We have been reflecting in these opening days of 2021 on the extraordinary efforts and successes of school communities who worked collectively and creatively through the fall to support their staff, students, and families and created the best learning environments possible. We thank you for sharing your stories at our School Support Network meetings and look forward to continuing to come together as a professional community of sharing through the spring. During this continuing time of unparalleled challenges, we are inspired by your sense of purpose and commitment to students’ academic and social-emotional development and character education. More than ever, we need to strive to develop in ourselves and our students the capacity to listen with authenticity to people with views different from one’s own and who have experiences that may be foreign to our own. We recently read an essay written by a graduate student from China who is studying at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. The student reflected on her experiences over the past months of witnessing examples of “commoning” - acts of managing shared resources by a group of people that reveal the importance of care and collaboration in a time of uncertainty. Commoning, a term coined by Gibson-Graham, takes place when a group of people is motivated by an ethic of care for the flourishing and sustainable common future, and decides to manage shared resources in a collective manner. For the foreseeable future, commoning (including emotional commoning) will be more important than ever. Please be sure to join us at our first SSN of the year on January 25th, 2021: A Year for Healing and Restoration.
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Netcong Elementary School |
Welcoming new staff to a school has always been important at the start of a school year. The Staff Culture and Climate team at Netcong Elementary School, a PK-8 school located in Morris County, demonstrated their creativity and commitment to connection this fall as they welcomed new staff (almost a third of the entire staff team!). The Culture and Climate team (pictured above) sprang into action and adapted to the new circumstances created by the COVID pandemic. The team quickly took the lead and created a long term plan for welcoming and integrating new staff into the Netcong community. Highlights of the plan included partnering each new staff member with a Climate team member. These partners have touched base nearly every day throughout the fall and are now working on ways to (safely) extend their mentoring relationship into the classroom. The Climate team also realized that greeting the new staff members personally at the start of the year would be important. As a result, the entire Climate team greeted the new staff on their orientation day. Since no food was able to be shared due to COVID precautions, the team provided each new staff member with a bottle of water and lemon (if life gives you lemons, make lemonade!) as well as a small welcome gift. During this orientation, the team shared their plans to help the new staff members become a part of the school community as well as the goals and objectives of the Climate team. The sense of community and connection have been on display throughout the fall including a widely supported pumpkin-themed event at Halloween. Many of what the Climate team implemented this fall will become integrated into how the school welcomes new staff even when COVID restrictions are lifted.
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We are launching coffee chats where we bring together educators in similar roles. While collaborating with colleagues in diverse roles has its advantages, gathering with those in the same professional role allows you to explore more in-depth job-specific concerns, issues and potential strategies.
School Counselor Network Coffee Chat
Connect with other school counselors during this coffee chat on January 21st from 9:30-10:30 a.m. Register Now
Administrator Network Coffee Chat
Connect with other administrators during this coffee chat on February 10th from 9:30-10:30 a.m. Register Now
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School Support Network (SSN) meetings are free and everyone is welcome to attend. Feel free to share with your colleagues! |
2021: A Year for Healing and Restoration
January 25 - 1-2:30 p.m.
As we prepare to enter a new year, we often reflect on the past year and make resolutions for the year ahead. These resolutions often focus on changing something about ourselves, achieving a personal goal or improving life in some way or another. But this is a year that is unique based on the events and circumstances that we endured in 2020 – events that divided us as a people, brought isolation to many and tragedy to others. So, now, more than ever, the concepts of unity, healing and restoration are critically important in our work with young people, their families and each other. As we ring in 2021, how can we "show up" in the space we inhabit in ways that bring others together, heal harm and restore relationships and trust? Restorative practices, in particular, community building circles, are a powerful tool that allow participants to connect to one another by uplifting our stories in ways that reaffirm our shared humanity. Join us at this month’s SSN – you’ll have the opportunity to participate in such a circle and experience what it feels like to share some of yourself with others and find pieces of your story in the stories of others.
Presented by: Stacey Alicea, Ph.D., MPH, Independent Consultant and Director of Early Learning Strategy at Newark Trust for Education
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Compassion Fatigue: When the Distress of Others Becomes Contagious
February 17 - 1-2:30 p.m.
Compassion fatigue is a state of physical and emotional exhaustion often coupled with intrusive thoughts and feelings of ineffectiveness. It happens slowly over time when helping professionals are exposed to the traumatic stories of others. Education has always been a demanding field and the current circumstances have only exacerbated feelings of stress and anxiety. Learning about compassion fatigue is a protective factor and early detection can prevent symptoms from reaching incapacitating levels. Participants in this virtual session will explore the signs and symptoms of the onset of compassion fatigue and will explore various prevention strategies and techniques.
Presented by: Amy F. Moritz, M.Ed., Independent Consultant and Director of Marketing and Communications for the School Culture and Climate Initiative
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Coffee chats are virtual gatherings that allow schools to connect with one another. Participants have shared successes, challenges, and ideas with their colleagues during our past coffee chats. Coffee chats are held from 9:30-10:30 a.m. and are open for all to attend.
