As this year comes to a close and we await the first snowfall of the season, it is hard to not reflect on 2020. In spite of the many challenges encountered, this year has also been a year of amazing growth - during the last 9 months all of you have done what would have been considered impossible only one year ago. And not only did you do it once, you did it over and over again and continue to do so. The resilience, creativity, fortitude, flexibility and professionalism have been truly awe-inspiring. You have all done NJ proud! The first vaccinations will be given this week (another amazing achievement) and light is at the end of the tunnel.
Please mark your calendars for January 25th - we will be launching 2021 with a special SSN meeting titled "2021: A Year for Healing and Restoration". We can't think of a better way to start this new calendar year. More details and the registration link are found in the left hand column.
Our team at the School Culture and Climate Initiative wishes you a wonderful holiday season filled with love and laughter. We look forward to continuing our partnership with you in the new year ahead!
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This unprecedented school year has placed a tremendous emotional load on school staff across the nation. The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence has launched a new, free course, Managing Emotions in Times of Uncertainty and Stress. Their hope is to give all school staff the skills and tools they need to care for themselves and their students in the face of tremendous challenges. Delivered by leading experts in the fields of psychology, education, and research at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, this course enables participants to complete coursework at their own pace and create an action plan to enhance their personal and professional growth. Course registration is available here.
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West Brook Middle School (WBMS) began their journey with the School Culture and Climate Initiative three years ago. They have worked to foster a positive school climate emphasizing student voice, raising pride for their school, fostering a culture of kindness, building teacher collaboration and staff morale, and shifting to effective discipline practices.
Their Student Culture and Climate Team met frequently to share their voices in identifying actionable goals to improve their culture and connect students to their school experience. Amongst changes to practical updates in their school, like hand dryers in all student bathrooms and recognizing student accomplishments, particularly in displaying the Six Pillars of Character, their student team worked to develop a Co-Curricular Club Expo to showcase and build interest for clubs. And, while the school year began remotely, a Virtual Club Fair was organized, offering a window into how students could stay connected with their school community. Additionally, student support services, including a student assistance counselor, a full-time on-site Care Plus clinician, and a partnership with Core Yoga for Youth focused on helping students manage stress and maintain overall emotional well-being.
Effective discipline was identified by their staff as an area of opportunity, and by forming a Responsive Discipline Team, they posed the question: How do we ensure a positive and safe learning environment with responsive and restorative practices that promote responsibility, respect, and kindness? Their results have been significant, reducing the number of confirmed HIB incidents by fifty percent, and non-HIB incidents by more than seventy-five percent. Their focus on using a tiered approach to discipline and utilizing restorative assignments supports all students and emphasizes alternative approaches so students may reflect on their behavior, particularly during the tumultuous middle school years, and make better choices.
Recognizing the importance of building staff morale, their Culture and Climate Team developed spirit days for staff, a secret snowman gift exchange, and weekly mindfulness sessions for staff led by their school counselor. “The Masked Teacher” made its debut in May 2020, led by their music teacher, as a way to build excitement and showcase a few of their teacher's singing talents.
The pandemic has caused them to find new paths, like many schools, to connect with students, families, and staff. Virtual lunch hours, spirit days, contests, and daily positive video messages by their students and staff have supported their commitment to strong communication and maintaining the connection between home and school. Though their re-opening in November was brief before shifting again to full remote learning, the WBMS staff continues to focus on connecting with students, families, and staff, recognizing now, more than ever, the work they do to support a positive school culture and climate is essential and that rewiring a [school] culture is like turning around an ocean liner - it takes a long time (Greunert & Whitaker, 2015).
They look forward to the feedback they receive from the stakeholders in their third year of the initiative, albeit a different year, and plan to re-imagine ways to support their students, families, and staff.
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School Support Network (SSN) meetings are free to attend and there will always be time to connect with your colleagues in addition to the professional development that is provided each month. Everyone is welcome to attend - share with your colleagues!
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Who is Your Schoolhouse Built For? Dimensions of Equity and Diversity in our Schools
December 16 - 1-2:30 p.m.
Conversations about creating equitable environments that appreciate diversity evoke varied responses, feelings and for some, a level of fear, confusion and/or anxiety. Equity and diversity are more than buzzwords…they are foundational to establishing, maintaining and building a positive culture and climate for all stakeholders within a school community. Meaningful conversations that lead to action require safe spaces for reflection and awareness. Successful school communities create environments that are conducive to all and empower everyone to contribute and thrive.
This interactive session will provide thought-provoking conversations around the relationship of equity to goals in education, connections between equity and diversity, the complex dimensions of diversity, and individuals’ roles and responsibilities for achieving equity and creating school cultures and climates that represent and welcome all students, staff, and families in the school community.
Presented by: Patrick Fennell, Founder/President, Empowerment Solutions, LLC
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2021: A Year for Healing and Restoration
January 25 - 1-2:30 p.m.
*Note change of date
As we prepare to enter a new year, we often reflect on the past year and make resolutions for the year ahead. These resolutions often focus on changing something about ourselves, achieving a personal goal or improving life in some way or another. But this is a year that is unique based on the events and circumstances that we endured in 2020 – events that divided us as a people, brought isolation to many and tragedy to others. So, now, more than ever, the concepts of unity, healing and restoration are critically important in our work with young people, their families and each other. As we ring in 2021, how can we "show up" in the space we inhabit in ways that bring others together, heal harm and restore relationships and trust? Restorative practices, in particular, community building circles, are a powerful tool that allow participants to connect to one another by uplifting our stories in ways that reaffirm our shared humanity. Join us at this month’s SSN – you’ll have the opportunity to participate in such a circle and experience what it feels like to share some of yourself with others and find pieces of your story in the stories of others.
