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Exit Ticket Examples for Closing Classroom Lessons

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Exit Ticket Examples for Closing Classroom Lessons

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How to Teach Mental Health Coping Skills

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How to Teach Mental Health Coping Skills

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Lo sentimos, la página que usted busca no se ha podido encontrar. Puede intentar su búsqueda de nuevo o visitar la lista de temas populares.

To the over 60,000 California educators who participated in the Healthy Minds, Thriving Kids Project incentive awards, we thank you for taking the time to review a sample of the Project's resources and provide valuable feedback. Among those surveyed:

86%

rated our videos as either "Excellent" (50%) or "Good" (36%)

76%

have either used or plan to use Project materials in their classrooms

82%

of those who used these resources reported that their students benefitted

Though the incentive program has ended, the resources are free for all to view or download, right here.

Elementary School Teachers

The elementary-age videos feature hedgehog characters in imaginative stories to teach key skills in a way that kids will enjoy watching and remember longer.

There are 5 episodes in the series, each teaching a different mental health skill. Corresponding activity sheets summarize and reinforce key ideas in each video. You can show students the entire series in one session, or show each episode individually.

Watch Individual Episodes

Middle School Teachers

The middle school-age videos feature an engaging host and interviews with a diverse group of real kids. They teach key skills while normalizing the challenges kids face and sparking productive conversations.

There are 5 episodes in the series, each teaching a different mental health skill. Corresponding activity sheets summarize and reinforce key ideas in each video. You can show students the entire series in one session, or show each episode individually.

Watch Individual Episodes

High School Teachers

The high school-age videos feature an engaging host and interviews with a diverse group of teens. They teach key skills while normalizing the challenges kids face and sparking productive conversations.

There are 5 episodes in the series, each teaching a different mental health skill. Corresponding activity sheets summarize and reinforce key ideas in each video. You can show students the entire series in one session, or show each episode individually.

Watch Individual Episodes

These Simple Skills Can Make a World of Difference for Our Kids

Educational resources grounded in the expertise of the Child Mind Institute

Optimized through services delivered to over 60,000 students, caregivers and educators in over 600 schools

Stay Updated

Enter your email address to learn about new articles, videos and other resources from the Child Mind Institute.

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How to Teach Mental Health Coping Skills - Healthy Minds

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Evidence-based resources can help you teach students the mental health skills they need to be more ready to learn.

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developed in partnership with the state of California, features a series of free videos and print resources for parents, educators and students, all available in English and Spanish. This project promotes children's mental health and teaches essential coping skills.

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California Healthy Minds, Thriving Kids Project

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A series of free, evidence-based video and print resources that caregivers and educators can use to teach their kids critical mental health and coping skills.

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Coping with Emotions Videos for Students (K-12)

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Coping with Emotions Videos for Students (K-12)

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How to Cope with Stress as a Student - Healthy Minds

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Being a teenager isn’t easy. These evidence-based resources teach a set of mental health skills that can help now and for the rest of your life.

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Medication is often prescribed for children with anxiety, as it is for adults. And medication - antidepressants are usually our first choice - often helps reduce anxiety. But what many people don't know is that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be very effective for kids who are anxious. In fact, for children with mild to moderate anxiety, the recommended treatment is CBT. For children with severe anxiety, experts recommend CBT plus medication. And unlike taking medication alone, therapy gives children the tools to manage the anxiety themselves, now and in the future.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is based on the idea that how we think and act both affect how we feel. By changing thinking that is distorted, and behavior that is dysfunctional, we can change our emotions. With younger children, focusing first on the behavioral part of CBT can be most effective.

To understand how CBT works, first it helps to understand how anxiety works. Serious untreated anxiety tends to get worse over time, not better, because the child learns that avoidance works in reducing the anxiety, at least in the short run. But as the child - and, indeed, the whole family - work to avoid triggering those fears, they only grow more powerful. The goal in CBT is, essentially, to unlearn avoidant behavior.

One of the most important techniques in CBT for children with anxiety is called exposure and response prevention. The basic idea is that kids are exposed to the things that trigger their anxiety in structured, incremental steps, and in a safe setting. As they become accustomed to each of the triggers in turn, the anxiety fades, and they are ready to take on increasingly powerful ones.

Exposure therapy is very different from traditional talk therapy, in which the patient and a therapist might explore the roots of the anxiety, in hopes of changing their behavior. In exposure therapy we try to change the behavior to get rid of the fear.

Exposure therapy is effective on many different kinds of anxiety, including separation anxiety, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and social anxiety.

For children with anxiety disorders, the process begins by helping them, and their parents, get some distance from the anxiety and start thinking of it as a thing that is separate from who they are. One way I do this is by having them conceptualize it as a "bully in the brain," and I encourage kids to give the bully a name and talk back to him. Kids I've worked with have called him the Witch, Mr. Bossy, Chucky, the Joker, and, in the case of some teenagers, names I cannot repeat here.

We explain that we are going to teach skills to handle the bully, giving children the idea that they can control their anxiety rather than it controlling them.

It's also important to help kids really understand how their anxiety is affecting their lives. I may actually map out things a child can't do because of their fears - like sleeping in their own bed, or going to a friend's house, or sharing meals with their own family - and how that makes them feel. Getting kids to understand how their anxiety works and gaining their trust is important because the next step - facing down their fears - depends on them trusting me.

Adopting Robert Frost's observation that "the only way around is through," exposure therapy slowly and systematically helps a child face their fears, so they can learn to tolerate their anxiety until it subsides rather than reacting by seeking reassurance, escaping, avoidance or engaging in ritualistic behaviors such as hand washing.

The first step is identifying triggers. We design a "hierarchy of fears" - a series of incremental challenges, each of which is tolerable, and which together build to significant progress. Instead of thinking in black and white terms - I can't touch a dog or I can't cross a bridge - kids are asked to consider degrees of difficulty. We might ask a child with contamination fears, for example, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how difficult would it be to touch the door handle with one finger? To touch and open the door?"

For a child with a fear of vomiting, we might ask: "How difficult would it be to write the word vomit?" If that is a 3, saying "I will vomit today" might be a 5. To see a cartoon of someone vomiting might rate a 7. To watch a real video of someone vomiting might be a 9. At the top of the hierarchy would likely be eating something the child thinks will make them vomit. By rating these different fears, kids come to see that some are less extreme, and more manageable, than they had thought.

Next, we expose the child to the trigger in its mildest possible form, and support them until the anxiety subsides. Fear, like any sensation, diminishes over time, and children gain a sense of mastery as they feel the anxiety wane.

With a child who is severely anxious - who can, for instance, barely leave their room for fear that their parents will die, or must wash their hands dozens of times a day to avoid contamination - I may work with them several times a week, for several hours at a time. We do exposures in the office and then, when a child is comfortable enough, do them outside.

For someone with social anxiety, for instance, we might go out wearing silly hats, or walk a banana on a leash. For someone afraid of contamination, we might ride the bus together, or shake hands with strangers, then eat chips without washing.

Once we have worked through some exposures and they are feeling more confident, I assign homework to practice what we did in the sessions. We want kids to really master their exposures before moving up the ladder. And parents are taught to help kids progress by encouraging them to tolerate anxious feelings, rather than jumping in to protect them from their anxiety.

Treatment for mild to moderate levels of severity usually takes eight to 12 sessions, and some kids make more progress if they are also taking medication to reduce their anxiety, which can make them more able to engage in therapy.

It's important to understand that exposure therapy is hard work, both for kids and their parents. But as fear diminishes, kids get back to doing things they like to do, and the family gets back a child they feared they had lost - and that's a great reward.

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Behavioral Treatment for Kids With Anxiety - Child Mind Institute

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Medication is often prescribed for children with anxiety, as it is for adults. And medication - antidepressants are usually our first choice - often helps reduce anxiety. But what many people don't know is that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be very effective for kids who are anxious.

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Going from Surviving to Thriving Info Graphic (for school counselors)

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Going from Surviving to Thriving Info Graphic (for school counselors)

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Social, Emotional, and Ethical (SEE) Learning

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Social, Emotional, and Ethical (SEE) Learning

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An innovative K-12 education program developed by Emory University. SEE Learning™ provides educators with the tools they need to foster the development of emotional, social, and ethical intelligence for students and themselves. Must complete a training to access free resources.

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SEE Learning COVID-19 Response and Resources

The time for social, emotional, and ethical learning has come. His Holiness the Dalai Lama Watch Now

"This is SEL 2.0"

"I'd call SEE Learning 'SEL 2.0', showing the way to the future direction for this critically important educational approach."

Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence: Why it Can Matter More than IQ

SIGN UP FOR SEE 101: Orientation

What is SEE Learning

The Science of Compassion.
The Cultivation of Awareness.
The Tools of Engagement.

The Future of Education.

Social, Emotional, and Ethical (SEE) Learning is an innovative K-12 education program developed by Emory University.
SEE Learning™ provides educators with the tools they need to foster the development of emotional, social, and ethical intelligence for students and themselves.

SEE Learning™ represents the state of the art in education by enhancing SEL programming with key additional components, including:

attention training

compassion and ethical discernment

systems thinking

resilience and trauma-informed practice

This program provides educators with a developmentally-staged curriculum consisting of easy-to-implement lessons, the conceptual framework used to design the curriculum, and resources for educator preparation and development. SEE Learning empowers students to engage ethically as part of a global community and provides educators with the tools to support student well-being.

Who We Are

We are a global community comprised of over 7000+ educators and partners across over 25 countries. Our highly qualified team of advisors includes experts from the fields of:

Psychology

Neuroscience

Education

Mindfulness

Compassion Science

Trauma and Resilience

Who We Serve

Educators

Parents and Families (in development)

School and District Leaders

Researchers

How To Get Started

The SEE Journey Starts Here.

Take the Orientation

Embark on your SEE Learning Journey with SEE 101: Orientation or explore the resources section for sample learning experiences, practices, and tip sheets.

Sign Up for SEE 101

Download the Curriculum

After completing SEE 101: Orientation, you will have full access to the SEE Learning Curriculum.

Connect to the Community

We are a constantly-evolving global community of educators and researchers, working towards a more compassionate future.

Contact SEE Learning

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SEE Learning COVID-19 Response and Resources The time for social, emotional, and ethical learning has come. His Holiness the Dalai Lama Watch Now "I'd call SEE Learning 'SEL 2.0', showing the way to the future direction for this critically important educational approach."

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3 Mindfulness Exercises from Positive Psychology

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3 Mindfulness Exercises from Positive Psychology

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(For Helping Professionals)

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Google folder with SEL Lesson Plans for Secondary School Counselors

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Google folder with SEL Lesson Plans for Secondary School Counselors

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Reports & Guidance

Policy Roadmap to Bridge Social and Emotional Learning and Career and Workforce Development

May 9, 2022

Civic, CASEL, CCD Center

Summary

A key goal of preschool to high school education is to ensure that students are “future ready"—with the knowledge, skills, and drive to navigate their careers and lives. But the future is rapidly shifting. How can policymakers, educators, business leaders, and community leaders come together to nourish students’ real-world competencies?

This report reframes what it means for students to be future-ready. Its aim is to provide a state policy roadmap for a PreK-12 education that prepares students to succeed in a rapidly changing world. Key to this effort is the integration of social and emotional learning (SEL) with career and workforce development (CWD). This roadmap builds on prior efforts by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), Civic, and the Coalition for Career Development (CCD) Center to advance a state-level developmental framework for systematically integrating SEL and CWD.