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School Counselor Network
Administrator Network
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Who is Your Schoolhouse Built For: Dimensions of Equity and Diversity in our Schools
Presented by: Patrick Fennell
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NJDOE Makes Funds Available for SEL |
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The New Jersey Department of Education has announced a grant opportunity that aims to address student learning loss due to COVID-19. Throughout the grant there is a strong emphasis on SEL. The focus can be on one of three areas - Math, Language Arts or SEL. It is important to note that if Math or Language Arts is chosen, there must be an SEL focus.
The deadline for schools/districts to apply is January 21, 2021.
The School Culture and Climate Initiative is able to partner with districts to provide services required in the grant (assessment/data driven approach, professional development, SEL teacher coaching and/or consultancy services). Please contact us if you would like to explore what this partnership may look like in your school/district.
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School Culture and Climate Conference 2021 |
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Let’s Reimagine Education – Together! |
Education reform has been a topic of conversation for decades and while strides have been made over the years, our current pandemic has forced us to consider new protocols, new strategies and even a new way of looking at what it means to be educated. Join us for the School Culture and Climate Virtual Conference 2021: Opportunities Born from Challenges where you will engage with a group of superintendents who joined forces at the start of the pandemic not only to support each other but also to navigate a new movement to rethink our education system. You will be challenged with innovative ideas, inspired by creative case studies, and motivated to seek out the opportunities that may be hiding in the wake of our current crisis.
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Resources, Webinars and PD
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Education Week Webinar "Incorporating SEL, Climate, & Culture into School Improvement and Accountability in 2021"
January 12 at 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
The COVID-19 pandemic, combined with the nation’s mental health and equity concerns, has accelerated the shift in the accountability landscape. As we move beyond test scores to a more holistic picture of students and school communities, education leaders are rethinking school performance to incorporate social-emotional learning, climate, and culture—with stakeholder voices at the center. Hear from district leaders from San Francisco Unified School District (CA), Coppell Independent School District (TX), and Liberty Public Schools (MO) on their vision and concrete practices for partnering with their communities and centering the whole child. Register here
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CASEL CARES Webinar "Teacher Reflections: Discoveries about Teaching & Learning That Will Last Beyond the Pandemic"
January 22 at 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. ET
In the fall, educators across the country were thrust into an unprecedented school year that required rethinking how learning and development occurs in distance-learning classrooms. While the need for social and emotional learning is more evident than ever, new types of learning environments have required teachers to look beyond their traditional classroom strategies. Join us to hear from three teachers who navigated social distancing requirements, virtual platforms, and unfamiliar instructional practices to discover new connections and new insights that centered and elevated SEL and equity. Recommended for school leaders, educators, and teachers, attendees will learn about how challenges became discoveries that will lead to equitable SEL innovations beyond the pandemic. Register here
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This unprecedented school year has placed a tremendous emotional load on school staff across the nation. The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence has launched a new, free course, Managing Emotions in Times of Uncertainty and Stress. Their hope is to give all school staff the skills and tools they need to care for themselves and their students in the face of tremendous challenges. Delivered by leading experts in the fields of psychology, education, and research at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, this course enables participants to complete coursework at their own pace and create an action plan to enhance their personal and professional growth. Course registration is available here.
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Article: "Caring for Students in the Wake of a Traumatic News Event"
As pro-Trump extremists stormed into the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, teachers are left wondering how to help their students process the unprecedented event. Experts on social-emotional learning say it’s crucial for educators to help students identify their own feelings, to understand the effects adults have on students’ emotional stability, and to recognize teachable moments on tough news days. Read the article.
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Edutopia has helpful articles and videos with a range of topics including the articles below:
“Choosing Culturally Responsive Images to Connect With Students”
For teachers who are just starting to weave students’ backgrounds into their practice, focusing on the images in lessons is a good option. Read the article.
"5 Ways to Take Some of the Distance Out of Distance Learning"
It’s important this year to keep connecting with students and fostering their engagement in learning. Read the article.
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Join Us for #SELday - March 26, 2021
Celebrate the importance of social emotional learning (SEL) on the second annual International SEL Day on March 26th. The theme this year is Building Bonds, Reimagining Community. We encourage all schools to participate in some way - create a video or provide a photo showcasing the things you are doing to promote SEL in your school and community, then share it out on SEL Day. We'd love for you to forward it to us to share as well. Sign up for SEL Day here.
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"Youth Mental Health First Aid"
The Northeast and Caribbean Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) can provide Youth Mental Health First Aid to your school or organization at no cost. "Youth Mental Health First Aid" is designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peers, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis. Topics covered include anxiety, depression, substance use, disorders in which psychosis may occur, disruptive behavior disorders (including AD/HD), and eating disorders."
If you are interested in receiving training, please email us.
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