When putting together this note for our last newsletter of this academic year, we are writing with heavy hearts as we learn about the most recent school shooting. There are no words to fully describe our horror at such senseless acts of violence as what happened in Texas and recently in Buffalo. To help through this process, we have included a number of resources that might help your students, the parents in your school community, and of course all of you through this difficult time.
We wish you all a good last few weeks of the school year and we are very much looking forward to seeing you in the fall - either at one of our coffee chats, at a School Support Network meeting (a few will be in-person next year!), or through attendance at one of our professional development workshops. For those schools and districts who are participating in the three year School Climate Assessment and Improvement Process (SCAIP), we are very much looking forward to working with you and your teams throughout next year. Best wishes for a wonderful, restorative summer!
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- Opportunity to participate in the "Building Within: Cultivating Well-being and Emotional Resilience in Educators" Workshop Series
- Customized support for schools looking to incorporate a data driven approach to school climate improvement
- SEL coaching for individuals or groups of teachers
- Professional development workshops and series in SEL; School Climate; Trauma-informed approach; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) including a focus on parents
- Integrated DEI into the School Climate Assessment and Improvement Process (SCAIP)
- More SEL, DEI, and School Climate surveys and assessment tools available from our School Climate Assessment Lab at the Center for Human and Social Development at Saint Elizabeth University
- All of our other supports and resources including Coffee Chats and School Support Network Meetings
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We are working on the calendar for 2022-2023 SSN Meetings and Coffee Chats and will let you know as soon as things are finalized.
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"Getting Ready for 2022-2023: Countering Spirit Loss to Achieve Learning Gain and Student and Staff Mental Health"
Presented by: Maurice Elias, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Rutgers University
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Please share our newsletter with your friends, colleagues, and community members who might benefit from our resources, SSN Meetings, Coffee Chats, and PD!
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Resources for Dealing with Trauma and Violence |
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The following resources may be helpful in guiding kids through this difficult time: |
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PD, Webinars, and Resources |
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NBC News Article: "New Report Highlights Violence Against Educators, School Staff During Pandemic"
“Schools cannot help students who have faced learning loss and interruption during the pandemic catch up if their social and emotional development and their mental health needs aren’t tended to.” It is "imperative to have mental health professionals collaborating with school staff and educators, as well as working directly with students and parents to meet the needs of the school community." Read more
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"What Educators Appreciated About Each Other This Year"
To celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week this year, over 20,000 of you expressed your appreciation for the hard work and determination of your fellow educators. Here are a few highlights.
"We Drastically Underestimate the Importance of Brain Breaks"
When it comes to optimizing learning, we don’t value breaks enough, neuroscientists suggest in a new study. Read more
"3 Ways to Boost Student Well-Being and Lower Stress"
How a sixth-grade teacher promotes student wellness by emphasizing self-reflection, kindness, and safe space. Read more
"Too Much Focus on ‘Learning Loss’ Will Be a Historic Mistake"
Learning loss is real and needs to be addressed, but how we go about it should be commensurate with the size of the moment. Read more
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NJ Mental Health Resource Guide
"This comprehensive Guide is designed to support school districts to develop, implement, and evaluate mental health supports and services using a multi-tiered system of supports. While the Guide is lengthy, we tried to incorporate some features to assist the user identify what would be most helpful to their work (i.e., detailed table of contents, icons, consistent layout of chapters, etc.). In addition to containing a lot of content, each chapter also contains a summary, examples of implementation in NJ schools, hyperlinked resources, templates, and reflection questions."
Congratulations and thank you to the many involved throughout the state in creating such a valuable, helpful resource!
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School Culture and Climate Initiative
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