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A key goal of preschool to high school education is to ensure that students are “future ready”—with the knowledge, skills, and drive to navigate their careers and lives. But the future is rapidly shifting. How can policymakers, educators, business leaders, and community leaders come together to nour…

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The resources provided on this page are intended to support your instructional practices, behavior management protocols, while creating procedures that are engaging and informative! We need each ot…

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Believing in the College Dream Curriculum, grade 4/5 (FREE)

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Believing in the College Dream Curriculum, grade 4/5 (FREE)

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Think 4th grade is too early to start planning for college? Neither do we. That's why we created Believing the College Dream, so you can start talking to your middle schoolers now.

Believing the College Dream helps 4th through 8th grade students and their families by:

Showing them that going to college is within their grasp

Helping them believe in themselves and their ability to succeed in school

Teaching them how to identify people they can trust to support their journey in education

Giving families and communities tools, information and the college-bound attitude they need to support their children

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It's never too early to inspire kids with the promise of college.

Believing the College Dream

Think 4th grade is too early to start planning for college? Neither do we. That's why we created Believing the College Dream, so you can start talking to your middle schoolers now.

Believing the College Dream helps 4th through 8th grade students and their families by:

Showing them that going to college is within their grasp

Helping them believe in themselves and their ability to succeed in school

Teaching them how to identify people they can trust to support their journey in education

Giving families and communities tools, information and the college-bound attitude they need to support their children

We created Believing the College Dream for teachers, counselors and community-based organizations-anyone who is working to open the door to higher education for college hopefuls.

For questions about Believing the College Dream, email NationalTrainings@ecmc.org.

Upcoming Believing the College Dream workshops

No training sessions are currently scheduled.

To schedule a workshop or for more information, email us at NationalTrainings@ecmc.org.

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It's never too early to inspire kids with the promise of college. Think 4th grade is too early to start planning for college? Neither do we. That's why we created Believing the College Dream, so you can start talking to your middle schoolers now.

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The School Superintendents Association’s Revised School Safety and Crisis Planning Toolkit

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The School Superintendents Association’s Revised School Safety and Crisis Planning Toolkit

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includes best practices before, during and after a crisis. “While we are concerned about the academic achievement of our students, we are more concerned about the social and emotional well-being of our young learners as well as the staff in our school buildings and administrators in our central district offices,” says Executive Director Daniel A. Domenech. “Ensuring the safety and physical and mental health of our school communities has never been more important.” ASCA, as well as other organizations, contributed to the toolkit.

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The intent and design of this toolkit is to provide a checklist of necessary procedures before, during and after a crisis that is easily accessible by school leaders and designed specifically for school superintendents. School superintendents are encouraged to share their findings with key stakeholders in their districts. In addition, school superintendents are further encouraged to share their opinions on this toolkit with the AASA Executive Leadership Team as this toolkit will always be presented as a work in progress.

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School Safety and Crisis Planning | AASA Central

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AASA is pleased to present School Safety and Crisis Planning, a toolkit comprised of a set of online resources to assist school districts before, during and after a crisis. Designed by AASA, this package features a myriad of resources as well as a select group of safety leaders throughout the U.S.

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School Leaders Take Note: Teacher Care is a LOT More than Self-Care

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School Leaders Take Note: Teacher Care is a LOT More than Self-Care

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If you get burned in a fire, you first treat the wound, but you also try to put the fire out. In education, we treat the wound and then usher our teachers back into the fire. Excuse the pun but they are more than burned out, they are scorched.

Chelsea Prax, a program director at the American Federation of Teachers, sums it up succinctly.

"You can't deep-breathe your way out of a pandemic; you cannot stretch your way out of terrible class sizes; you cannot 'individual behavior' your way out of structural problems," she says.

This quote, which comes from Education Week's aptly titled piece, Teachers Are Not OK, Even Though We Need Them to Be, is just one of numerous articles, reports and statements outlining the stress that educators are under, and the well-intentioned but flawed approach of asking educators to save themselves.

Just in the past month we've read:

But the only solutions we are presented revolve around "self-care," i.e., rest, relaxation, meditation, physical activity and yoga. Basically, it's up to you to save yourself. No doubt these strategies are helpful in addressing the wound, but they do little to nothing to address the cause. For many educators, being asked to "find time for themselves" is both impossible and, in itself, stress inducing when finding time is not a real option.
For more on the future of learning, check out the weekly EdSurge Podcast, wherever you listen.
Larry Felazzo, the award-winning teacher who writes a popular education blog and a teacher advice column, recently wrote, "I teach in an almost ideal situation and I'm exhausted after just the first month of this year. I don't know how others who might be in less than ideal situations are handling it."

The experts are exhausted. The experienced are exhausted. We can safely assume that those new to the profession are exhausted too.

So, what do we do?

Sean Slade, 2021.

We must stop expecting educators to save themselves and instead start to address the group climate and culture of our schools. We must improve the environments that educators find themselves in everyday and at a minimum decrease the stress and increase the supports available in that setting. Collaboratively, we must start to address the systems that we have helped foster that have caused much of the stress in the first place.

If we only focus on self-care, we only affect the top of what I've coined the Wellbeing Pyramid. Not only is the effect temporary but it butts up too often against unsupportive environments and unresponsive systems. We must target the group interactions and focus on our school cultures, and then we must address the underlying causes. We give most attention to the Self but we must place more attention onto the Group and eventually the System.

As educators, or in fact as anyone who works with children and youth, we have less impact over our System-the scheduling, supports, time for collaboration, funding, duties, responsibilities and accountability systems. But we have more influence over the Group and consequently our culture and climate at the school. This is reflective of how we-the adults-treat each other. How we interact, how we react and how we support one another.

And while everyone in the school setting, from students, to staff, to families, influences the culture and climate, the person, or persons, who influence our school cultures the most are our school leaders. As my colleague Alyssa Gallagher and I wrote earlier this year, "Principals have the power to set the tone and establish a new order of business in a school. The principal provides education credibility to almost any initiative they champion, and as such, most school teams buy-in."

Acknowledging individuals, both personally as well as professionally

Demonstrating our human side of collaboration, and of leadership

Increasing our own understanding of how we react to, and interact with others

Adjusting our communication and leadership styles.

How do we do this?

We start by enhancing and improving the ways we interact and the ways we react to one another. These skills can be learned and fostered, but in general they revolve around core understandings and actions.

If we continue to focus only on self-care without addressing the causes of the stress we lose in both the middle and long game. We must start to focus more attention on the venues where we work and the interactions that influence the culture. This will not alleviate all stress (after all, most stress comes from our system), but if we continue to build our schools into places of care, support and positive interactions, we start to buffer the system stresses, and support the self-care that may take place.

It is not teachers' responsibility to save and take care of themselves; it is our responsibility to help ensure and develop safe, supportive environments with them.

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School Leaders Take Note: Teacher Care Is a Lot More Than Self-Care - EdSurge News

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If you get burned in a fire, you first treat the wound, but you also try to put the fire out. In education, we treat the wound and then usher our teachers back into the fire. Excuse the pun but they are more than burned out, they are scorched.

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30 Days of Mindfulness for the Classroom

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30 Days of Mindfulness for the Classroom

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Bring mindfulness to your classrooms with ease. From breathing exercises to meditations to relaxation activities, each day is a new mindful exploration complete with a lesson plan.

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"Wall of Rejection” helps high school seniors cope with college admissions stress.

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"Wall of Rejection” helps high school seniors cope with college admissions stress.

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Newsela | "Wall of Rejection" helps high school seniors cope with college admissions stress

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Seniors at one high school bond by posting college rejection letters on a wall.

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Enrollment and Scheduling Considerations

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Brief but powerful article addresses concerns circulating around Critical Race Theory.

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The Resilience in School Environments Index

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The Resilience in School Environments Index

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The Resilience in School Environments (RISE) Initiative empowers schools to create safe and supportive learning environments by developing policies and practices that improve the social-emotional health of all students and staff.

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FREE Mental Wellness Toolkit (Students & Staff)

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FREE Mental Wellness Toolkit (Students & Staff)

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Skip to main content

Join 250,000+ teachers bringing mindfulness to the next generation

Join the movement

"If every 8 year old is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation."

- Dalai Lama

Discover what's possible if every school day began with a few moments of mindfulness. Together let's equip students with tools for resilience, self-care, and stress management.

Join the movement

Age-specific resources to help you bring mindfulness into the classroom

A self-care guide to support you during the school day and beyond

A free sampling of meditations, music, Sleep Stories, breathing exercises and more

Get Started

Get Started

Just as we put on our oxygen mask first, we can best support the health and happiness of others by taking care of ourselves first.

Meditate regulary to reduce stress, prevent burnout and improve your relationships with students, parents and colleagues.

Listen to Calm Music and Sleep Stories at the end of a busy day to help you wind down and fall asleep with ease.

Start today

Lauren Daly Clark

@msdalyLST

When given a choice today, this kiddo wanted to hear more from @KingJames himself on "managing emotions". Thank you @calm for opening this door for us. This was truly a special moment today ❤️✨

Miss Epstein

@MissEEpstein

I often use @calm during writing sessions at school. There are lots of relaxing instrumentals that help my children to focus (they also know that if I can't hear my music, they're too loud). They love it. Today I'm using it as relaxing background noise whilst reading. 😌

Feeling stressed or anxious? I encourage you to take time to breathe and meditate. @calm is a wonderful resource that I've used by myself and with students for years. Free for educators. #meditate

Join the movement

Thank you, teachers!

You make a difference in the world.

Get started

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Join 250,000+ teachers bringing mindfulness to the next generation.

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Looking for free, flexible resources connecting K-12 students with local volunteers? Check out JA Virtual, a collection of videos and accompanying activities to share with teachers, parents, and students.

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JA of Central Virginia's volunteer-enhanced, kindergarten-12th grade programs foster work-readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills, and use experiential learning to inspire students in our community to dream big and reach their potential.

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Home | Junior Achievement of Central Virginia

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JA of Central Virginia's volunteer-enhanced, kindergarten-12th grade programs foster work-readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills, and use experiential learning to inspire students in our community to dream big and reach their potential.

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Supporting Students at Risk for Self-Harm or Suicide

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Supporting Students at Risk for Self-Harm or Suicide

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this recently released document by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights includes a new fact sheet with information about protections for students with mental disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

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Developed by the National Equity Project (2021), this list of questions can help build rapport and relationships with all of your students and their families.

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Science and equity-driven tools for whole-child school redesign. Explore research, measurement tools, resources for supporting students’ academic, physical, social, emotional and identity needs, and so much more.

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Science and equity-driven tools
for whole-child school redesign

START DESIGNING

The Turnaround for Children Toolbox was designed to empower educators - teachers, school and district leaders, student support staff, and more - to drive change towards a more equitable, whole-child approach to school.

The Toolbox is grounded in the science of learning and development, which synthesizes research across diverse fields including neuroscience, psychology, developmental science, adversity science and more. Altogether, this science points us to the boundless potential of students and calls us to engage together in the work to design our schools accordingly.

"I want to use science-based strategies in my work with students,
but often I feel overwhelmed and unsure where to start.
This site provided a clear roadmap."

- Educator, Baltimore, MD

The Toolbox offers educators tools to begin the process of confronting, dismantling and reimagining the systems, structures, practices and mindsets that uphold the inequities in our current education system. Instead of relying solely on top-down approaches for this change, we know it is only through our collective expertise, commitment and passion that we can transform experiences and outcomes for each and every student.

