Format

Individual Presentation

First Presenter's Institution

UMass Dartmouth

Second Presenter's Institution

Abington Public Schools

Third Presenter's Institution

NA

Fourth Presenter's Institution

NA

Fifth Presenter's Institution

NA

Strand #1

Social & Emotional Skills

Strand #2

Academic Achievement & School Leadership

Relevance

  1. I. “HEAD” – Provides proven strategies for school administrators to lead Professional Development for your school as well as the implementation of Student Support Teams that use local data and researched best practices to identify, mitigate and support student social-emotional needs.
  2. II. “HEART” - Unpacks the Massachusetts Safe and Supportive Schools Framework

Brief Program Description

  1. This workshop will demonstrate how one Massachusetts high school has responded to the seismic shift in responsibility for student behavioral health and the provision of social services to youth experiencing stress or trauma.

Summary

  1. Participants will look beyond the prevailing cognitive behavioral responses (developing mindfulness, resilience, grit) to the stresses and fragility of youth and instead create critical pedagogical approaches to changing culture and climate. A brief framing of the development of increased school reach in social welfare as a result of weakened familial and church relationships, austerity politics, and a crisis of human security. Practical, proven strategies will be shared by the presenter who has also implemented these strategies as a high school principal. As a result of the 2012 tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut and a rising opioid addiction epidemic, Massachusetts has passed two recent laws that have driven school reform for student social-emotional wellness: An Act Relative to the Reduction of Gun Violence in 2014 and An Act Relative to Substance Abuse, Treatment, Education and Prevention in 2016. The legislation imposes numerous requirements of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and law enforcement which is assumed by local school districts, communities and police departments. Participants will:

- take the Massachusetts Safe and Supportive Schools Self-Assessment (on-line or paper)

- be provided with the relevant elements of the MA Safe and Supportive Schools and Behavioral Health Frameworks

- be provided strategies, resources and tools to track data, identify youth experiencing stress/trauma, and implement appropriate responses

- develop school improvement plan goals related to self-assessment results and local data

- share and discuss obstacles to implementing effective strategies

Evidence

  1. Critical pedagogical approaches are foundational in education research most notably credited to Paulo Freire, Henry Giroux, and Erich Fromm. Recent social justice advocacy and contemporary educational theory promotes the inclusive and agency aspects for an education that benefits the whole of society as a public good. These theories argue that schools alone cannot reverse the inequities or the human conditions that impede student achievement for the youth experiencing stress or trauma. Massachusetts has legislatively adopted a series of regulations that support the shifting of responsibilities for student behavioral health and the social safety net to schools.

Biographical Sketch

  1. Presenter A – Teresa Sullivan Cruz, M.Ed. Educational Leadership and Social Policy

Massachusetts High School Principal (12 years administrative experience)

PhD Dissertation Topic: Examining Massachusetts Education Reform and the Educationalization of Behavioral Health

Presenter B – Dympna Thomas, PhD Curriculum and Instruction

Massachusetts Assistant Superintendent of Schools and Director of Special Education

Keyword Descriptors

Behavioral Health, Social-Emotional Wellness, Critical Pedagogy, Trauma, Stress

Presentation Year

2017

Start Date

3-7-2017 8:30 AM

End Date

3-7-2017 9:45 AM

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Mar 7th, 8:30 AM Mar 7th, 9:45 AM

Massachusetts Schools Respond to Gun Violence and Opioid Abuse for Youth Experiencing Stress, Anxiety, or Trauma

  1. This workshop will demonstrate how one Massachusetts high school has responded to the seismic shift in responsibility for student behavioral health and the provision of social services to youth experiencing stress or trauma.