Presented by: Stacey Alicea, Ph.D., MPH, Independent Consultant and Director of Early Learning Strategy at Newark Trust for Education
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Attitude of Gratitude: Harness Life’s Simple Pleasures to Increase Resilience & Well-Being
Presented by: Christa M. Tinari, M.A.
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Coffee chats are virtual gatherings that allow schools to connect with one another. Participants have shared successes, challenges, and ideas with their colleagues during our past coffee chats. All coffee chats are held from 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. and are open for all to attend.
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Job-Alike Coffee Chats
Many of you have joined us for our coffee chats where we share ideas and discuss challenges and success stories. Based on your feedback, we are now launching coffee chats where we bring together educators in similar roles. While collaborating with colleagues in diverse roles has its advantages, gathering with those in the same professional role allows you to explore more in-depth job-specific concerns, issues and potential strategies.
School Counselor Network Coffee Chat
Our first job-alike group will be school counselors - connect with others in your position on January 21, 2021 from 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Register now
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Winter 2021 SCAIP Virtual PLC |
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Winter 2021 School Climate Assessment and Improvement Process (SCAIP)
Virtual Professional Learning Community (PLC) on January 14, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
This is a networking opportunity designed for SCAIP schools that are just beginning, are currently in years 2 or 3, or have completed the 3 year School Climate Assessment and Improvement Process. During the SCAIP PLC, educators will have the chance to share, learn and inspire each other. Individual representatives or the entire Culture and Climate team are welcome to attend! Watch your email for a formal invitation in the next few days! Register now
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NJDOE Grant Funding: Addressing Student Learning Loss |
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The New Jersey Department of Education has just announced a grant opportunity that aims to address student learning loss due to COVID-19. Throughout the grant there is a strong emphasis on SEL. The focus can be on one of three areas - Math, Language Arts or SEL. It is important to note that if Math or Language Arts is chosen, there must be an SEL focus. View the details of this grant opportunity. The deadline for schools/districts to apply is January 21, 2021.
The School Culture and Climate Initiative is able to partner with districts to provide services required in the grant (assessment/data driven approach, professional development, SEL teacher coaching and/or consultancy services). Please contact us if you would like to explore what this partnership may look like in your school/district.
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Resources, Webinars and PD
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Article: "Education inequality, community schools, and system transformation: Launching the Task Force on Next Generation Community Schools"
With COVID-19 cases on the rise, families and schools across America face an extended period of educational disruption which has taken a toll on our nation’s young people. This crisis has highlighted the increasing need for transformation in our schools. Read more
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Article: "Holidays during the Pandemic"
With the holidays upon us, families everywhere are struggling to make plans appropriate for the pandemic. Child Mind Institute offers tips for reducing stress, helping kids cope, and making new traditions. Read the article.
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The purpose of this new resource is to identify remote learning issues, recommend improvements, address potential deficiencies, and foster larger conversations about teaching, learning, technology, and equity. It uses research and gathers what many districts learned to characterize the current state of the field and provide guidance and examples for schools implementing remote digital learning, whenever and whatever the reason.
While it is a rather lengthy resource, it was designed so that you can read just the portions of the document that apply to you. The authors recommend that all users begin with “What is Digital Learning?”, peruse the resources, and then absorb what is useful elsewhere (check out the table of contents for a specific listing of topics and subject areas).
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Education Week's Webinar "Examining the Evidence: Engaging Families and Communities in Recovery" on December 18 at 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. ET
The disruption to in-person and traditional school routines are demanding more from families than ever before, as many try to fill in instructional gaps on top of providing emotional and physical care. Long-standing patterns of excluding and marginalizing families and communities of color from actively engaging in their students’ schooling presents new and even starker threats to their sense of community and trust in schools. Given these challenges, what can the research evidence tell us about how schools and districts can support families in their diverse contexts and build practical trust to support student learning? Register here
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CASEL CARES Webinar "Understanding and Preventing Youth Bullying & Peer Victimization during the Pandemic"
December 18 at 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. ET
Whether you are a student, parent, educator, or school leader, bullying and peer victimization in school are serious concerns in the U.S. and around the world. Research shows that by creating socially and emotionally supportive spaces, schools can foster a climate of inclusion and respect among both students and staff. Hear Dr. Dorothy Espelage, William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of North Carolina, and gain insights around:
- What does bullying and peer victimization look like during the pandemic?
- Who is most at-risk for victimization during the pandemic?
- How are we using SEL during the pandemic to reduce isolation and victimization?
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"Youth Mental Health First Aid"
The Northeast and Caribbean Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) can provide Youth Mental Health First Aid to your school or organization at no cost. "Youth Mental Health First Aid" is designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peers, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis. Topics covered include anxiety, depression, substance use, disorders in which psychosis may occur, disruptive behavior disorders (including AD/HD), and eating disorders."
If you are interested in receiving training, please email us.
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School Culture and Climate Conference 2021 |
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No one looks forward to the challenges that life throws our way. Yet, from those obstacles and challenges, we are transformed. We are stronger. We are braver. And often those challenges present us with new opportunities, if we take the time to seek them out and notice those that may be in disguise.
This conference will be different than most. Our goal is to guide educators on the journey towards optimism while honoring the hardships that we have all endured. We are creating the time and space for learning but also for listening, exchanging new ideas and inspiring you to act on those ideas.
Sessions will be relevant and helpful to administrators, counselors, school psychologists, teachers and all who work with or on behalf of students and families. Our keynote speaker will turn your world “upside down” and introduce you to a new way of looking at yourself and others. Come prepared to be transformed, to share your ideas, to laugh with colleagues and ultimately, to be ready to start a learning revolution in your community.
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