Ground Your Practice in Science

Dive deep into the research on how students learn and develop. In this section, you will find:

5 Key Concepts from the science of learning and development

Downloadable infographics

Curated videos and articles from researchers and educators

START HERE
Design for the Whole Child

Explore tools to redesign your practice using a whole-child, science-grounded approach. In this section, you will find:

Turnaround's Whole-Child Design Blueprint, a framework for transformational change

3 Core Practices as starting places for redesign

Continuums of Practice (tools beyond traditional rubrics)

Planning guides, self-assessments, student strategies and more

START HERE
Assess and Reflect

Check out Turnaround's assets-based approach to measurement, including:

The Well-Being Index (Elementary and Secondary versions)

The Whole-Child Inventory (sign up to get first access)

Guidance documents and scoring tools

START HERE

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Science and equity-driven tools for whole-child school redesign START DESIGNING The Turnaround for Children Toolbox was designed to empower educators - teachers, school and district leaders, student support staff, and more - to drive change towards a more equitable, whole-child approach to school.

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Classroom Wise: Well-Being Information and Strategies for Educators

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Classroom Wise: Well-Being Information and Strategies for Educators

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Classroom WISE is a FREE 3-part training package that assists K-12 educators in supporting the mental health of students in the classroom. Developed by the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) Network in partnership with the National Center for School Mental Health, this package offers evidence-based strategies and skills to engage and support students with mental health concerns in the classroom.

In addition to a free online course on mental health literacy for educators and school personnel, a video library and resource collection are also available!

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a resource created by Virginia Beach City Public Schools, provides staff with practical and often familiar ways to introduce and deepen the use of SEL practices and strategies in schools, classrooms and workplaces.  The stockpile introduces a variety of examples that, when used authentically and intentionally, can help educators create safe, equity-centered, productive learning and working spaces for all students and adults.

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How do I decide what I want to do for a living?

Knowing yourself comes first. Your skills, interests, values, and needs are important to finding the right path!

How much will college cost and how can I pay for it?

Find the right college for you and learn how to pay for it, what to expect, and so much more!

What steps should I take to prepare for college?

Find the information you'll need for test prep, transferring, searching for a college, and choosing a major!

How much do you really need to earn to have the life you dream of?

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How do I decide what I want to do for a living? Knowing yourself comes first. Your skills, interests, values, and needs are important to finding the right path! How much will college cost and how can I pay for it?

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Prevention Strategies & Programs

Virginia SEL Guidance Standards

The Virginia Social Emotional (SEL) Guidance Standards (PDF) are now available to all Virginia school divisions. While the 2020 General Assembly required the VDOE to develop the guidance standards for SEL, Virginia school divisions are not required to adopt them. Local school boards may choose to adopt all, or portions of, the Virginia SEL Guidance Standards as part of their own local policies, and/or use them as guidance as they implement SEL programming based on the needs of their community.

Although there is no applicable Standards of Learning (SOL) test associated with the Social Emotional Learning Guidance Standards, these resources are intended to provide school divisions with standards and guidelines to instruct students on the following Overarching Concepts with the corresponding "C" from the Profile of a Virginia Graduate in parenthesis:

The SEL Guidance Standards are the skills identified for each grade band to demonstrate the desired outcome under each overarching concept. The SEL Guidance Standards are provided for Kindergarten and across two year grade bands for grades one through twelve (e.g., first-second, third-fourth, fifth-sixth, seventh-eighth, ninth-tenth, and eleventh-twelfth). This allows for developmental differences in children and for repeated instruction across two grade levels. Careful consideration was given to vertical alignment, so that Standards build upon the skills learned in previous grade bands.

The VDOE has created resources to build educator awareness of social emotional learning and how it can be integrated into Virginia schools. The document, A Shared Commitment: Building Foundational Support for Systemic Social Emotional Learning in Virginia (PDF) , offers insights into the shared responsibilities that all educators have in schoolwide SEL integration and the ways that SEL promotes inclusion. Additional resources to assist school divisions in the implementation of the SEL Guidance Standards are available in the SEL Resource Library .

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Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Guidance Standards

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The Virginia Department of Education, Office of , provides adult literacy services, adult high school equivalency completion, Adult Education and Literacy, Second Language services to Virginia's adults.

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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Specialist Training (Free)

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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Specialist Training (Free)

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School counselors have an ethical obligation to serve as advocates, leaders, collaborators and consultants who create systemic change by providing equitable educational access and success by connecting their school counseling programs to the district’s mission and improvement plans. Through this work, school counselors have a unique opportunity to be an important part of the solution for change. View the Specialist syllabus.

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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Specialist

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School counselors have an ethical obligation to serve as advocates, leaders, collaborators and consultants who create systemic change by providing equitable educational access and success by connecting their school counseling programs to the district's mission and improvement plans. Through this work, school counselors have a unique opportunity to be an important part of the solution for change.

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A growing body of science supports the implications for education—that if we are able to create the right conditions for learning, we can help every student learn and thrive. Researchers can use this emerging knowledge to redesign a system in which all students have high-quality learning opportunities that ignite their curiosity and nurture their development.

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The science is clear: students’ skills and well-being can be improved by schools that use whole child design. Key principles show how to apply the science.

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Building Capacity of School Personnel to Promote Positive Mental Health in Children and Youth (Self-Paced)

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Building Capacity of School Personnel to Promote Positive Mental Health in Children and Youth (Self-Paced)

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The purpose of this course is to build capacity of frontline interdisciplinary school personnel to address the mental health needs of children and youth in schools by embedding strategies throughout the day using a multi-tiered approach.

Emphasis is on knowledge translation and implementation of evidence-based mental health promotion and prevention strategies within a Community of Practice (CoP). Individuals can take the course and will be prepared to implement their own CoP if they choose.

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The purpose of this course is to build capacity of frontline interdisciplinary school personnel to address the mental health needs of children and youth in schools by embedding strategies throughout the day using a multi-tiered approach. Participants will learn how to implement Every Moment Counts model programs and embedded strategies (www.everymomentcounts.org).

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Fueling Young People to Change the World | DoSomething.org

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As employment opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) continue to expand in Virginia and throughout the United States, the selection of STEM courses in K-12 allow students to prepare for a variety of STEM careers.  The Game of STEM was developed to provide a sampling of potential STEM careers and to support students, counselors, and teachers as students determine course pathways.  (3/1/2021)

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Prevention Strategies & Programs

Virginia's Vision for Social Emotional Learning

The Virginia Department of Education's social emotional learning (SEL) efforts are driven by our commitment to ensure that every student in Virginia attends a school that maximizes their potential and prepares them for the future: academically, socially, and emotionally. Virginia's vision for SEL is intended to center equity in this work, which is key to VDOE's vision and mission.

"The vision of social emotional learning in Virginia is to maximize the potential of all students and staff to become responsible, caring and reflective members of our diverse society by advancing equity, uplifting student voice, and infusing SEL into every part of the school experience."

Virginia's Definition of Social Emotional Learning

To meet this vision, the VDOE established a uniform definition of social emotional learning based on the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning ( CASEL ) definition. Virginia defines social emotional learning as:

"The process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions."

Social emotional learning begins at home and continues through adulthood. Embedding SEL intentionally in school culture advances the work that begins and continues at home.

Core SEL Competencies

Positive Impact of SEL

The research on the impact of social emotional learning demonstrates that SEL programming has a positive impact on academic performance, school attendance, disciplinary outcomes, and mental wellness. SEL lays the groundwork to create a safe and positive learning environment for students and adults, which allows for relationship building, collaboration, cultural competency, and critical decision-making. Research has shown that students participating in evidence-based SEL programs have:

Improved classroom attitudes and behavior:

Better sense of community

More class participation

Stronger pro-social skills

Improved attendance

Better understanding of consequences

Better coping skills

Increased attitude toward school and learning

Improved school performance:

Higher achievement test scores (+14%) and higher grades (+11%)

Improved metacognition skills

Improved problem-solving, planning, and reasoning skills

Improvements in reading comprehension

SEL Resources

Equity

SEL can be an effective tool for creating caring, just, inclusive, and healthy communities that support all individuals in reaching their fullest potential:

Trauma Informed Practices

SEL and trauma informed practices share the goal of helping students develop social and emotional competencies so they may respond successfully to the challenges of the world they live in.

Supporting English Language Learners

Schoolwide SEL

Planning Resources

The VDOE recognizes that in order to implement SEL, preparation and planning is required. There are a number of guides and toolkits available to assist educators in planning for, and implementing social emotional learning at the division and school level:

SEL State Examples

SEL in Action

The VDOE has a number of efforts that support social emotional learning.

The VDOE Virginia Tiered Systems of Supports (VTSS) offers school divisions the opportunity to build their capacity to utilize a multi-tiered framework (or "way of work") to improve school climate and create effective and supportive learning environment for all students. This framework works through a lens of the whole child concept that aligns academics, behavioral, social and emotional wellness into a single databased decision-making framework.

The Profile of a Virginia Graduate establishes a new set of expectations - known as the 5 C's : critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, collaboration and citizenship skills.

Early Learning and Development Standards (PDF) include personal and social development standards aligned with social emotional learning.

The 2020 Health Education Standards of Learning (SOL) intentionally include social emotional skills to build K-12 student's mental wellness skills - emotional development, self-concept and social competence.

The revised Model Guidance for Positive and Preventive Code of Student Conduct Policy and Alternatives to Suspension integrates SEL practices into prevention and intervention as a means of reducing exclusionary discipline practices and removing disparity in the use of suspension and expulsion.

The purpose of Kindness Week is to recognize that simple day-to-day acts of kindness enable our schools, communities, and state to be a kinder, safer, healthier, and more inclusive place to live, work, learn, and play. By promoting kindness, we are promoting inclusivity by extending an opportunity for grace, empathy, dignity, and acceptance across Virginia.

Learning during Uncertain Times

During the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years, the effects of COVID-19 created prolonged disruption to the school and home routines.

Virginia LEARNS

Social Emotional Wellness Quick Guides

The VDOE Social Emotional Wellness Quick Guides include important information and resources for school communities.

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The Virginia Department of Education, Office of , provides adult literacy services, adult high school equivalency completion, Adult Education and Literacy, Second Language services to Virginia's adults.

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Listen to this post as a podcast:
When I worked with student teachers on developing effective lesson plans, one thing I always asked them to revise was the phrase "We will discuss."
We will discuss the video. We will discuss the story. We will discuss our results.
Every time I saw it in a lesson plan, I would add a note: "What format will you use? What questions will you ask? How will you ensure that all students participate?" I was pretty sure that We will discuss actually meant the teacher would do most of the talking; He would throw out a couple of questions like "So what did you think about the video?" or "What was the theme of the story?" and a few students would respond, resulting in something that looked like a discussion, but was ultimately just a conversation between the teacher and a handful of extroverted students; a classic case of Fisheye Teaching.

The problem wasn't them; in most of the classrooms where they'd sat as students, that's exactly what a class discussion looked like. They didn't know any other "formats." I have only ever been familiar with a few myself. But when teachers began contacting me recently asking for a more comprehensive list, I knew it was time to do some serious research.

So here they are: 15 formats for structuring a class discussion to make it more engaging, more organized, more equitable, and more academically challenging. If you've struggled to find effective ways to develop students' speaking and listening skills, this is your lucky day.

I've separated the strategies into three groups. The first batch contains the higher-prep strategies, formats that require teachers to do some planning or gathering of materials ahead of time. Next come the low-prep strategies, which can be used on the fly when you have a few extra minutes or just want your students to get more active. Note that these are not strict categories; it's certainly possible to simplify or add more meat to any of these structures and still make them work. The last group is the ongoing strategies. These are smaller techniques that can be integrated with other instructional strategies and don't really stand alone. For each strategy, you'll find a list of other names it sometimes goes by, a description of its basic structure, and an explanation of variations that exist, if any. To watch each strategy in action, click on its name and a new window will open with a video that demonstrates it.

