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School Social Work NOW!
Supporting Innovative Practice,
Effective Leadership, and Applied Research
Vol 6, Issue 25
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Are you familiar with SISP -- Specialized Instructional Support Personnel? You are one, you know! Over the last 10 years, "specialized instructional support personnel" has become the term used to described those of us formerly known as "related service providers" or "pupil service providers." The term is now being used in national legislation in which school psychologists, school social workers, school counselors, and other support personnel are included.
The National Alliance of Specialized Instructional Support Personnel (NASISP), of which ACSSW is a member, is celebrating national SISP week beginning April 11th. We will be raising awareness with key national policy makers about the important contributions of specialized instructional support personnel in helping students. School social workers need to be part of this!
EVERYBODY, PLEASE sign up for the Thunderclap. It takes less than a minute. You can use Facebook! Go to SISP Thunderclap and check it out. We need 100 people--or more!--to make this work!
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One early impact of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) will be increased attention to attendance problems. For many schools attendance will become the additional accountability indicator stressed in ESSA.
Under the new act, States will be required to report chronic absenteeism rates for schools, and school districts will be allowed to spend federal dollars on training to reduce absenteeism. Since all schools take attendance, an immediate focus will be on establishing systems for reporting chronic absenteeism (including truancy). Establishing a reporting system will be relatively easy. Significantly reducing chronic absenteeism has and will continue to be difficult.
At this juncture, the federal government has decided to create a national Every Student, Every Day initiative to "address and eliminate chronic absenteeism"... Read full article.
...Healthier recommendations for combating stress usually involve getting exercise, eating well, and sleeping enough, but in a work environment stress often needs to be addressed in the moment. You can't always go for a run or take a nap at work, so here are five stress-reducing activities you can do while sitting at your desk. Continue.
Resources from the Coalition to Support Grieving Students (CSGS) #8
The CSGS continues to share mini-papers on the concepts of death and grieving in children. Grief's Impact on Learning is this week's publication. Use and share these papers as you wish. They are designed to be used by practitioners for in-service training, as reference, as guidance for parents, and many other avenues. Share these articles freely and tell us what you think. Are they helpful? How are you using them?
Many people continue to wonder about the provisions of the ESSA. This article aims to clarify many of the questions that have arisen. Based on their current understanding of the law (as of February 16th) the Council of Chief State School Officers offers its response to frequently asked questions regarding ESSA. Learn more here.
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Jennifer Deal is all about the data. She despises assumptions and decisions made by anecdote. Reading about generational differences - and how disruptive Millennials are to our workplaces - she always asks, where's the research?
With this inquisitive view, Deal - a CCL [Center for Creative Leadership] senior research scientist - and Alec Levenson of the University of Southern California offer insight on Millenials. One puzzling finding is that Millenials are both committed to their jobs and willing to leave. Learn more.
Change is inherently stressful. But it doesn't have to be negative.
Each new workplace change - new technology, new co-worker, new job responsibilities - requires you to invest time, effort and energy into adapting. Sometimes, it's not too taxing; other times change leaves you exhausted, resentful or angry. It's not just the size or scope of any given change that has you and your colleagues in reactive mode. Our responses are tied to the cumulative effect of change over time - and whether we have what we need to face them. Continue.
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For at least a decade, the dominant idea about how to improve outcomes for children and youth has focused on control and compliance; holding adults accountable for raising test scores. This approach has proved least effective for our most vulnerable students. In our search for silver bullets, reformers and policymakers alike have overlooked strategies that have long shown promise and for which there is mounting evidence of success. Community schools is one of these strategies.
Community schools combine challenging and culturally relevant learning opportunities with the academic and social supports each and every child needs to reach their potential. These schools, at their core, are about investing in children, through quality teaching, challenging and engaging curricula, wrap around supports, positive school climate, strong ties to family and community and a clear focus on results. More.
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The Community-Partnered School Behavioral Health Modules
~ Free Training Series and CEUs Offered ~
www.mdbehavioralhealth.com
Signs of Suicide Program & Gatekeeper Training Module 1.5 CEUs. Free.
from Teachers College Press. A hard copy will be mailed to you. Free.
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Recommended Read for March
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Current models do not address the complexity of achievement gaps among racial and socioeconomic groups. As the National Task Force on Minority High Achievement and current assessment data show, children of color, even those who are not poor, often score lower on achievement tests than whites who are poor. Culture trumps poverty in its impact on achievement. Culture defines what children will focus their attention on, how they interpret the world to give it meaning, what background knowledge they bring to learning, and how they will value that learning. The focus of our interventions to close the achievement gap must therefore be to attend to the culture of the learner. This book shows how to build the necessary supports to move classrooms from the traditional, Eurocentric model to one that respects and incorporates the cultures of the learners. Review.
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| Professional Development Opportunities |
Prolonged Grief Not Same As Depression
...One of the biggest misunderstandings about prolonged grief...is that it's synonymous with depression.
While those going through prolonged grief can have depression as well, they are actually very different sets of feelings, says Holly Prigerson, director of the Center for Research on End of Life Care at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. A hallmark of depression is a loss of enjoyment and interest in life. The key characteristic of prolonged grief, on the other hand, is a deep, unrelenting yearning for the person who is gone and an inability to get past that point. More. |
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School Social Work Positions
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Understanding Childhood Trauma: The School's Role
Please join Screening for Mental Health (SMH) for a FREE webinar on Monday, April 25 at 1PM EST that will help schools understand the impact of trauma and steer them to the right resources. It will feature SMH Youth Programs Manager Meghan Diamon; Riverside Trauma Center Clinical Services Director Joanna Bridger, and from the Los Angeles Unified School District we welcome the Coordinator of Special Education Program Joshua Kaufmann and Psychiatric Social Worker Elida Mena. The webinar will include information on the following topics:
- Childhood trauma basics, including prevalence and how it impacts youth
- The link between trauma and suicide risk, including trauma-informed assessment
- Classroom behaviors/manifestations related to trauma
- How schools can support students with trauma history
- Resources schools can access through the National Childhood Traumatic Stress Network
- How the SOS Program addresses trauma
- Case studies/Examples
The webinar will also include time for questions from the audience. Register.
Webisode: Behavioral Health Concerns in Classrooms
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) latest webisode recording with Knowledge Network for Systems of Care TV (KSOC-TV) addresses the topic of identifying and managing behavioral health concerns in elementary school classrooms. The panelists, including Center for School Mental Health affiliate faculty, Dr. Kimberly Becker, provide specific strategies on how students, parents, teachers, and administrators can work together to support positive mental health among elementary school students. Watch by clicking here. Approx. 1 hr.
Webisode: Expulsion and Suspension Policies in Early Childhood Settings
The Child and Family Policy Consortium webinar features presentations on expulsion and suspension policies in early childhood settings. Speakers include Dr. Walter Gillian (Yale University) and Dr. Oscar Barbarin (University of Maryland - College Park). Click here to watch. Approx. l hr.
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1st Quarter Deadline: March 31, 2016
Grants of up to $500 are available for "innovative programs, events, or projects" from the Meemic Foundation for Michigan, Wisconsin or Illinois. Apply online using their easy application that takes less than 30 minutes to complete. These grants are open to any employee of a K-12 public or private school. Universities and colleges may also apply. Fill-in-the-blank application.
Grants are accepted year round, but the first quarter cycle ends March 31st. Grants are up to $500. Recipients will be notified by May 15th.
The foundation says it supports "basically anything that supports teachers and enhances the student's educational experience" - from field trips to books to behavior modification programs; science, music, or art equipment to professional development.
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