SDSU

LEADERSHIP MATTERS

Reopening Schools with a Focus on SEL and Equity

The new school year holds uncertainty for many communities, and our upcoming leadership series will help school administrators, principals, and aspiring leaders build a mindful path forward. We are excited to partner with Sanford Inspire as we offer “Reopening Schools with a Focus on SEL and Equity” at no cost.  

Dr. Joseph Johnson, Founding Executive Director of NCUST, and leaders from America’s Best Urban Schools Awards and the Sanford Teacher Awards will share insights to help your leadership team adapt to the unique social, emotional, and safety needs of your school community. Learn how social emotional learning (SEL) can inform your school reopening plan as you acknowledge the trauma and inequity revealed by COVID-19 and ongoing racial injustice. Together, we will look to the future with hope and purpose.

Key Series Objectives:

•Understand the stresses and trauma related to COVID-19, racial injustice, and social unrest. 

•Develop skills and capacity for effective, compassionate trauma response.

•Learn to anticipate feedback and lead staff, students, and families with empathy and example.

•Build a team of leaders and draft a unique framework for reopening with a timeline and checklist to organize your action plan.

SESSION 1

THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING NOW

RESOURCES

PROJECT COVITALITY
Complete mental health approach to screening for social-emotional wellness.

CASEL PROGRAM GUIDES
Evidence based interventions to support well-being among students, assessment tool guide, and school-wide implementation resources.

HIGHLIGHTS

People of all ages have endured prolonged traumatic exposure to upsetting events over the past several months.

  • Daily news regarding the pandemic
  • Economic uncertainty
  • Race-related violence
  • Civil unrest
  • Loss of stable routines

Schools cannot ignore the potential impact of prolonged traumatic exposure and assume a return to normalcy.

Students and educators will return to school with “invisible backpacks” full of heavy stressors.

Structure reopening plans that:

  • Create safe spaces for sharing what’s inside your “invisible backpack”
  • Use screening instruments to help start “unpacking”
  • Build relationships and trust
  • Decrease emotional distancing despite social distancing
  • Find ways to listen and demonstrate care
  • Develop multi-tiered systems of support to:
  • Nurture optimism

SESSION 2

ESTABLISHING DETAILED PLANS
FOR LISTENING

RESOURCES

PROJECT COVITALITY
Complete mental health approach to screening for social-emotional wellness.

CASEL PROGRAM GUIDES
Evidence based interventions to support well-being among students, assessment tool guide, and school-wide implementation resources.

HIGHLIGHTS

People of all ages have endured prolonged traumatic exposure to upsetting events over the past several months.

  • Daily news regarding the pandemic
  • Economic uncertainty
  • Race-related violence
  • Civil unrest
  • Loss of stable routines

Schools cannot ignore the potential impact of prolonged traumatic exposure and assume a return to normalcy.

Students and educators will return to school with “invisible backpacks” full of heavy stressors.

Structure reopening plans that:

  • Create safe spaces for sharing what’s inside your “invisible backpack”
  • Use screening instruments to help start “unpacking”
  • Build relationships and trust
  • Decrease emotional distancing despite social distancing
  • Find ways to listen and demonstrate care
  • Develop multi-tiered systems of support to:
  • Nurture optimism
Concourse Village Elementary School
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