A Message from Our School Mental Health Team
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“The work of school safety and the work of equity is the same work. All of our safety interventions have to be designed from an equitable lens.
They cannot be separated.”
-Yesmina Luchsinger,
Director of School Safety & Social Wellness at the Arizona Department of Education
“We have, as educators, an opportunity to take individual and family crises and turn them into experiences of connection, appreciation, empowerment, and love.
It is important that when our students and communities face tremendous challenges, we work as educators to serve as allies for young people and families to empower themselves. Such work can take the form of curricular references and collective student action to help. In other circumstances,
the ways in which crisis can cultivate connection may be as varied and expansive as the imaginations of the people we serve.”
-Dr. Darrick Smith,
University of San Francisco
The quotes above are from two of the 18 regional contributors in our newly released guide,
School Mental Health Crisis Leadership Lessons: Voices of Experience from Leaders in the Pacific Southwest Region
(see more below). Their leadership reflections are even more salient this month.
June 2020 began with many of our students and educators witnessing and then responding to another national experience of racial violence. June 2020, for many in our region, was also a month of virtual graduations, planning for “re-entry” in the fall, reimagining summer school and continuing to innovate and rework our school mental telehealth practices and policies. June 2020 is National LGBT Pride Month, a month when we recognize the contributions of LGBT school mental health scholars and practitioners to our work.
Like so many other moments, our school communities are navigating celebration and commemoration simultaneously. We hope that our guide and upcoming programming supports you in your school mental health leadership that always requires navigating that duality.
We look forward to continuing to cultivate connection with you this month and onwards.
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The
Pacific Southwest MHTTC
is a SAMHSA-funded center serving American Samoa, Arizona, California, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Hawaii, Marshall Islands, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands, and Palau.
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GET IN TOUCH:
Contact us
for technical assistance and support on mental health topics.
SPREAD THE WORD:
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
@PSMHTTC
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School Mental Health Wellness Wednesdays
Connect • Reflect • Support
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In collaboration with the
Meaning Makers Collective
, we’re pleased to offer School Mental Health Wellness Wednesdays: 60-minute virtual sessions for the
school mental health workforce to connect, reflect, and support each other
. Led by Judee Fernandez and Michelle Kurta, Meaning Makers Collective.
Please note that the Wellness Wednesdays are not a sequence; you can join some or all. All sessions are held at
5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT / 11 a.m. HT
.
• • • • •
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SEMINAR SERIES: Now in Session; at Capacity
The Other SEL: Social Emotional Leadership
Fostering Our School Mental Health SEL to Get Us Through Pandemic Times
We heard you! The demand for this program was high. We’re working on putting together a general webinar open to all, and we will hopefully be able to offer this seminar series again in our coming programming year.
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Every day, school and community leaders navigate unpredictable events. These events are called “crises” when they exceed a threshold of harm. To navigate a crisis successfully, school mental health leaders need the skills to contain the crisis, minimize subsequent trauma, and restore equity and equanimity in the school environment. Their leadership is integral across the continuum of crisis readiness, response, recovery, and renewal.
To help schools navigate our current crises and prepare for future crises, the Pacific Southwest MHTTC asked educators and school mental health leaders in Region 9 to share their experiences in leading school systems, communities, and sites through crisis. These leaders shared: what did they wish they knew at the time of crisis? What have they learned? What did they take with them?
School Mental Health Crisis Leadership Lessons: Voices of Experience from Leaders in the Pacific Southwest Region
highlights how school mental health leaders can – and do – work with and through crises.
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The School Mental Health Crisis Leadership Lessons
guide provides an overview of the crisis continuum; explores the intersection between school crises and school mental health leadership; and examines each component of the school crisis continuum by learning from voices of experience from the field.
Also included: resources and references to steward your crisis readiness, response, recovery, and renewal leadership.
The guide was developed by Leora Wolf-Prusan, EdD, Pacific Southwest MHTTC School Mental Health Lead, and David Schonfeld, MD, FAAP, National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement, with contributions from 18 partner organizations and school mental health leaders from our region and the two population-focused MHTTCs: the National Hispanic and Latino MHTTC and the National American Indian/Alaska Native MHTTC.
Work through the Guide with Reflection and Intention:
A complementary reflection worksheet is available to help reading leadership reflect and connect.
TODAY!
Study the Guide With Us!
Join us for a discussion session to learn more about the guide.
This guide is rich with leadership lessons. Join us for a study session with School Mental Health Lead Leora Wolf-Prusan. This session will provide an overview to the guide, reflections on how school mental health leadership might use the guide to steward their work, and a discussion space for practitioners.
This session will be recorded.