Enjoy!
a.k.a. Chat Stations
Basic Structure: Stations or posters are set up around the classroom, on the walls or on tables. Small groups of students travel from station to station together, performing some kind of task or responding to a prompt, either of which will result in a conversation.

Variations: Some Gallery Walks stay true to the term gallery, where groups of students create informative posters, then act as tour guides or docents, giving other students a short presentation about their poster and conducting a Q&A about it. In Starr Sackstein's high school classroom, her stations consisted of video tutorials created by the students themselves. Before I knew the term Gallery Walk, I shared a strategy similar to it called Chat Stations, where the teacher prepares discussion prompts or content-related tasks and sets them up around the room for students to visit in small groups.
a.k.a. Values Continuum, Forced Debate, Physical Barometer, This or That
Basic Structure: A statement that has two possible responses-agree or disagree-is read out loud. Depending on whether they agree or disagree with this statement, students move to one side of the room or the other. From that spot, students take turns defending their positions.

Variations: Often a Philosophical Chairs debate will be based around a text or group of texts students have read ahead of time; students are required to cite textual evidence to support their claims and usually hold the texts in their hands during the discussion. Some teachers set up one hot seat to represent each side, and students must take turns in the seat. In less formal variations (which require less prep), a teacher may simply read provocative statements students are likely to disagree on, and a debate can occur spontaneously without a text to refer to (I call this variation This or That in my classroom icebreakers post). Teachers may also opt to offer a continuum of choices, ranging from "Strongly Agree" on one side of the room, all the way to "Strongly Disagree" on the other, and have students place themselves along that continuum based on the strength of their convictions.

Basic Structure: Students are divided into 4 groups. Three of these groups are assigned to represent specific points of view. Members of the fourth group are designated as "provocateurs," tasked with making sure the discussion keeps going and stays challenging. One person from each group (the "speaker") sits in a desk facing speakers from the other groups, so they form a square in the center of the room. Behind each speaker, the remaining group members are seated: two right behind the speaker, then three behind them, and so on, forming a kind of triangle. From above, this would look like a pinwheel. The four speakers introduce and discuss questions they prepared ahead of time (this preparation is done with their groups). After some time passes, new students rotate from the seats behind the speaker into the center seats and continue the conversation.

Variations: When high school English teacher Sarah Brown Wessling introduced this strategy in the featured video (click Pinwheel Discussion above), she used it as a device for talking about literature, where each group represented a different author, plus one provocateur group. But in the comments that follow the video, Wessling adds that she also uses the strategy with non-fiction, where students represent authors of different non-fiction texts or are assigned to take on different perspectives about an issue.
a.k.a. Socratic Circles
Basic Structure: Students prepare by reading a text or group of texts and writing some higher-order discussion questions about the text. On seminar day, students sit in a circle and an introductory, open-ended question is posed by the teacher or student discussion leader. From there, students continue the conversation, prompting one another to support their claims with textual evidence. There is no particular order to how students speak, but they are encouraged to respectfully share the floor with others. Discussion is meant to happen naturally and students do not need to raise their hands to speak. This overview of Socratic Seminar from the website Facing History and Ourselves provides a list of appropriate questions, plus more information about how to prepare for a seminar.

Variations: If students are beginners, the teacher may write the discussion questions, or the question creation can be a joint effort. For larger classes, teachers may need to set up seminars in more of a fishbowl-like arrangement, dividing students into one inner circle that will participate in the discussion, and one outer circle that silently observes, takes notes, and may eventually trade places with those in the inner circle, sometimes all at once, and sometimes by "tapping in" as the urge strikes them.
a.k.a. Affinity Diagramming
Basic Structure: Give students a broad question or problem that is likely to result in lots of different ideas, such as "What were the impacts of the Great Depression?" or "What literary works should every person read?" Have students generate responses by writing ideas on post-it notes (one idea per note) and placing them in no particular arrangement on a wall, whiteboard, or chart paper. Once lots of ideas have been generated, have students begin grouping them into similar categories, then label the categories and discuss why the ideas fit within them, how the categories relate to one another, and so on.

Variations: Some teachers have students do much of this exercise-recording their ideas and arranging them into categories- without talking at first. In other variations, participants are asked to re-combine the ideas into new, different categories after the first round of organization occurs. Often, this activity serves as a good pre-writing exercise, after which students will write some kind of analysis or position paper.
a.k.a. Speed Dating
Basic Structure: Students form two circles, one inside circle and one outside circle. Each student on the inside is paired with a student on the outside; they face each other. The teacher poses a question to the whole group and pairs discuss their responses with each other. Then the teacher signals students to rotate: Students on the outside circle move one space to the right so they are standing in front of a new person (or sitting, as they are in the video). Now the teacher poses a new question, and the process is repeated.

Variations: Instead of two circles, students could also form two straight lines facing one another. Instead of "rotating" to switch partners, one line just slides over one spot, and the leftover person on the end comes around to the beginning of the line. Some teachers use this strategy to have students teach one piece of content to their fellow students, making it less of a discussion strategy and more of a peer teaching format. In fact, many of these protocols could be used for peer teaching as well.

Basic Structure: Another great idea from Sarah Brown Wessling, this is a small-group discussion strategy that gives students exposure to more of their peers' ideas and prevents the stagnation that can happen when a group doesn't happen to have the right chemistry. Students are placed into a few groups of 4-6 students each and are given a discussion question to talk about. After sufficient time has passed for the discussion to develop, one or two students from each group rotate to a different group, while the other group members remain where they are. Once in their new group, they will discuss a different, but related question, and they may also share some of the key points from their last group's conversation. For the next rotation, students who have not rotated before may be chosen to move, resulting in groups that are continually evolving.

Basic Structure: Two students sit facing each other in the center of the room; the remaining students sit in a circle around them. The two central students have a conversation based on a pre-determined topic and often using specific skills the class is practicing (such as asking follow-up questions, paraphrasing, or elaborating on another person's point). Students on the outside observe, take notes, or perform some other discussion-related task assigned by the teacher.

Variations: One variation of this strategy allows students in the outer circle to trade places with those in the fishbowl, doing kind of a relay-style discussion, or they may periodically "coach" the fishbowl talkers from the sidelines. Teachers may also opt to have students in the outside circle grade the participants' conversation with a rubric, then give feedback on what they saw in a debriefing afterward, as mentioned in the featured video.

Basic Structure: One student assumes the role of a book character, significant figure in history, or concept (such as a tornado, an animal, or the Titanic). Sitting in front of the rest of the class, the student responds to classmates' questions while staying in character in that role.

Variations: Give more students the opportunity to be in the hot seat while increasing everyone's participation by having students do hot seat discussions in small groups, where one person per group acts as the "character" and three or four others ask them questions. In another variation, several students could form a panel of different characters, taking questions from the class all together and interacting with one another like guests on a TV talk show.
a.k.a. Pyramid Discussion
Basic Structure: Students begin in pairs, responding to a discussion question only with a single partner. After each person has had a chance to share their ideas, the pair joins another pair, creating a group of four. Pairs share their ideas with the pair they just joined. Next, groups of four join together to form groups of eight, and so on, until the whole class is joined up in one large discussion.

Variations: This structure could simply be used to share ideas on a topic, or students could be required to reach consensus every time they join up with a new group.

Whereas the other formats in this list have a distinct shape-specific activities you do with students-the strategies in this section are more like plug-ins, working discussion into other instructional activities and improving the quality and reach of existing conversations.

One of the limitations of discussion is that rich, face-to-face conversations can only happen when all parties are available, so we're limited to the time we have in class. With a tool like Voxer, those limitations disappear. Like a private voice mailbox that you set up with just one person or a group (but SOOOO much easier), Voxer allows users to have conversations at whatever time is most convenient for each participant. So a group of four students can "discuss" a topic from 3pm until bedtime-asynchronously-each member contributing whenever they have a moment, and if the teacher makes herself part of the group, she can listen in, offer feedback, or contribute her own discussion points. Voxer is also invaluable for collaborating on projects and for having one-on-one discussions with students, parents, and your own colleagues. Like many other educators, Peter DeWitt took a while to really understand the potential of Voxer, but in this EdWeek piece, he explains what turned him around.

A backchannel is a conversation that happens right alongside another activity. The first time I saw a backchannel in action was at my first unconference: While those of us in the audience listened to presenters and watched a few short video clips, a separate screen was up beside the main screen, projecting something called TodaysMeet (update: TodaysMeet has shut down. Use YoTeach! instead.) It looked a lot like those chat rooms from back in the day, basically a blank screen where people would contribute a few lines of text, the lines stacking up one after the other, no other bells or whistles. Anyone in the room could participate in this conversation on their phone, laptop, or tablet, asking questions, offering commentary, and sharing links to related resources without ever interrupting the flow of the presentations. This kind of tool allows for a completely silent discussion, one that doesn't have to move at a super-fast pace, and it gives students who may be reluctant to speak up or who process their thoughts more slowly a chance to fully contribute. For a deeper discussion of how this kind of tool can be used, read this thoughtful overview of using backchannel discussions in the classroom by Edutopia's Beth Holland.
a.k.a. Accountable Talk
Talk moves are sentence frames we supply to our students that help them express ideas and interact with one another in respectful, academically appropriate ways. From kindergarten all the way through college, students can benefit from explicit instruction in the skills of summarizing another person's argument before presenting an alternate view, asking clarifying questions, and expressing agreement or partial agreement with the stance of another participant. Talk moves can be incorporated into any of the other discussion formats listed here.

Whole Brain Teaching is a set of teaching and classroom management methods that has grown in popularity over the past 10 years. One of WBT's foundational techniques is Teach-OK, a peer teaching strategy that begins with the teacher spending a few minutes introducing a concept to the class. Next, the teacher says Teach!, the class responds with Okay!, and pairs of students take turns re-teaching the concept to each other. It's a bit like think-pair-share, but it's faster-paced, it focuses more on re-teaching than general sharing, and students are encouraged to use gestures to animate their discussion. Although WBT is most popular in elementary schools, this featured video shows the creator of WBT, Chris Biffle, using it quite successfully with college students. I have also used Teach-OK with college students, and most of my students said they were happy for a change from the sit-and-listen they were used to in college classrooms.

An oldie but a goodie, think-pair-share can be used any time you want to plug interactivity into a lesson: Simply have students think about their response to a question, form a pair with another person, discuss their response, then share it with the larger group. Because I feel this strategy has so many uses and can be way more powerful than we give it credit for, I devoted a whole post to think-pair-share; everything you need to know about it is right there.

TWO MORE YOU'LL LOVE

Since writing this post, I have learned about two more discussion strategies that teachers are finding to be incredibly effective and powerful for getting students to talk, especially about books and other texts:

This protocol has students come up with their own Thoughts, lingering Questions, and Epiphanies from an assigned reading. Teachers who have used this method say it has generated some of the richest conversations they have ever heard from students!

This strategy places students into one-on-one conversations, getting them to learn each others' names better and create a track record of what they talked about. Excellent for classes where you want to assess for discussion and help students get more comfortable with each other.

So what else do you have? I would like to think this is a pretty complete list, but I'm sure more strategies are out there. If you use a discussion strategy that's not mentioned here, please share it below.

Come back for more.
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The Big List of Class Discussion Strategies

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Here they are: 15 formats for structuring a class discussion to make it more engaging, more organized, more equitable, and more academically challenging.

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an A to Z compendium of resources for and by K-12 school counselors.

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Click HERE to Submit Resources & Upcoming Events

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Integrating a Trauma-Informed Approach with a PBIS Framework

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Integrating a Trauma-Informed Approach with a PBIS Framework

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The purpose of this Guide is to describe how district and school leaders can incorporate trauma-informed practices within a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework. This ensures that the investments in training school personnel about trauma can be integrated into a system that links these efforts to student outcomes. Recommendations are included for how to adjust the PBIS framework to support trauma informed practices.

