Format
Workshop
First Presenter's Institution
Focused Minds Education Group
First Presenter’s Email Address
Emily@focusedmindsedugroup.com
First Presenter's Brief Biography
Emily Meeks is a dynamic individual with demonstrated capabilities of utilizing instructional best practices to obtain desired results. Ms. Meeks served as an educator, content specialist, and facilitator for the past 15 years. Emily has facilitated various professional learning workshops on the school and district level during her career as a public school educator. She received her Bachelors of Arts in English from The University of West Georgia and a Master of Education in Adult Education from Strayer University. Through Focused Minds Education Group, she is dedicated to creating sustainable changes to promote resilience in adolescents and adults.
Second Presenter's Institution
Focused Minds Education Group
Second Presenter’s Email Address
Taneesha@focusedmindsedugroup.com
Second Presenter's Brief Biography
An educator with a passion for developing trauma-informed leaders, Taneesha is the Co-Founder of Focused Minds Education Group in Atlanta, GA. Taneesha’s professional journey has taken her from high school English teacher to a professional development and leadership facilitator to owning a firm that supports districts and organizations nationwide to improve climate and culture through a culturally responsive lens, using trauma-informed practices. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English from Tennessee State University and a Master’s of Science in Adult Education from Troy University. Currently, Taneesha serves on the Executive Board for the Attachment and Trauma Network. With Focused Minds Education Group she is ready to help facilitate focused changes necessary for schools to reach students and successfully prepare them for the 21st century. She is a passionate mental health advocate, seeking to create positive climates and cultures that promote student wellness and resilience.
Location
Session Eight Breakouts
Strand #1
Head: Academic Achievement & Leadership
Strand #2
Heart: Social & Emotional Skills
Relevance
We will focus on trauma-informed literacy solutions and pedagogical strategies designed to support the whole student—academically socially and emotionally.
Brief Program Description
This workshop provides Educators classroom resources that can be used within existing curriculum frameworks to enhance the mental health literacy of both students and teachers.
The session suggests strategies to implement strategic, systemic and sustainable changes which promote academic growth, resiliency and wellness.
Summary
An A.S.S.E.T. School is one that weaves the interconnectedness of positive and adverse childhood experiences, trauma and academic achievement to build skills and heal.
We are excited to share our focused and transformative approach and the "how-tos" for developing, implementing, and sustaining best practices. Our framework is designed to embed quality instructional practices that will lead to an equitable learning environment and cultural proficiency for all leaders and learners. Our framework represents a merging of research from neuroscience, social emotional learning theories and literacy best practices. We know school leaders are essential to creating, modeling, and sustaining learning environments that foster resiliency and wellness for all.
Our A.S.S.E.T. framework seeks to help educators understand effective, easy, and equitable academic learning supports using a more compassionate and trauma-informed approach.
Evidence
As veteran educators we understand the need to support the academic and emotional needs of students. Collectively we have served the Metro Atlanta area for over 30 years, and have witnessed how traumatic events affect students and their families. These events also take a toll on educators and support staff members, who tend to receive little training on how to recognize the symptoms of trauma— and virtually no training on how to deal with the way trauma can affect them (Wolpow et al., 2009).
This session promotes expressive writing as one intervention practice that can be self-revealing and therapeutic for children and teach them how to soothe at a later age. Scientific evidence supports the use of writing to improve mood and working memory which supports the academic growth and wellness for all.
Learning Objective 1
Establish a positive, productive, and safe school culture of high expectations for all students.
Learning Objective 2
Create learning environments that are collaborative, inclusive, and engaging for post secondary and beyond.
Learning Objective 3
Facilitate authentic learning experiences that honor students’ voices and stories.
Keyword Descriptors
trauma-informed, culturally responsive, equity, wellness, resilience
Presentation Year
2022
Start Date
3-9-2022 9:45 AM
End Date
3-9-2022 11:00 AM
Recommended Citation
Meeks, Emily Focused Minds Education Group and Thomas, Taneesha, "Is Your School an A.S.S.E.T.?: Focusing on School Mental Health and Equitable Instruction" (2022). National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. 78.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2022/2022/78
Included in
Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching Commons, Language and Literacy Education Commons, Secondary Education Commons, Secondary Education and Teaching Commons
Is Your School an A.S.S.E.T.?: Focusing on School Mental Health and Equitable Instruction
Session Eight Breakouts
This workshop provides Educators classroom resources that can be used within existing curriculum frameworks to enhance the mental health literacy of both students and teachers.
The session suggests strategies to implement strategic, systemic and sustainable changes which promote academic growth, resiliency and wellness.
