Volume 1, Issue 2 | January 2021
HeartMind e-News: Teach, Learn, Lead
A monthly publication dedicated to trauma-informed, compassionate school practices that help educators, students, and families move toward a sense of wholeness and well-being

Coalition for the Future of Education: The HeartMind Community is aligned with the vision and the work of the Coalition. We urge you to complete the exercises in the HeartMind Adventure and feature article and then join the HeartMind Community for resources to support our collective efforts. Our work will simplify the path forward.
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Beacons of Hope

If we are to be beacons of hope, to bring hope to our local schools and communities, we need a firm foundation. Our words matter and we need to implement processes and procedures that are grounded in research, and are also implemented with heart centered compassion and understanding (conscious awareness) of those in our communities.

To go beyond the setbacks that occurred in 2020 will take understanding, confidence, and courage. Compassion must be front and center and take precedence over rules, policies, and protocols that may not be a good fit with the teaching/learning modalities that are needed to advance student well-being as well as academic growth.

This month CEI looks at “equity consciousness.” What can we do to take huge steps forward in addressing racism and inequity? How can we be beacons of hope for those who have been marginalized?
Join Our HeartMind Adventure!
Our HeartMind Adventure is a series of practical exercises designed to give you, your colleagues, and your students opportunities to deepen understanding and further the practice of our 5Cs:

In December, we took you on a HeartMind Adventure, asking you to become more aware of our 5Cs. This month our HeartMind Adventure connects our 5Cs to racism and equity. To begin, review any notes you have from last month and begin this month's adventure by answering a few basic questions. Learn more.
Each edition of HeartMind e-News offers a research-based perspective to help you understand more about what can be done to further trauma-informed, compassionate school practices that help educators, students, and families move toward a sense of wholeness and well-being.
Featured Article
Equity Consciousness
Christine Mason, CEI Executive Director and Orinthia Harris, CEI Faculty
Our HeartMind e-News connects the relationship of heart centered learning and mindfulness to current research and circumstances. Our goal is to provide our readers with concrete opportunities to further implementation of heart centered practices in their schools and districts. These opportunities will include suggestions for reflection, journaling, dialoguing, and compassionate classroom activities. These exercises often start with adults, working on our own knowledge and skills, before we turn to students.

Equity and justice made headlines over and over again during 2020. What do we foresee for 2021? How will equity and justice be addressed? And why might CEI’s 5Cs (consciousness, compassion, confidence, courage, and community; Mason et al., 2019, 2020) play an important role in helping educators address racism?

Let’s Begin with Consciousness
Yvette Jackson (2020), in a recent webinar for the New England Mental Health Technology Transfer Center’s Childhood-Trauma Learning Collaborative, described a need for an equity consciousness. In Jackson’s view, equity consciousness begins with conscious awareness of the innate potential of ALL students for engagement, high intellectual performances, and self-determination. Read more.
Upcoming Events
Join our research-based webinars to learn about experiencing joy and healing through mindful self-care.

  • January 27, 2021 @ 4:00 p.m. Equity Consciousness, a webinar with Dr. Orinthia Harris
 
  • February 10, 2021 @ 4:00 p.m. Mindfulness Practices Virtual Book Study, Session One
Whether students are learning in classrooms, online, or in a hybrid model, our approach can accelerate healing and success in 2021.
Compassionate School Practices: Fostering Children’s Mental Health and Well-Being

Help your school/district use available resources to create a compassionate culture of justice and care for all by leaning into this book’s approach to leadership and social emotional learning.

Discover a collaborative visioning process to elevate compassion through dialogue, policies, and protocol.
Mark Your Calendar: February 3, 2021 @ 7:00 p.m.
Solution Tree Facebook Live session on equity consciousness with authors Dr. Yvette Jackson, Dr. Christine Mason, and Dr. Michele Rivers Murphy

Follow Solution Tree's Facebook page for updates on this live streaming event.
Program Spotlight
Feeling overwhelmed with the volume of potential SEL activities? Join our HeartMind Community to access trauma-responsive, compassionate school practices based on CEI's Heart Centered Learning framework.

Join our HeartMind Community to understand more about seamlessly weaving mindfulness and Heart Centered Learning throughout your school day.
Sign up to receive:

  • HeartMind e-News (monthly)
  • Discounts on book study materials, including our mindfulness publications
  • Periodic mindfulness and Heart Centered Learning tip sheets for school leaders
  • Opportunities to network with peers to discuss ways to build student resiliency
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