Thanks!
Thank you to the Wisconsin Student Assistance Association for donating their remaining funds to the WISH Center. We will use the funds to cover some of the costs of hosting our School Climate 2.0 book studies this year.
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DPI Updates-Evers: Remembering those lost in Newtown
Link to Dec. 13 press release previewing Wisconsin School Safety Summit recommendations.
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Suicide Prevention
QPR Training
Please contact your Regional Coordinator listed above if you are interested in a QPR training for school staff to learn steps to help save a life from suicide.
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School-Based Suicide Prevention Training-4 Locations
- January 22, CESA #6, Oshkosh
- February 21, CESA #1, Pewaukee
- April 9, CESA #7 Green Bay
- Click here for more information
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Happy & Healthy
Holiday Wishes
From the WISH Center Staff
I really wanted to "elf-ify" the regional coordinators and send it out in this newsletter, but I refrained. We sincerely wish you a happy and healthy holiday season and new year. Peace. Hope. Goodwill. |
Building the Heart of Successful Schools Conference Summary
Here are links to some tools and resources that I took away from the DPI's Conference held Dec. 4-6, 2013
- Dr. William Steele Pre-conference on Trauma Informed School Intervention, "Our job is to be curious witnesses; curiosity is the cornerstone of empathy." Read more
- Jeff Duncan-Andrade, "Hope Required When Growing Roses in Concrete." Jeff did a great job applying his educational principles to working with students and school staff here in Wisconsin. "Critical" hope is required to nurture youth to produce and sustain hope and transformation. Three components of "critical" hope are: material hope, Socratic hope, and audacious hope. Read more
- Michael Dorn, school safety expert said in most scenarios rushing a gunman is almost always the last resort. His presentation focused on how more lives can be saved - from a gunman, in a fire, a tornado or any other hazardous situation - by training administrators and staff to first keep themselves safe. He calls it the window of life: 1. Protect yourself so you can protect others 2. Protect those in the immediate area 3. Protect the campus 4. Notify law enforcement. I also learned about having a reverse evacuation protocol as one key to improved school crisis response. Read more
- The Film Festival videos were great. Here are the links to them:
There were many noteworthy sectional presentations highlighting the good work being done throughout the state. Thank you to those who attend the conference and we look forward to seeing you again next year.
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To Screen or Not to Screen-GAINS-SS
submitted by Carol Zabel, Western Regional Coordinator
To screen or not to screen is a question being pondered in pupil services circles all around the state. Schools are being challenged with how to educate students presenting with more complex mental health issues. If you are in a similar quandary, you may want to consider administering Global Appraiser of Individual Needs - Short Screener (GAIN SS).
This tool is for use with adolescents. The screener can be used to identify students experiencing issues with alcohol and drug uses, externalizing and internalizing disorders, attention deficit disorder, and engaging in criminal behavior. The tool is designed to be administered by a pupil services professional who has completed the webcast training. The screener can be administered via paper and pencil, computer or on the web. The screening is brief, taking only 3 to 5 minutes to administer.
Given the brevity of the tool and ease of administering, districts can administer the screening to the general population to identify students with behavioral health disorders. This tool can also be used to show change. Students' responses are scored in four domains from "low" probability of a need for service, "moderate" indicating there is a possible mental health diagnosis or "high" probability of a diagnosis. The Gain SS is evidence based and has good internal consistency, excellent sensitivity, good discriminant validity and is reliable. For more information about the GAIN-SS check out one of the following resources:
If you want to find out more information about other mental health screening tools, you could check out a document found on the DPI website at: http://sspw.dpi.wi.gov/files/sspw/pdf/sswpgscreentool.pdf
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2014 WISH Professional Development Opportunities
| January 2014 | School Climate 2.0
| Online Course | | 1/13/14 |
Helping Students Through Trauma and Loss
| Turtle Lake | | 1/21/14 | PREPaRE: School Crisis Prevention and Intervention
| Turtle Lake
| | 1/27/14 | Helping Students Through Trauma and Loss
| Oshkosh
| | 1/28/14 | PREPaRE: School Crisis Prevention and Intervention
| Gillett | | 2/4/14 | PREPaRE: School Crisis Prevention and Intervention
| Whitewater | | 2/14/14 | Helping Students Through Trauma and Loss
| Pewaukee | | 2/25/14 | PREPaRE: School Crisis Prevention and Intervention
| Fennimore | | 3/12/14 | PREPaRE: School Crisis Prevention and Intervention
| West Salem | | 3/19/14 & 4/9/14 | 12 Highly Structured Individual Behavior Interventions*
| Chippewa Falls | 3/20/14-3/21/14
| Using Restorative Practices and Circles in a School Setting | Oshkosh
| 3/28/14
| PREPaRE: School Crisis Prevention and Intervention
| Oshkosh
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*Graduate Credit Available
All events are contingent upon a minimum number of participants needed to hold event.
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