professional learning communities
INFRASTRUCTURE
FELLOWSHIP
Student Support Team (SST) Leaders
Wednesdays | Jan. 31, Feb. 28, April 3, May 1, June 5 | 2:30-3:30pm
Hosted By: Thriving Minds
Thriving Minds is offering two fellowships for individuals interested in building their skills to serve as mental health leaders within their schools or districts. During monthly fellowship meetings, participants will have the chance to collaborate with others in similar roles to share successful strategies, troubleshoot challenges, and identify action steps they will take before the next meeting. Fellowship sessions will be structured as highly interactive, participant-driven sessions, and they will incorporate regular check-ins with a peer group to promote community support and shared accountability. This fellowship will be specifically targeted to individuals who are responsible for convening and leading Student Support Teams (SSTs) or the equivalent within their schools. Over the next few months, we will focus on how to build team structures and facilitate effective conversations among team members. Fellows will have the chance to set and report back on their own goals for leading an SST in their setting. This PLC is designed for school-level staff who currently lead SSTs or are preparing to lead SSTs (assistant principals, school counselors, etc.). It is intended for individuals, rather than school-based teams.
fellowship
School-Based Practitioners Seeking to Spark Systemic Change
Feb. 12, March 11, March 25, April 22, May 29 | 2-3pm
Hosted By: Thriving Minds
Thriving Minds is offering two fellowships for individuals interested in building their skills to serve as mental health leaders within their schools or districts. During monthly fellowship meetings, participants will have the chance to collaborate with others in similar roles to share successful strategies, troubleshoot challenges, and identify action steps they will take before the next meeting. Fellowship sessions will be structured as highly interactive, participant-driven sessions, and they will incorporate regular check-ins with a peer group to promote community support and shared accountability. This fellowship will be specifically targeted to school-level practitioners who are interested in driving broader, system-wide change, but who may be unsure how to carry that out. Over the next few months, we will focus on how to “manage up” to build buy-in from leaders within the school and district, as well as how to use small tests of change to work toward larger-scale impact. Fellows will have the chance to set and report back on their own goals for driving change within their setting. This PLC is designed for school-level mental health practitioners (school counselors, adjustment counselors, school social workers, school psychologists, etc.). It is intended for individuals, rather than school-based teams.
Strengthening your MTSS for Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Supports
Tuesdays | March 26, April 2, April 9 | 12:30-1:30pm
Hosted By: EDC
This PLC supports participants to reflect on their current MTSS approach to social, emotional, and behavioral supports, to identify gaps and action steps to strengthen their system. Participants will be introduced to an EDC-developed self-assessment rubric, which they can use to examine the various elements of an effective MTSS structure, including: evidence-based tiered supports; robust systems for identifying, placing, and monitoring struggling students; leadership commitment and vision; staff competency; effective implementation; data-informed decision-making, and a strong equity foundation. Participants will reflect on their school’s/district’s strengths and weaknesses, and use this information to identify action steps they can take. The series will also help participants explore a continuous quality improvement process to routinely examine and make improvements to their structures and practices.
Needs Assessment & Resource Mapping: Achieving Clarity and Direction in Building School Mental Health Systems
Content Sessions: April 2, April 10, April 23, May 1 | 7:30-9am
Application Sessions: April 4, April 11, April 25, May 2 | 7:30-8:30am
Hosted By: Thriving Minds
Many leaders and educators feel a sense of urgency about addressing school mental health needs, but they aren't sure where to start, and/or their existing supports may be primarily reactive, a bit haphazard, and not well-aligned. This eight-session PLC will provide participants with a range of tools to use in mapping existing resources and identifying gaps and needs related to infrastructure, data systems, and interventions in order to make their SEL and mental health systems "even better." We will alternate between 90-minute content-oriented sessions (incorporating both presentations and interactive work) and 60-minute application sessions (highly interactive and participant-centered, with a focus on local application of the content). Our goal will be for each participant to complete the PLC with a solid map, gap/need/redundancy analysis, and clear direction for their next developmental steps toward a high-quality, comprehensive school mental health system. This PLC is designed for systems thinkers at the district and/or building level. Individuals and teams are both welcome. Participants are expected to attend and participate in all sessions. The application sessions are an integral part of this PLC aimed at supporting participants in achieving practical changes/ improvements in their districts and schools, and thus are not optional/drop-in sessions.
Sustaining Your Multi-Tiered Systems of Support
Thursdays | May 9, May 23, June 6 | 9-10am
Hosted By: EDC
This series will support participants to build upon and sustain their progress with MTSS implementation. The sessions will focus on three elements of sustainability--programmatic: Reviewing and formalizing plans for training, coaching, and fully integrating your MTSS; communication: Maintaining communication with key stakeholders regarding the progress toward implementation and impact; and Financial: ensuring that funding streams for delivering your MTSS are established, adequate, and sustainable. At the end of these sessions, participants will be able to: 1) Identify ongoing supports for their MTSS work; 2) Develop a plan for when to use specific tools for continuous improvement; 3) Begin to identify which MTSS elements to continue, modify, or discontinue; 4) Identify ongoing costs needed to support their MTSS; 5) Identify audiences and messages for ongoing communication to support sustainability. Teachers, school and district administrators, counselors and other student support professionals.