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We want to give you the tools to build communities that support kindness and compassion. We've created free resources to help you get started.

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Start Here! We want to give you the tools to build communities that support kindness and compassion. We've created free resources to help you get started. Sign up below to unlock access to the resources and learn more about how to positively shift culture in your community. Click HERE and watch a few tips from people that have used our resources to positively impact their community. Questions? Email us at custom@dudebenice.com.

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Start Here! We want to give you the tools to build communities that support kindness and compassion. We've created free resources to help you get started. Sign up below to unlock access to the resources and learn more about how to positively shift culture in your community.

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Middle and High School Post Secondary Success Resource Library

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Middle and High School Post Secondary Success Resource Library

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(Padlet)

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The Be There Certificate is a free, self-paced learning experience designed to increase mental health literacy and provide you with the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to safely support anyone who may be struggling with their mental health. It provides a deep understanding of Be There's 5 Golden Rules - a simple but actionable framework on how to recognize when someone might be struggling with their mental health, your role in supporting that person, and how to connect them to the help they deserve.

6 interactive lessons

Less than 2 hours

Free of charge

Available in French, English and Spanish

Videos and real life scenarios

Unlimited access

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The Be There Certificate is a free, self-paced learning experience designed to increase mental health literacy and provide you with the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to safely support anyone who may be struggling with their mental health.

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Resources, Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students, and Procedural Resources.

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The Virginia Department of Education is committed to working with school divisions to ensure Virginia schools are welcoming, affirming, and safe learning environments for all students. Every Virginia student, regardless of their gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation, has a right to learn free from discrimination and harassment. Virginia's Education Equity Framework, Navigating EdEquityVA (PDF), outlines our commitment to dismantle any and all forms of inequity in Virginia's public education system and includes strategies to support LGBTQ+ students. The Roadmap is guided by the EdEquityVA Compass (PDF), which articulates the essential competencies necessary to advance equity in the Commonwealth.

Pursuant to § 22.1-23.3 of the Code of Virginia, local school divisions should adopt policies, procedures, and practices for an inclusive school environment that are consistent with Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools (Word). Schools are encouraged to conduct a comprehensive equity audit to help facilitate this process, which can be found on the Virginia is for Learners website.

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VDOE :: Comprehensive Services Act for At Risk Youth &Families

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The Virginia Department of Education is committed to working with school divisions to ensure Virginia schools are welcoming, affirming, and safe learning environments for all students. Every Virginia student, regardless of their gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation, has a right to learn free from discrimination and harassment.

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ASCA

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21-22 Cultural Awareness & Dates of Recognition Calendar

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21-22 Cultural Awareness & Dates of Recognition Calendar

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Cultural Awareness and Appreciation Calendar 21-22

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Learn practical strategies for how to promote positive mental health throughout the day.

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Every Moment Counts is a mental health initiative developed to help all children & youth to succeed in school, home, and in the community.

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(Padlet)

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See Us, Support Us Educator Resource Guide

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See Us, Support Us Educator Resource Guide

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is meant to guide educators and school staff as they seek to see and support children of incarcerated parents in the classroom

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Educators Resource Toolkit | See Us, Support Us

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Model Guidance for Positive, Preventative Code of Student Conduct Policy and Alternatives to Suspension

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Model Guidance for Positive, Preventative Code of Student Conduct Policy and Alternatives to Suspension

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Racial Equity Tools offers tools, research, tips, curricula, and ideas for people who want to increase their own understanding and to help those working for racial justice at every level –in systems, organizations, communities, and the culture at large.

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Infographic on 80/20 (Best Practices: Direct Counseling)

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Infographic on 80/20 (Best Practices: Direct Counseling)

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The Mental Health and High School Curriculum Guide provides a complete set of educational tools to increase understanding of mental health and mental disorders among both students and teachers.

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School-aged youth are a vulnerable population. They are in a period of their lives that is crucial for their mental health development. Canadian youth spend more time in school than anywhere else outside the home. Schools are often challenged to deal with youth mental health, but are seriously under equipped and inadequately supported to handle this responsibility.

The Mental Health and High School Curriculum Guide provides a complete set of educational tools to increase understanding of mental health and mental disorders among both students and teachers.

The Guide, developed in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association, focuses on training teachers to be comfortable with their own knowledge of mental health and mental disorders. The Guide then empowers the teachers to share this knowledge with their students through a curriculum delivered in a multiple module format. The program uses a variety of interactive sessions that help to promote dialogue among students, as well as with their teachers. Discussing mental health and mental illness in a supportive, familiar environment enables youth to feel safe, ask questions, gain knowledge, combat stigma and develop their own opinions of the world around them.

The teachers training materials are provided for free, and many of the other materials are incorporated into our curriculum site, however, there is a small fee for the complete guide to be delivered to your door. These materials are produced by two not-for-profit organizations that are using these funds to continue to enhance and develop the curriculum.

The Curriculum Guide is available to download for free in the following languages:
English French Spanish Bangladesh Chinese USA Edition: Washington State
The Mental Health & High School Curriculum Guide will soon be available for purchase through TeenMentalHealth.org. Until then, it can be purchased on

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Mental Health and High School Curriculum Guide (Version 3) - Mental Health Literacy

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School-aged youth are a vulnerable population. They are in a period of their lives that is crucial for their mental health development. Canadian youth spend more time in school than anywhere else outside the home. Schools are often challenged to deal with youth mental health, but are seriously under equipped and inadequately supported to handle this responsibility.

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Padlet FILLED with Resources for SEL Implementation

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CodeVA and the VDOE have teamed up on a continuing series of STEM+C for All posters for educators statewide

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CodeVA and the VDOE have teamed up on a continuing series of STEM+C for All posters for educators statewide

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CodeVA and the VDOE have teamed up on a continuing series of STEM+C for All posters for educators statewide! To celebrate the accomplishments of amazing STEM+C leaders and mark the end of Women's History Month, sign up for professional development today and grab this first poster in the series!

CodeVA's professional development sessions are free to Virginia K-12 public school educators and prepare you to teach or integrate computer science in your classroom. And keep an eye out for new posters in this series coming throughout the year!

Opportunities for Educators!

Download our Make Your Mark Poster!

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Make Your Mark with CodeVA Professional Development - and Grab a Free Poster | CodeVA

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CodeVA and the VDOE have teamed up on a continuing series of STEM+C for All posters for educators statewide! To celebrate the accomplishments of amazing STEM+C leaders and mark the end of Women's History Month, sign up for professional development today and grab this first poster in the series!

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Adolescent Substance Use Prevention Toolkit for SBHCs

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Adolescent Substance Use Prevention Toolkit for SBHCs

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Guidelines, trainings, and resources.

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Prevention Strategies & Programs

News & Announcements

Resource Available to Develop Local Policies to address Suicide in Virginia's Public Schools

The Suicide Prevention Guidelines for Virginia Public Schools (PDF), adopted by the Board of Education in June, 2020, provides information to assist local school boards in revising policies to help prevent suicide and procedures to intervene when suicidal threats are present, and how to manage the crisis response when a death by suicide occurs in the school community.

Introduction

Schools can play a key role in suicide prevention. The task of all professionals involved in and dedicated to the education of children is to help prevent death by suicide whenever possible. When school personnel, families, and communities take an active role in suicide prevention lives can be saved.

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has partnered with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) to raise awareness about the Suicide Prevention Month Educational Campaign in September. In order to extend the reach to families and communities, Virginia educators are asked to explore an electronic toolkit that was developed to house materials related to the campaign. The RecognizeTalkAct Suicide Prevention Toolkit includes educational materials and print-ready social media communication templates that schools can use. The goal of this partnership is to raise awareness about the warning signs of suicide, how to access help during a crisis, and lethal means restriction.

Overview of Resources Provided

The resources provided below are organized into three overarching concepts:

To support school divisions implementing the new Suicide Prevention Guidelines for Virginia Public Schools, we have developed webinars to assist with staff training and training for suicide risk assessment teams/school-based mental health providers.

Additional webinars are available on the VDOE's Office of Student Services Learning and Resource Center .

Training for School Staff

Suicide Prevention for School Staff

Training for Suicide Risk Assessment Teams or School-Based Mental Health Providers (SBMH)

Suicide Prevention

Understand Your Role with Suicide Prevention

Know the Warning Signs

Most people who die by suicide exhibit warning signs. Understanding these signs is a key part of prevention. These signs may mean someone is at risk for suicide. Risk is greater if a behavior is new or has increased and if it seems related to a painful event, loss, or change.

Talking about wanting to die or to kill oneself.

Looking for a way to kill oneself, such as searching online or buying a gun.

Talking about feeling hopeless or having no reason to live.

Talking about feeling trapped or in unbearable pain.

Talking about being a burden to others.

Increasing the use of alcohol or drugs.

Acting anxious or agitated; behaving recklessly.

Sleeping too little or too much. Withdrawing or feeling isolated.

Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge.

Displaying extreme mood swings.

Warning Sign Resources

Comprehensive Prevention Strategies

It becomes increasingly important for school personnel to consider the social and emotional climate of a school as a mitigating factor for suicide prevention. Suggestions for creating a supportive, proactive climate for suicide prevention include the following:

1. fostering a school climate that is safe, secure, and comfortable for all students,

2. developing activities and extracurricular programs that are inviting and inclusive,

3. training and supporting staff members who help and encourage students,

4. insuring service staff members are accessible to students,

5. providing a regular forum in which staff members discuss students who are displaying worrisome behavior or experiencing stress,

6. conducting faculty/staff gate-keeper training to identify students who are potentially at risk,

7. conducting appropriate peer gatekeeper training for all students,

8. cultivating relationships with public and private organizations for assessment and referral of students in crisis, and

9. providing on-going support groups for students in known risk categories such as (a) students returning from psychiatric hospitalization or suicide attempts (b) students in recovery from substance abuse (c) students who are court-involved (d) students reacting to family trauma such as separation, divorce, or death of a family member.

Resources for Schools

Tips Sheets for Caregivers and Students

State and Local Resources

Screening Programs

A questionnaire or other screening instrument is given to all students to identify students that may require further assessment and treatment. Repeated assessment can be used to measure changes in attitudes or behaviors over time, to test the effectiveness of a prevention strategy, and to detect potential suicidal behavior. SAMHSA's Ready, Set, Go, Review: Screening for Behavioral Health Risk in Schools (PDF) provides guidance for mental health screening in schools. Examples of evidence-based screening measures can be found in Mental Health/Suicide Screening in Schools (Word).

Suicide Intervention

Responding When Students are Experiencing Suicidal Thoughts
If you are concerned or suspect suicide...

Let them know you care. Express your concern about what you are observing in their behavior.

Listen to their story. Talk privately. Be attentive and non-judgmental.

Reflect what they share and let them know they have been heard. Avoid debating the value of life, minimizing their problems or giving advice.

Tell them they are not alone. Let them know there are supports and treatments available that can help.

Ask directly if they are having thoughts of suicide.

If you are or they are concerned, guide them to additional professional help. *

If a student says they are considering suicide or you think the possibility of suicide is high or imminent...

Do not leave the student alone. Insure that adult supervision is maintained until the student's safety is assured. Know and follow your school's crisis plan regarding students who are at high or imminent risk of suicide.

Remove lethal means (anything that could be used in a suicide attempt.)

Call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255).

Take the person to an emergency room or seek help from a medical or mental health professional. *

Resources

Sample Forms

Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety Resources

Postvention, After a Suicide

After a death by suicide, schools should follow the Procedures for Critical Incidents - Death or Serious Injury protocols found within their Crisis Plan.

