression

-Individual: Extracurricular activities, positive identity, social competency

-Interpersonal: Parent connectedness, having friends that care, other caring adults

-School: Adult at school to talk to, positive teacher-student relationship, feeling safe at school

Planned Praise = A proactive strategy where educators intentionally prepare and deliver praise statements to students, especially those who may be underpraised, to strengthen relationships and increase positive interactions

**Schools are powerful social determinants of health!!

Students With Intensive Mental Health Needs: Fostering Effective Educational Supports (Melissa Pearrow)

_{In a high school with 1000 students,} during the last 12 months:

• 526 females and 277 males who felt so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in a row that they stopped doing some usual activities

• 271 females and 141males seriously considered attempting suicide

• 126 females and 64 males actually attempted suicide

System of Care, Wraparound, and Culture

To be effective, systems of care, particularly those based on a wraparound approach, must pay attention to the impact of culture, ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation and class within the process of developing their system, as well as, on how systems operate and the ability of families to access and use services

Building the Capacity for Effective Family-School Partnerships (Dr Karen L Mapp)

Parent Involvement vs Parent Engagement

Involvement:

• Individual

• One way communication

• Space for listening is low

• Programming

• Transactional

Engagement:

• Collective

• Two way communication

• Family knowledge is valued and honored

• Collaborative

• Transformative

Why is Engagement Important?

• Engagement shifts educators from deficit to asset based mindset about students and families

• Stronger morale and professional satisfaction for educators

• More support from families

• Stronger parent-child relationship

• More positive school climate

• Higher teacher retention

• Better reputation and more community support

Bolstering the Resilience of Our Teachers and Students: Feasible and Sustainable Practices (Dr Sara Whitcomb)

“Good mental health is important for everyone. Mental health is as important as physical health to our quality of life. Mental health is not simply the absence of mental illness, but also means having the skills necessary to cope with life's challenges. If ignored, mental health problems can interfere with children's learning, development, relationships, and physical health” 

-National Association of School Psychologists 

Adult Well-Being in Schools (Dr Vanja Pejic)

Role of Schools in Adult Well-Being

Organizations have enormous power to mitigate or exacerbate well-being

When people perceive their organizations to be supportive, they experience lower levels of trauma

Key Principles:

• Leaders modeling well being practices

• Cultural relevance to identity needs of staff

• Feedback loops: staff surveys and input to provider support

• Integration into school systems—embed wellbeing into policies and procedures

As you can see, the content was incredible, but what made the conference really special was the interaction with global educators and school leaders who are all working for the same thing: healthy systems of care for students, families, teachers, and administrators.

This was a special week, and I am excited to share just a whisper of what I learned

Again, I highly recommend checking out the Harvard Graduate School of Education Professional Development programs and attending one of these incredible conferences for yourself!!

Join the Journey

I’m in the midst of creating some really powerful resources to inspire, uplift, encourage and bring together visionary, upstream educators and leaders just like you to curate a community of practice ready to change the narrative of education!

These resources will include

• Digital ebook to help school leaders flourish and thrive as they foster human-centered education at their sites

• Video courses aimed at offering inspired strategy for those ready to do something new and unique in education

• Curated cohorts of like-minded, like-hearted visionaries to come together and learn with and from one another

• Mountain retreats aimed at re-centering the work of education in human and communal flourishing

If that sounds interesting…hit me up!

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