January/February 2022

With every new year comes a new beginning. 

Taking what you learned in the previous year and building from it is key to having an even more promising year to come. As Brian Tracy said, “We form our habits, and then our habits form us.” In this new calendar year, it is the perfect time for a fresh start to reflect on our habits and practices.

Take this opportunity to adopt a few professional New Year's resolutions and make 2022 stand out. For habits to change, periodically monitor your ideas, goals and plans in order for them to become permanent change.

Happy New Year and welcome back!

The ESC of Northeast Ohio Student Wellness Department 

ESC of Northeast Ohio's Student Wellness Department Offering Handle with Care Training

The Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio’s Student Wellness Department is offering free Handle With Care (HWC) training to its member school districts. There are multiple ESC Student Wellness Consultants that have completed the required training through Handle with Care: Ohio and have the ability to train local school districts and their corresponding first responders (police, fire, and EMS). 

HWC is cross system collaboration that was piloted in a school district in West Virginia but is now becoming a more common system in schools in Ohio and across the country. “It’s a trauma-informed strategy that gives school employees a heads up when something is going on with a student so that they are more aware and they can respond in a way that is supportive as opposed to punitive,” said ESC Student Wellness Consultant Cathy Papp, MSW, LISW-S. 

Parma City Schools held a district-wide training session in the fall where Student Wellness Consultant, Heather Corcoran, trained the high school staff while Cathy Papp trained the staff at the elementary school during a professional development day. There are four districts currently in different stages of the process that will aim to be completely trained by spring 2022: Parma City Schools, Richmond Heights Local Schools, Shaker Heights City Schools, and South Euclid Lyndhurst City Schools. 

School districts interested in connecting with the ESC Student Wellness Department to learn more about their HWC training can reach out to Heather.Corcoran@escneo.org or Cathy.Papp@escneo.org. 

Five Ways to Teach Students to Manage Their Own Conflicts

Experiencing conflict is a normal part of going to school. Here are 5 tips from Edutopia.org to teach students to handle conflict on their own. 

Strategy #1: The Size of the Problem 

Using a big problem versus a little problem worksheet allows students to think about the size of their problem. In addition, the use of a 1 to 5 rating scale encourages them to think critically about the challenge they are facing. Consistent use of these tools can help students become less reactive when dealing with obstacles. 

Strategy 2: Pathway to Peace 

Peace Paths is a conflict resolution tool that uses conversational prompts to allow students to work through a conflict. The sequencing aspect of the tool encourages students to progress through their feelings to find a solution. 

Strategy #3: A Little Help from Friends 

This strategy allows students to hear feedback from a different perspective. Students can be divided into pairs, with each one writing down a problem they are experiencing, followed up by discussing their issue before working together to come up with solutions. 

Strategy #4: Developing Empathy

This strategy focuses on prompts from the teacher asking for a student's opinion on how to handle a situation. The goal is to have the students “employ a bit of scripted empathy” by allowing them to look at their own behavior from a different perspective.

Strategy #5: Tallying up the Positives and Negatives

A decision matrix can help students make positive choices through the use of a point system. 

A point is allotted for each possible positive consequence and a point is subtracted for each negative consequence of their choice/decision.

Welcoming Your Students Back from Break

Effective arrangement and organization of the classroom is one of the eight classroom practices that are linked to positive student outcomes, both academically and behaviorally. An aspect of the classroom environment that is often overlooked, however, is the establishment of a welcoming environment. When students have a sense of belonging, they are more likely to stay motivated and have better attendance. Here are a few ways to make your classroom feel welcoming to all:

• Greet students at the door with “TUMS.” T: touch (a fist bump or high five), U: use their name, M: make eye contact, S: smile. 

• Extend a warm welcome even when a student is late.

• Allow students to get a glimpse of who you are outside of the classroom. This can go a long way toward developing relationships and trust.

• Build relevance between your classroom and your students’ lives by learning about what they do outside of the school day and then making connections in the curriculum when possible.

• Hold a community circle to check in with your students and review classroom expectations. Remember to share your experiences over the break to connect and share a glimpse of yourself, which can help develop trust and connections.

CLICK HERE for an article on "Easing the Transition Back from Winter Break."

Committed to Wellness at Kirtland Local Schools

The Kirtland Local Schools have a strong commitment to the overall wellness of its school community. Staff, students, and families are coming together, now more than ever, to not only take care of others but themselves as well. In a partnership with the district’s Wellness Committee, numerous initiatives are being planned that will take place in classrooms as well as in homes.

The Wellness Committee, which consists of members of the administration, staff, students, and parents, has met quarterly over the past few years. The committee looks for ways to promote wellness for all stakeholders, which aligns with the district’s strategic plan of “promoting healthy choices for students.”

ESC of Northeast Ohio Trainings

MTSS 4-Part Series: The Love/Hate Relationship with Data

Friday, March 11, 2022 (Zoom)

9-11 a.m.

MTSS 4-Part Series: How to Determine Your Options for Social-Emotional Learning

Wednesday, April 27, 2022 (Zoom)

9-11 a.m.

School Counselor & Social Worker Network

Crisis Prevention Institute Programs

Provided by Student Wellness Department

Multiple trainings and dates available

Student Wellness Webinars

Free On-Demand Webinars

Available 24/7

KOGNITO (FREE)

45 minute, online role-play simulation

Self-paced and private

Trauma-Informed Practices for K12 Schools

PreK-12 PBIS Training for Leadership Team

SST3 and the ESC-NEO are pleased to announce the two online offerings of the PreK-12 PBIS Training for Leadership Teams. 

These series have been designed as self-paced online training with instructional videos and required activities. All materials are housed in the Canvas website and are intended to be accessed and completed as a team. 

Interested Tier I PBIS building level teams can download the registration packet at: https://tinyurl.com/PDPBIS. Upon receipt of the completed packet, teams will be contacted by a PBIS facilitator for support in getting started.