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The Virginia Department of Education, Office of , provides adult literacy services, adult high school equivalency completion, Adult Education and Literacy, Second Language services to Virginia's adults.

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Addressing Race and Racism, A Guide for School Counselors

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Addressing Race and Racism, A Guide for School Counselors

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Essential Considerations and a Library of Resources created just for you!

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ASCA Student Standards: Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success

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The ASCA Student Standards: Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success describe the knowledge, skills and attitudes students need to achieve academic success, college and career readiness and social/emotional development. The standards are based on a survey of research and best practices in student achievement from a wide array of educational standards and efforts.

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For Kids in Elementary School

The elementary-age videos feature hedgehog characters in imaginative stories to teach key skills in a way that kids will enjoy watching and remember longer. Each video comes with Skill Sheets that summarize and reinforce key ideas.

For Kids in Middle School

The middle school-age videos feature an engaging host and interviews with a diverse group of real kids to teach key skills while normalizing the challenges kids face and sparking productive conversations. Each video comes with Skill Sheets that summarize and reinforce key ideas.

For Kids in High School

The high school-age videos feature an engaging host and interviews with a diverse group of teens to teach key skills while normalizing the challenges they face and sparking productive conversations. Each video comes with Skill Sheets that summarize and reinforce key ideas.

These Simple Skills Can Make a World of Difference for Our Kids

Educational resources grounded in the expertise of the Child Mind Institute

Optimized through services delivered to over 60,000 students, caregivers and educators in over 600 schools

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Mental Health Coping Skills for Parents - Healthy Minds

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an A to Z compendium of resources for and by K-12 school counselors.

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Click HERE to Submit Resources & Upcoming Events

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Webpage with mental health literacy information, research, education and resources. Materials are provided in a variety of mediums that include videos, animations, brochures, e-books, face-to-face training programs, and online training programs. Materials are specifically designed to meet the needs of children, youth, young adults, families, educators, community agencies and health care providers.

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Mental health is part of overall health. Just like it's important to be informed about your health, it's equally important to be informed about your mental health. We aim to take the best available scientific evidence in mental health and make it easy to understand and accessible for everyone.

Our team is committed to creating and delivering the highest quality mental health literacy information, research, education and resources. Our materials are provided in a variety of mediums that include videos, animations, brochures, e-books, face-to-face training programs, and online training programs. Our materials are specifically designed to meet the needs of children, youth, young adults, families, educators, community agencies and health care providers.

And, we can't do it without you! We continually collaborate with policy makers, educators, health care providers, community agencies and the general public.

We use an environmental scan 'push' model in which we compile extensive input from experts, individuals and communities to identify specific needs for our materials. We also use a 'pull' process in which organizations and institutions (ex. government, educators, health providers, etc.) can come to us and make specific requests for materials to meet their needs.

Our Materials Meet the Following Criteria

Based on best available scientific information: Pivotal to our work is the science behind it. We use numerous strategies (ex. systematic literature reviews, input from experts, program evaluation protocols, etc.) to ensure that our materials and training programs are based on the best available scientific information.

Consumer participation: Our products and training programs are developed with extensive input from key informants. This means, for example, if we design materials for educators, we get input and feedback from... you guessed it: educators. When creating our materials, we seek input from a wide audience: youth, caregivers, educators, mental health providers, health care providers, community agencies and policy makers. We acknowledge participants who have made substantial contributions by noting them in our materials.

Feedback and continuous improvement: We welcome feedback on all of our materials. We collect and periodically review this input and use it to modify and improve our trainings and resources. Some of our products also undergo more detailed qualitative and quantitative evaluation by our researchers. We openly share the results of such evaluations.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

At menthealthliteracy.org we are committed to creating inclusive mental health resources, which reflect the many diverse experiences that exist within our communities.

Research shows systemic factors and inequalities can impact health and mental health outcomes. As part of our goal to contribute to a more equitable and mentally healthy society, we will continually strive to make our mental health resources, trainings and information increasingly representative of, and accessible to, a wide variety of audiences.

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Mental health is part of overall health. Just like it's important to be informed about your health, it's equally important to be informed about your mental health. We aim to take the best available scientific evidence in mental health and make it easy to understand and accessible for everyone.

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The Calm Moments Cards provide user-friendly information on how to recognize stress reactions in children and youth and embed simple evidence-based strategies to promote emotional well-being throughout the school day. The program is free and downloadable.

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Introduction: Calm Moment Cards for More Mindfulness in the Classroom and Beyond

Who can use these? Any school personnel including teachers, para-educators, therapists, counselors, etc. The goal is to help all adults become mental health promoters.

Why are they Needed? Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent diagnosable mental health disorder among children in the United States with 50% experiencing onset by age six. ¹ Feeling anxious during the school day can lead to restlessness, difficulty concentrating and irritability, leading to challenges in academic and social performance. ²

How to use the Calm Moments Cards? This is a flexible program that can be used in a number of ways. For example, mindfulness in the classroom, thinking (cognitive behavioral), and sensory strategies can be implemented with a whole class, small group, or individually with a student.

Individual use. Any school personnel can read and apply the strategies and activities on their own. A good starting point is to start with one of the cards. Identify one of the 17 situational stressors that seems most prevalent (e.g. Test Taking), read the card, and apply some of the strategies. (Each card can be printed on 8.5 X 11 paper.)

Whole school use. The program can also be used at a whole-school level by a committed group of school providers. Refer to Orienting School Personnel.

Developed by: Sarah Kolic, OTR/L, Alisa Deininger, OTR/L, Denise Young, COTA/L, and Susan Bazyk, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA (2016)

¹Merikangas K. R., He, J. P., Brody, D., Fisher, P. W., Bourdon, K., & Koretz, D. S. (2010). Prevalence and treatment of mental disorders among US children in the 2001-2004 NHANES. Pediatrics, 125, 75-81. http://doi: 10.1542/peds.2008-2598²Weaver, L. L., & Darragh, A. R. (2015). Systematic review of yoga interventions for anxiety reduction among Children and Adolescents. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 69(6). http://doi:10.5014/ajot.2015.020115

Orienting School Personnel

Whole School Implementation

Who should lead whole school implementation of the program?
Ideally, occupational therapy (OT) practitioners can take the lead in implementing the Calm Moments Cards (CMC) program because of expertise in activity-based services, mental health, sensory processing and activity analysis. However, if an occupational therapy practitioner (OT or OTA) is not available, other skilled school personnel (e.g. school psychologist, nurse, counselor) may take the lead in implementing this program in their school. Refer to this Power Point Orientation.

Major steps for how to implement this program at the Universal level (whole school)

Prior to beginning the program, it is essential to obtain the principal's permission and support. Schedule a meeting with the principal to review the Calm Moments Cards program and share your plan of action for implementing the program (how you'll invite school personnel, approximate start date, etc.). Discuss how implementing this program fits into your workload. Example: "This is a school-wide initiative that may benefit students with and without disabilities and/or mental health challenges. The goal is to empower school personnel in recognizing signs of stress and anxiety (not diagnosing anxiety) and embedding simple strategies to reduce stress and enhance feelings of mental well-being so students can participate fully in the school day."

After obtaining the principal's approval, begin letting school personnel (all teachers, paraprofessionals, related services, counselors, coaches, guidance counselors, cafeteria/ lunch supervisors, librarians, etc.) that you'll be kicking off the program. Encourage them to invite colleagues who might be interested. Click this link to download a marketing flyer - Calm Moments Cards Marketing Flyer. Share this flyer with school personnel to invite them to the orientation session.

The lead OT (or other relevant school personnel) will provide a 1 to 1.5 hour orientation of the program using a power point presentation to educate school personnel about the signs and symptoms of stress and anxiety, the common school situational stressors that may evoke a stress response, and how to use the 17 Calm Moments Cards. With the principal's assistance, the orientation session should be scheduled in a room that allows for computer access for the participants (e.g. computer lab). If this is not available, participants should be encouraged to bring their own laptops. Another option is to send the Every Moment Counts website link for the cards prior to the session so that participants can download the cards beforehand. During the orientation, the following is provided:

CMC Orientation PPT presentation which provides an overview of the program. Click this link to download the PPT - Orientation PPT Calm Moments Cards

Hard copy samples of some of the CMC materials. Have a set of laminated CMC cards to display as well as the Appendices.

Prepare samples of some of the activities to share with participants.

Demonstration of how to access the 17 Cards and Appendices A through E.

Give examples of how to use the Cards and Appendices (e.g. Activity Templates, Movement Poses & Breathing Instructions, Teaching Moments, etc.).

Provide ongoing, informal coaching to support school personnel in proactively embedding the thinking, calming & focusing, and sensory-based activities throughout the day during or before situational stressors. When? Embed this coaching during times when you typically collaborate with school personnel - in the classroom, cafeteria, or recess. Purpose of follow-up coaching is to encourage use of the Calm Moments Cards and Appendices, problem-solve challenges, and demonstrate activities. An effective coach:

Develops a positive relationship with the school personnel based on trust

Promotes two-way sharing of information

Demonstrates positive unconditional regard for the school personnel - they are experts about themselves and their experiences

Facilitates the change process involving problem-solving, exploring options, trying things out, working together and maintaining a positive attitude. You are in this together!

Calm Moments Cards for Mindfulness in the Classroom and Beyond

Situational Stressor: Situations or activities during the day the may cause added stress for some students due to sensory, learning, or emotional challenges

Triggers: Possible causes of stress and anxiety related to the situation (e.g. student has difficulty reading directions on test)

Thinking strategies: Cognitive behavioral strategies (e.g. repeating a positive affirmation) to change thinking and feelings

Focusing & Calming Strategies: Movement poses, stretching, mindfulness & breathing activities

Sensory Strategies: The strategic use of touch, taste, movement, visual input, and smells to foster emotional regulation

Teaching Moment: Simple evidence-based explanations explaining how the supporting the activities and strategies impact functioning

Download the Calm Moments Cards (links on left sidebar)

All of the Calm Moments Cards and Appendices are free and downloadable. You can download the whole booklet (which includes information about the program, all of the cards, and appendices), or, download separate cards to use.

Not sure where to start? Then, start with one! Look over the 17 situational stressors and identify one that you have observed in one or more students. Read through the thinking, calming & focusing, and sensory strategies and embed some of them. Doing the activities will help adults as well as students reduce stress, maximize mindfulness in the classroom, and enhance overall emotional well-being throughout the school day.

During the 2015-16 school year, the Calm Moments Cards program was implemented in two school districts in northern Ohio. OT practitioners oriented school personnel about the program and how to implement the strategies. Informal coaching was used over 4 months to help the participants use the cards during situational stressors. The findings of this mixed methods research study are described below.

Researchers: Sarah Kolic, OTR/L, Denise Young, COTA/L, Alisa Deininger, OTR/L, & Susan Bazyk, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA

Type of study: A mixed methods design involving quantitative and qualitative data was completed. Data included pre- and post-surveys measuring changes in knowledge, beliefs and actions related to minimizing stress and anxiety, improving mindfulness in the classroom, and promoting positive mental health in students. Qualitative data included final written reflections regarding the meaning and benefits of the program.

Participants: A total of 93 school personnel implemented the Calm Moments Cards program and took part in this study during the 2015-16 school year. School personnel from 2 school districts ¹ included general education teachers, special education teachers, para-educators, administrators and related service providers). Participants received and orientation to the program with follow-up coaching by the occupational therapists over 4 months.

Results: Statistically significant improvements (p < .00-.03) in pretest-posttest scores of knowledge, beliefs, and actions related to minimizing stress and anxiety and promoting positive mental health in students were found. Qualitative findings suggest that participation in the program was both meaningful and enjoyable resulting in enhanced awareness of signs of stress and anxiety, the situational stressors that evoke a stress reaction, and the implementation of embedded strategies for reducing stress and anxiety.