THANK YOU
Thank you to co-author
David Schonfeld,
Director of the National Center for School Crisis & Bereavement and our regional contributors:
Anthony Petrosino
, Director of the WestEd Justice & Prevention Research Center and the Associate Director of the Health & Justice Program;
Darrick Smith
, Professor of Education (University of San Francisco) and former co-principal (June Jordan School for Equity, San Francisco, California);
Emily Jo Hernandez
, Los Angeles Office County of Education and the California State University, Los Angeles;
Jim Lee
, Emergency Preparedness Advisor, Arizona Department of Education;
Jen Leland
, Trauma Transformed;
Jodina Attao
, Quality Improvement Specialist, Maternal & Child Health Bureau, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands;
Judee Fernandez and Michelle Kurta
, founders of the Meaning Makers Collective;
Kanwarpal Dhaliwal
, co-founder and Associate Director of RYSE Youth Center, Richmond, California;
Katherine Loudon,
Administrator, Washoe County School District, Nevada;
Kelly Knoche
, Executive Director of The Teaching Well;
Matt Reddam
, School and Community Wellness Advisor, Butte County Office of Education; the
National Hispanic and Latino Mental Health Technology Transfer Center; the National American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Technology Transfer Center; Pat Sanborn
, Project Manager at the Nevada Department of Education ;
Robert Weires
, Director of Psychological Services for the Clark County School District (CCSD) in Nevada and manager of the Department of Student Threat Evaluation and Crisis Response, a specialized sub-department of Psychological Services;
Sandra Azevedo
, Coordinator Continuous Improvement, Butte County Office of Education;
Vince Ferry
, Principal, Saugus High School, California; and
Yesmina Luchsinger
, Director School Safety & Social Wellness, Arizona Department of Education.
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Virtual Learning from our
Partners
Note that this site is constantly being updated with new opportunities as we quickly respond to the needs and contexts of the field.
Virtual Learning Opportunities From the Field
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Wednesday, June 24
In the wake of the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, and others, educators are exploring how to take thoughtful action that addresses pervasive real and symbolic violence against Black communities. Presenters will address tangible strategies and concrete next steps for addressing anti-Blackness in schools, colleges, and universities.
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Asynchronous training with live events on July 13 and 14
As educators face the start of school year, the only certain thing is uncertainty. What does "back to school" (whether online or in-person) look like right now? Prior to coronavirus, the need for trauma-informed care, restorative practices, and an equity focus were already of vital importance, and they remain so as educators try to plan for what comes next. Join Ellen Fox from Triad Restorative Justice and Alex Shevrin Venet from Unconditional Learning in a project-based, two-week intensive training that will equip educators to apply restorative practices and trauma-informed practices. Participants will receive a certificate for 15 hours of professional learning upon completion.
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July 20-23, 2020
Online Summit:
Offered through Facing History and Ourselves, this one-week summit offers a real-time, interactive online classroom. Educators will connect in facilitated whole and small group sessions aimed at supporting them to teach students equity-driven content, cultivate social-emotional skills, and prepare informed and active global citizens to create a more equitable and inclusive society.
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Advisory Board Member Event!
June 24-25 | Virtual
Join the California Mental Health Advocates for Children & Youth (CMHACY) for their fortieth annual conference for county and state leaders, providers, educators, parents, youth, advocates, and policymakers. The event will include live presentations and panel sessions, an interactive online exhibit hall, and virtual networking activities. All sessions will be available to registrants online for one month following the live event.
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Online Module:
A 10-minute online module that ends with specific tools and resources for leading effective meetings.
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July 13-17, 2020
Online Institute:
Engage in intensive training to learn about the applications of the science of learning to education.
The Summer Institute is for:
- PreK-12 Teachers and Academic Administrators
- School Psychologists, Learning Specialists, and Counselors
- Academic Support Staff
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These resources come from the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement and the Coalition to Support Grieving Students, led by our colleague and partner Dr. David Schonfeld. They include helpful recorded presentations (15-25 minutes), such as the two modules for educators and parents on “Talking to and Supporting” our students and children.
Need help navigating the online materials? The Coalition put together
this cheat sheet
.
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An Important ACSD Guest Article:
Article:
In this piece, author and ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) guest blogger Arlène E. Casimir offers thoughts on how educators can co-create a healing-centered learning environment with students, where wounds become the wisdom needed to go forward.
If we aren’t addressing racism, we aren’t addressing trauma.
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Organization:
The Black Teacher Project’s mission is to develop and sustain Black teachers to lead and reimagine schools as communities of liberated learning. Their vision is that every student will benefit from the diversity, excellence, and leadership of an empowered Black teaching force.
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Study:
This 2018 study from the California Health Report cites
research out of University of California, Riverside
which found that
young children who experience discrimination are at heightened risk for mental health and behavior problems, but less so if they have a strong sense of racial and ethnic identity.
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Facilitation Guide:
Educators play a crucial role in helping students talk openly about the historical roots and contemporary manifestations of social inequality and discrimination. This guide from Teaching Tolerance offers classroom-ready strategies educators can use to plan discussions and facilitate these conversations with their students.
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Lesson Plan:
From the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), this lesson plan aims to support students’ ability to define the concept of privilege and identify and express examples of privilege in their lives or the world in which they live.
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State Guidebook:
The California Department of Education’s this guidance was created through a statewide reopening schools task force that used a collaborative process for educators and stakeholders to lend their important voices. The guidance was also informed by the technical assistance and advice of many health and safety organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control, California Department of Public Health, California Division of Occupational Safety and Health. The intent of this document is to be a guide for the local discussion on safely reopening schools.
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The MHTTC Network and the National Center for School Mental Health partnered on a national environmental scan and needs assessment of mental health literacy resources for educators. The resource they developed describes the role of educators and school staff in supporting student mental health; explains the core components of mental health literacy; and provides an annotated list of existing resources and trainings to help educators and school staff build their mental health literacy.
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This one-pager from San Diego County Office of Education is a great model of a concise tool to equip students with self-care strategies and essential resources for COVID-19 and beyond (also in
Spanish
).
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Contact the Pacific Southwest MHTTC
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Disclaimer:
The views, opinions, and content expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or policies of the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
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