AUGUST 3: SCHOOL-BASED SERVICES TRANSFORMATION TEAM |
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Communication & Collaboration
Welcome to the 5 Things Digest from the NTTAC School-Based Transformation Team! This digest identifies 5 ways to increase student and caregiver connection and engagement. This digest surrounds ways that educators, students, and youth in the community can use communication tools, apps, and other technology to connect with our school communities in diverse and accessible ways.
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#1: Storytelling & Podcasting
The ability to tell stories, whether it is about school-based experiences, mental health, or day-to-day life, is an important aspect of human existence (kOKI, 1998). Finding ways to highlight student experiences (in and out of school) has many positive outcomes, including:
- Building efficacy using technology and communication platforms
- Validation and understanding of student identity
- Skill development
- Exploration of diverse types of outlets for strategic sharing
- Building rapport and connection between supporting staff and students
NTTAC & Youth MOVE National are in production of a series that is a prime example of storytelling and collaboration with young adults: Audio Stories - Youth Taking Action.
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RESOURCES
Anchor - make your own podcast
This is Normal - A podcast where young people talk about their own mental health challenges -- and how they got through them
CITATIONS
Koki, S. (1998). Storytelling: The Heart and Soul of Education. Pacific Resources for Education and Learning, Honolulu, HI. (ED426398). ERIC. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED426398.pdf
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#2: Creative Expression & Art
When students express themselves through meaning-making and other creative methods, the impact improves community wellness, connectivity, and helps to reduce individual depression and anxiety (Stuckey & Nobel, 2010; Clift, 2012).
In 2013, Youth MOVE Maine put together a statewide project using photography and written word to hear about the experiences of youth, which culminated in a magazine of photos and stories called IDentity. Finding ways to insert creative expression in schools and community programs help enhance the experiences of youth and young adults as well as strengthen the school and community.
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Image from IDentity Magazine |
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RESOURCES
CITATIONS
Stuckey, H. L., & Nobel, J. (2010). The connection between art, healing, and public health: A review of current literature. American journal of public health, 100(2), 254-263.
Clift, S. (2012). Creative arts as a public health resource: moving from practice-based research to evidence-based practice. Perspectives in Public Health, 132(3), 120-127.
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#3: Student Groups & Apps
Student support groups are an effective way for administrators, staff, and students to come together. For students, groups can present an opportunity to learn about self, identify personal strengths, and set and achieve goals (Bruhn, 2014). For administrators, groups can provide a low-cost, high reward academic and social emotional intervention to help meet the abundance of mental health needs in our communities after a year of COVID-19 anxieties and shutdowns (Ghosh et al, 2020).
Using technology to connect, educate, and operate can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the group’s goal!
Communication Tools to Consider:
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Messenger Apps: Remind - Two-way communication application that allows educators to communicate with students and their families. There are free and paid versions of this platform.
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Storytelling Apps: Inklewriter - Have the group (e.g., school Civil Rights Team) write personal stories of challenging experiences in the school system
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Google Classroom: Create drop-in student spaces with interventions and calm-down strategies.
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Social Emotional Learning Apps: Emote Connect - This product is not yet released (waitlist available), but it is designed to provide a quick and easy way for students to check in with their teachers!
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RESOURCES
CITATIONS
Bruhn, A. L., Lane, K. L., & Hirsch, S. E. (2014). A review of tier 2 interventions conducted within multitiered models of behavioral prevention. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 22(3), 171-189
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#4: Community Collaboration
True collaboration with community providers increases the knowledge of what is available for students outside of the school walls. Students are members of a larger community, and the same is true for principals, teachers, nurses, and other staff. Community outside of the school walls plays an important part in the stories of success and resiliency for children and young adults.
Invite community leaders and stakeholders to your school to connect with parents and caregivers, share resources, and talk about what services are available in the community. Community stakeholders could include:
- Health and wellness organizations (mental and physical health)
- Tribal leaders
- Youth-serving programs or alumni leaders
- Parent-serving organizations or parent leaders
- Media
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"Educators shouldn't be the only ones contributing. The community should be creating questions, puzzles, quotes, mind benders, trivia, philosophical and ethical challenges, thought provoking videos, "graffiti walls," brainstorming spaces, and play areas." - Ryan Bretag
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RESOURCES
Edutopia - 5 Steps to Better School/Community Collaboration
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#5: Data-Driven Decisions
Creating positive connections between these groups using storytelling, creative expression, student groups, administration and staff participation, or other interventions helps in relationship-building with all stakeholders in the school ecosystem. Using a tool like the H-Sat Scale or the CDC’s School Health Index can assist in evaluating where schools can improve satisfaction and health indicators.
It is important to receive feedback from all constituents of the school and involve them in the change-making process as well.
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RESOURCES
National Center for School Mental Health - The School Health Assessment and Performance Evaluation (SHAPE) System is a public-access, web-based platform that offers schools, districts, and states/territories a workspace and targeted resources to support school mental health quality improvement.
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Contact the National Training and Technical Assistance Center for
Child, Youth, and Family Mental Health
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This announcement is supported by SAMHSA of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $15,000,000 over five years (2020-2025) with 100 percent funded by SAMHSA/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by SAMHSA/HHS, or the U.S. Government. |
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