Conclusion: The Calm Moments Cards program expanded school personnel knowledge, promoted confidence, and resulted in enhanced awareness of signs of stress and anxiety and application of embedded strategies for reducing stress and anxiety and enhancing emotional well-being in all students.

¹ School Districts: Lake Local Schools and Aurora City School District

Kolic, S., Deininger, A., Young, D., & Bazyk, S. (pending publication). The Calm Moments Cards program for reducing stress and enhancing emotional well-being: An outcome study.

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Calm Moments Cards - Every Moment Counts

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Embedding mindfulness in the classroom is easier with Calm Moment Cards, which offers user-friendly info on reducing stress in school.

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Counselors for Computing (C4C) Webinar Series

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Counselors for Computing (C4C) Webinar Series

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Advising for Future-Ready Careers is a monthly webinar series, hosted by NCWIT Counselors for Computing (C4C), providing information and resources to help counselors join the front line of the computing conversation. This webinar series is free and open to the public, ages 16 and up – geared toward School Counselors, Educators, graduate students, and those in school advising roles.

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Advising for Future-Ready Careers is a monthly webinar series, hosted by NCWIT Counselors for Computing (C4C), providing information and resources to help counselors join the front line of the computing conversation. This webinar series is free and open to the public, ages 16 and up - geared toward School Counselors, Educators, graduate students, and those in school advising roles.

View upcoming and past webinars online.

Advising for Future-Ready Careers is funded by the Department of Defense STEM (DoD STEM) seeking to attract, inspire, and develop exceptional STEM talent across the educational continuum.

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Advising for Future-Ready Careers | National Center for Women & Information Technology

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Advising for Future-Ready Careers Advising for Future-Ready Careers is a monthly webinar series, hosted by NCWIT Counselors for Computing (C4C), providing information and resources to help counselors join the front line of the computing conversation. This webinar series is free and open to the p ...

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Prevention Strategies & Programs

Introduction

Bullying is a community issue and must be addressed by students, parents, schools, and the entire community. Bullying exists in schools, but schools are also in a unique position to educate students and staff about its presence, danger, and negative consequences. Schools can teach behaviors that help protect students from the harmful effects of bullying. Schools have an obligation to adopt policies and procedures to educate school staff about the harmful effects of bullying and the need to create a "bully-free" environment. Policies that focus on creating and maintaining a positive school climate are essential to maintaining a safe and supportive school environment for all students. By providing prevention and intervention services schools can play an important part in reducing bullying within the overall community.

Understanding Bullying

Defined in the Code of Virginia § 22.1-276.01, "Bullying" means any aggressive and unwanted behavior that is intended to harm, intimidate, or humiliate the victim; involves a real or perceived power imbalance between the aggressor or aggressors and victim; and is repeated over time or causes severe emotional trauma. "Bullying" includes cyber bullying. "Bullying" does not include ordinary teasing, horseplay, argument, or peer conflict.

Cyberbullying is defined as " willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices" from Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard: Preventing and Responding to Cyberbullying.

Understanding Bullying and Cyberbullying - OnlineSchools.org

Effects of Bullying - StopBullying.gov

Bullying Prevention

Parents, school staff, and other caring adults have a role to play in bullying prevention and intervention. It is important that adults understand the difference between bullying and conflict and that there are different types of bullying. Students, families and staff should be encouraged to report bullying incidents and all incidents should be addressed. When vigilant about reporting and addressing incidents of aggression, schools are more likely to see a reduction in incidents of bullying.

There are several things that schools can do to reduce incidents of bullying:

Adopt a Multi-Tiered System of Supports. The Virginia Tiered Systems of Supports provides a framework that allows for prevention and interventions across all levels. Universal prevention programs and activities support all students, while selective interventions are chosen for those at risk of bullying involvement, and targeted interventions identified for students who are bullied and for those who bully.

Implement Social Emotional Learning (SEL). Social emotional learning practices help build self and social awareness, foster relationship building, and guide effective problem solving. These practices support clear communication, recognizing and appreciating differences in others, and developing self-management skills.

Have Clear Behavioral Expectations. Students need to be aware of and understand what the behavioral expectations are in all environments. Prosocial behavior should be praised. Students tend to feel safer and more supported in classrooms that are managed effectively.

Supervise High Risk Areas. Identify the areas of the school that may be more prone to incidents of bullying and increase supervision in those areas.

Establish Policies for Reporting and Responding to Incidents of Bullying. Policies should include training for school staff on bullying prevention and intervention. Students, staff, and families need to know how to report incidents of bullying and that all incidents will be addressed.

Include Families and Community Members in Prevention Efforts. Help families understand effective ways to talk to their kids about bullying and that there are caring adults in the community to help.

Collect Data on Incidents of Bullying. To identify the needs of the school community, periodically survey students anonymously to report incidents of bullying they have witnessed or experienced. By utilizing an anonymous reporting tool, schools can also collect needed data.

Integrate Prevention Efforts. Prevention efforts that are long lasting and well integrated address building protective factors in youth, creating effective communication, and establishing social emotional learning practices. These all work to create positive school climates that prevent bullying, suicide, and other student concerns rather than offering a program when a new problem emerges.

Model Policy and Guidance

State law ( Code of Virginia § 22.1-291.4 ) requires local school boards to implement policies and procedures to educate school board employees about bullying and the need to create a bully-free environment. To help address and prevent bullying in public schools, a model policy was developed and adopted by the Board of Education in 2013. The Model Policy to Address Bullying in Virginia's Public Schools (PDF) provides information to assist local school boards in formulating policies to help prevent bullying and procedures to report, investigate and intervene when bullying behavior occurs.

Bullying in Certain Student Populations

In order to address bullying in a school community, it is important to recognize that some student populations may be at higher risk for being victims of bullying.

Resources for Schools

Schools play a vital role in addressing bullying behavior both in school and online. The importance of identifying and addressing bullying behavior within the school setting can be a vital part of creating a positive school climate. Below are links to assist schools in establishing an effective policy to deal with bullying:

Resources for Families

Families are greatly affected by bullying within the school and community. When a student is involved in a bullying incident, family's often look for available resources. Below are a number of resources provided for families who have been impacted by bullying:

Resources for Youth

Students are key to reporting and addressing bullying behavior within schools and communities. When a student is impacted by bullying behavior, they must have resources on how to deal with the issue. Below are resources which can provide a pathway for students to report and deal with bullying:

State Resources

Federal Resources

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The Virginia Department of Education, Office of , provides adult literacy services, adult high school equivalency completion, Adult Education and Literacy, Second Language services to Virginia's adults.

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Understood: Shaping the World for Difference

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Copyright © 2014-2023 Understood For All Inc.

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Understood - For Learning and Thinking Differences

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Understood.org is the resource that helps the 70 million people with learning and thinking differences anticipate the challenges, barriers, or opportunities in life and confidently reach their potential.

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ASCA School Counseling Program Templates

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ASCA School Counseling Program Templates

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Helping Children Cope with Traumatic Events

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Helping Children Cope with Traumatic Events

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The Child Mind Institute has prepared free, multilingual resources to help parents, educators and communities support children during and after potentially traumatic events.

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Lo sentimos, la página que usted busca no se ha podido encontrar. Puede intentar su búsqueda de nuevo o visitar la lista de temas populares.

Trauma Response

The Child Mind Institute has prepared free, multilingual resources to help parents, educators and communities support children during and after potentially traumatic events.

Download Resources

We hope these resources will be of use during the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Please share them widely with anyone you think might benefit.

When communities experience episodes of violence or face natural disasters these events are hard even for adults to comprehend. We can't shield our children from pain and fear when they're exposed to such tragedy. But we can help them process what they're experiencing in the healthiest way possible.

The Child Mind Institute has prepared free trauma resources to aid parents, educators, and other adults in talking to children and adolescents about potentially traumatic events and identifying those who might benefit from more focused professional attention. Our children can be more sensitive to challenges around them because of their life experience and they need our support.

We hope these resources will be of assistance in a trying time, and that you will share them with anyone you think might benefit. And remember to take care of yourself; your children depend on you most of all.

Care

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Resources for the Ukraine Crisis

Instruments and resources to aid clinicians responding to children's mental health needs during the crisis in Ukraine and Eastern Europe.

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Helping Children Cope With Traumatic Events - Child Mind Institute

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Lo sentimos, la página que usted busca no se ha podido encontrar. Puede intentar su búsqueda de nuevo o visitar la lista de temas populares. The Child Mind Institute has prepared free, multilingual resources to help parents, educators and communities support children during and after potentially traumatic events.

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K-12 Comprehensive School Counseling Curriculum (Missouri DOE)

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K-12 Comprehensive School Counseling Curriculum (Missouri DOE)

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Each lesson connects to one of the American School Counselors Association (ASCA) Mindsets and Behaviors.

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Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

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School Counseling Curriculum Description: lessons presented to help students attain the desired Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) in the areas of social/emotional, academic and career development. The school counseling curriculum is systematically presented by school counselors in collaboration with teachers though K-12 classroom lessons or other learning activities.

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Erika's Lighthouse: Promoting Inclusive School Cultures through Mental Health Education

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Erika's Lighthouse: Promoting Inclusive School Cultures through Mental Health Education

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Erika’s Lighthouse offers a suite of programs designed to allow educators to empower
students and their families around depression and mental health.

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Erika's Lighthouse: A Beacon of Hope for Adolescent Depression was founded in 2004 by Virginia and Thomas Neuckranz after their daughter Erika lost her life to depression. Along with their family, friends and community they have a goal of creating free mental health programs for schools to Get Depression Out of the Dark.
Read the story about Erika's Lighthouse

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Free school mental health programs that recognize every student deserves good mental health. Our programs are effective and easy to use.

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Awesome lesson plans for large group, small group or individuals. (10/25/2020)

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Transfer VA Webinar on Portal and DE Guide

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Transfer VA Webinar on Portal and DE Guide

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Transfer VA Overview for School and Division Leaders

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Find strategies and tools to support every student's academic,
cognitive and social-emotional strengths and needs.

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Find strategies and tools to support every student's academic, cognitive and social-emotional strengths and needs.

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Your browser does not support JavaScript! This site uses JavaScript but is fully functional without it.

Prevention Strategies & Programs

Attendance has been increasingly the focus of attention among school divisions and educators. According to research, regular attendance is a significant factor in a student's success:

Chronic absenteeism correlates to low academic achievement.

It is a powerful predictor of high school dropout.

It has been linked to poor outcomes later in life.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing ten percent or more of the academic year for any reason, including excused absences, unexcused absences, and suspensions. Based on a 180-day school year, that means approximately 18 days per year or 2 to 3 days per month.

Truancy is the act of accruing one or more unexcused absences, where the parent is unaware of or does not support the student's absence, or where the parent's provided reason for the absence is not acceptable to the school administration.

Missed instruction, regardless of the reason, can have significant academic consequences. Therefore, the broader emphasis is on improving attendance for every student.

Addressing Chronic Absenteeism

Five basic strategies to reduce chronic absence in schools are:

Engage students and parents

Recognize good and improved attendance

Monitor attendance data and practice

Provide personalized early outreach

Develop programmatic response to barriers

A division and school-based Virginia Tiered Systems of Supports offer interventions for students at different chronic absenteeism risk levels. Interventions that are effective align with underlying factors contributing to absences. Underlying factors can be categorized as follows:

Myths such as a parent's belief that only unexcused absences are problematic.

Barriers such as chronic disease, lack of food or housing, and lack of access to health care.

Aversion due to issues such as academic difficulties, poor school climate, or being bullied.

Disengagement due to factors such as lack of meaningful relationships in school or lack or engaging and relevant instruction.

To comply with codes and regulation and the Commonwealth's accountability system below, local school divisions need processes to address chronic absenteeism and truancy.

Virginia Code and Regulations

The codes and regulations relevant to attendance and absenteeism include the following:

The Code of Virginia § 22.1-254 addresses compulsory attendance and exemptions to compulsory attendance.

The Code of Virginia § 22.1-258 addresses truancy and the intervention process.

Chapter 730 of the Administrative Code of Virginia consists of three sections:

8VAC-20-730-10 establishes definitions as it relates to the attendance policies and the collection and reporting of truancy.

8VAC-20-730-20 establishes the unexcused absence intervention process and responsibilities.

8VAC-20-730-30 establishes data collection and reporting requirements.

State and Federal Initiatives

Federal initiatives to reduce chronic absenteeism began during the Obama Administration with the Every Student, Every Day initiative. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA; 2015) requires states to broaden school accountability beyond achievement on standardized tests and high school graduation rates by requiring at least one measure of "school quality or student success." Many states chose chronic absenteeism as a measure in their accountability and improvement systems. In combination with Graduation and Completion Index (high schools), Dropout Rate (high schools), and College, Career and Civic Readiness (high schools), Virginia joined 36 states (PDF) to use chronic absenteeism as a School Quality Indicator to measure student engagement. Beginning with the 2018-2019 school year, the Virginia Department of Education's Standards of Accreditation include chronic absenteeism as one of the school quality indicators.

Chronic Absenteeism and Virginia Standards of Accreditation

The Board of Education's 2017 Standards of Accreditation (SOA) support continuous improvement for all schools, and college, career and civic readiness for all students. The revisions include graduation requirements aligned with the Profile of a Virginia Graduate and school accreditation standards that include new measures of quality and performance.

The revised SOA simplifies the Commonwealth's accountability system by reducing the number of overall accreditation ratings that schools may earn. Under the new system, schools earn one of the following three ratings:

Accredited - Schools with all school-quality indicators at either Level One or Level Two

Accredited with Conditions - Schools with one or more school-quality indicators at Level Three

Accreditation Denied - Schools that fail to adopt or fully implement required corrective actions to address Level 3 school-quality indicators. A school rated as Accreditation Denied may regain state accreditation by demonstrating to the Board of Education that it is fully implementing all required corrective action plans.

Chronic absenteeism is calculated using a three-step process. First, a student's end-of-year membership is determined by dividing the student's total days present, absent, and unscheduled by the total days in session for a given school. If the student's average daily membership is 50 percent or greater in a given school year, the student is included in the school's chronic absenteeism calculation. Next, a student is determined to be chronically absent if the rate of their days absent divided by their total days in membership is greater than or equal to 10 percent. Lastly, to determine the school chronic absenteeism rate, the number of students that are absent 10 percent or more is divided by the total number of students with membership greater than or equal to 50 percent of a school's end-of-year membership.

In the SOA, performance on this indicator is rated as follows:

Chronic Absenteeism

0-15 percent OR 10 percent decrease from previous year if in Level Two range

16-24 percent OR 10 percent decrease from previous year if in Level Three range

25 percent or higher OR Level Two or Three for more than four consecutive years beginning in 2018-2019

Level One: Schools with a current year or three-year chronic absenteeism rate 15 percent or lower (that is, no more than 15 percent of the students missing 10 percent of the school year), or schools within the Level Two range that decrease the chronic absenteeism rate by 10 percent or more from the previous year.

Level Two: Schools not meeting Level One performance and with a chronic absenteeism rate of no more than 25 percent, or schools within the Level Three range that decrease the chronic absenteeism rate by 10 percent or more from the previous year.

Level Three: Schools with a current year or cumulative three-year chronic absenteeism rate of 25 percent or higher, or schools with a Level Two or Level Three rating for more than four consecutive years beginning in the 2018-2019 accreditation year.

Students receiving homebound instruction are excluded from Chronic Absenteeism reporting.

A student must attend 50 percent of the current school year to be counted in Chronic Absenteeism reporting.

Additional information relating chronic absenteeism data can be found at Chronic Absenteeism Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) (Word).

For additional information regarding accreditation, visit the Standards of Accreditation (SOA) web page. Questions regarding state accreditation or ESSA may be submitted to Accountability@doe.virginia.gov and questions regarding chronic absenteeism data calculations may be submitted to ResultsHelp@doe.virginia.gov.

Trainings & Presentations

Resources

Organization Websites

Information and Data

Toolkits and Resources

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VDOE :: Prevention Strategies & Programs, Dropout & Truancy Prevention

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The Virginia Department of Education, Office of , provides adult literacy services, adult high school equivalency completion, Adult Education and Literacy, Second Language services to Virginia's adults.

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We've gathered resources for helping you implement a program of compassionate, creative and inclusive alternatives for responding to school discipline issues.

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ASCA

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ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors - American School Counselor Association (ASCA)

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Also available in Spanish

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Please click the flyer to be taken to the YouTube playlist for these videos. Thanks!

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A no cost, next-generation Character Social Emotional Development (CSED) program for Pre-K through 12th grades, designed to teach students, educators and staff how to choose love in any circumstance thereby creating a safer, more connected school culture.

Aligned with CASEL and ASCA, Choose Love For Schools is also the first program of its kind to fully incorporate state of the art Character Social Emotional Development (CSED) model standards, while also incorporating neuroscience and positive psychology to teach mindfulness, character, and emotional intelligence.  These essential life skills and tools make students better learners, more desirable employees and happier, healthier, human beings.

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Choose Love programs include Growth Mindset, Neuroscience, Mindfulness, Positive Psychology, Post-Traumatic Growth, Emotional Intelligence, and more for a solution that is both preventative and proactive. Choose Love is aligned with the new Character and Social Emotional Development Standards (CSED) which include BOTH Character.org and CASEL.

We can make our world better by Choosing Love.

Learn More

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Choose Love Movement - Promoting Hope, Healing & Connection

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We create safer and more loving communities through groundbreaking social and emotional learning (SEL) and character development programs.

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ASCA

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SEL Video Lessons | Lessons For SEL | What is SEL | SEL Videos | School | Teach

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Welcome to Lessons For SEL. We provide educators with Social Emotional Learning resources, tools, lessons, and strategies to boost core social-emotional learning (SEL) skills. Our SEL resources help teachers, counselors, social workers, school psychologists, & more! #SEL #socialemotionallearning

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Youth Led Movement for Good

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The Suggested Best Practices on the Provision of Direct Counseling Services

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The project was created in 2010 with a simple goal in mind; one book to connect the world. From its humble beginnings, the GRA has grown to make a truly global connection with milllions of students having participated.

What is it?

The premise is simple; we pick a book to read aloud to our students during a set 6-week period and during that time we try to make as many global connections as possible. Each teacher decides how much time they would like to dedicate and how involved they would like to be. Some people choose to connect with just one class, while others go for as many as possible. The scope and depth of the project is up to you. While there are commonly used such as Skype, Twitter, Padlet, or Flipgrid, you choose the tools that will make the most sense for you. Teachers get a community of other educators to do a global project with, hopefully inspiring them to continue these connections through the year.

When is it?

Once a year, starting in early October and running through mid-November. Due to the time commitment, this is only a once a year project, however, two fantastic spin-off projects run at other times; the New Zealand Read Aloud and the French version of GRA, Ecouter Lire le Monde.

I have questions as a Participant

Please see " For Participants" to have all of your questions answered.

I have questions as an Author

Please see "For Authors" to have all of your questions answered.

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To see the blog with the latest news and ideas, go here. To join our Facebook Community, go here - this is how you sign up The project was created in 2010 with a simple goal in mind; one book to connect the world. From its humble beginnings, the GRA has grown to make a...

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VA School Counselor Summative Performance Report Document

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VA School Counselor Summative Performance Report Document

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Comprehensive school counseling programs are driven by data, based on standards in academic, career, and social/emotional development, and promote and enhance the learning process of all students.

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Resources for Families around Depression and Mental Health

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Resources for Families around Depression and Mental Health

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Many families don’t know the signs of teen depression or where to turn for help. Erika’s Lighthouse regularly hears from educators and teens of the need to educate and engage families. Erika’s Lighthouse has designed information, resources, workshops and more to equip school communities to better interact with families around depression and mental health.

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Download the PDF > Abstract The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC, pronounced "wisk") Model is an ideal framework for school communities to assess, plan and implement healthy...

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Many parents don't know the signs of depression or where to turn for help. Our Parent Handbook for Teen Depression helps parents understand exactly what's going on with your child, find the right treatment, deal with the schools and negotiate insurance issues.

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Social, Emotional, and Ethical (SEE) Learning

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Social, Emotional, and Ethical (SEE) Learning

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An innovative K-12 education program developed by Emory University. SEE Learning™ provides educators with the tools they need to foster the development of emotional, social, and ethical intelligence for students and themselves.

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SEE Learning COVID-19 Response and Resources

The time for social, emotional, and ethical learning has come. His Holiness the Dalai Lama Watch Now

"This is SEL 2.0"

"I'd call SEE Learning 'SEL 2.0', showing the way to the future direction for this critically important educational approach."

Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence: Why it Can Matter More than IQ

SIGN UP FOR SEE 101: Orientation

What is SEE Learning

The Science of Compassion.
The Cultivation of Awareness.
The Tools of Engagement.

The Future of Education.

Social, Emotional, and Ethical (SEE) Learning is an innovative K-12 education program developed by Emory University.
SEE Learning™ provides educators with the tools they need to foster the development of emotional, social, and ethical intelligence for students and themselves.

SEE Learning™ represents the state of the art in education by enhancing SEL programming with key additional components, including:

attention training

compassion and ethical discernment

systems thinking

resilience and trauma-informed practice

This program provides educators with a developmentally-staged curriculum consisting of easy-to-implement lessons, the conceptual framework used to design the curriculum, and resources for educator preparation and development. SEE Learning empowers students to engage ethically as part of a global community and provides educators with the tools to support student well-being.

Who We Are

We are a global community comprised of over 7000+ educators and partners across over 25 countries. Our highly qualified team of advisors includes experts from the fields of:

Psychology

Neuroscience

Education

Mindfulness

Compassion Science

Trauma and Resilience

Who We Serve

Educators

Parents and Families (in development)

School and District Leaders

Researchers

How To Get Started

The SEE Journey Starts Here.

Take the Orientation

Embark on your SEE Learning Journey with SEE 101: Orientation or explore the resources section for sample learning experiences, practices, and tip sheets.

Sign Up for SEE 101

Download the Curriculum

After completing SEE 101: Orientation, you will have full access to the SEE Learning Curriculum.

Connect to the Community

We are a constantly-evolving global community of educators and researchers, working towards a more compassionate future.

Contact SEE Learning

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SEE Learning COVID-19 Response and Resources The time for social, emotional, and ethical learning has come. His Holiness the Dalai Lama Watch Now "I'd call SEE Learning 'SEL 2.0', showing the way to the future direction for this critically important educational approach."

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Introduction video that explains  academic and career planning. Video would be good for parents or students.

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Academic and Career Planning Video Scribe and Whiteboard Animation video for public school districts

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Guidance Document Governing Certain Procedures of the Regulations Establishing Standards for Accrediting Public Schools in VA

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Guidance Document Governing Certain Procedures of the Regulations Establishing Standards for Accrediting Public Schools in VA

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Includes important information about graduation requirements!

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Counselors 4 Computing Digital Resources

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Counselors 4 Computing Digital Resources