California Safe and Supportive Schools

Educator Panel: Creating Healing, Restorative Learning Ecosystems

Mental Health Professionals (Counselors, School Psychologists, etc.)

Educator Panel: Creating Healing, Restorative Learning Ecosystems

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In light of all the challenges currently facing students, educators, and families, how can educators create healing, restorative ecosystems? In this two-part panel, you will learn with and alongside teachers around the state about the approaches that system leaders can take to create healing environments for teachers. Panelists will also share instructional practices they draw upon to cultivate healing learning spaces for their students. Topics and questions for this panel were informed by CCSC Youth Advisory Team members.

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Session resources

Panelists:

Dr. Martin Canizales Cobos is a Spanish teacher for Mount Eden High School in Hayward, California. Canizales is from Monterrey, Mexico, where he graduated from the School of Medicine of the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon. He has three specialties and more than 10 years of experience in critical care and pulmonology. He is now a licensed teacher with four years of teaching experience, contributing to his community to promote changes that can provide opportunities for young people while they are learning in a safe and healthy environment. Dr. Canizales is also a writer, and likes running and traveling.

Kyley Hironaka is a sixth-year public school educator who currently works and lives in San Francisco. She has experience working in various communities with diverse racial, ethnic, ability, and socioeconomic needs. She spent four years in the classroom teaching kindergarten and 4th grade and has recently transitioned to teaching elementary physical education. Kyley has always been passionate about education and sociology and believes in lifelong learning. In her spare time, she enjoys good food with good company and traveling to new places.

Lavita Jones is a 4th grade teacher at Inner City Education Foundation (ICEF) View Park. She has been with ICEF for over eight years and has had many roles including instructional aide, math coach, intervention specialist, behavior interventionist, and now teacher. She has her BA in Psychology from California State University, Sacramento and an MA in education from Alder Graduate School of Education. Lavita feels blessed to say that teaching is her passion and she loves what she does. Her goal is to give back to her community by serving as a loving and caring teacher who only wants the best for all students and their families. She is from Los Angeles herself and comes from a large family with seven siblings.

Bobby Pelz is an ethnic studies teacher at Watsonville High School. He earned a BA in English from the University of Washington, an MA in Education from the University of San Francisco, and an MA in Education Leadership from San Jose State University. He began his career teaching at Cupertino High School before taking a break from teaching to focus on investing and philanthropy. During this time, Bobby founded 25Books, a program that provides free books to kids. He has since returned to teaching and now enjoys both gifting books to kids in his district through the program and educating them when they get to Watsonville High.

Panel Moderators:

Krystal Wu (she/her) serves as Technical Assistance Provider for the California Center for School Climate. Krystal is also a Program Associate with the Resilient and Healthy Schools and Communities team where she delivers technical assistance, designs professional learning, and develops evidence-based resources to cultivate safe and supportive learning environments. With expertise in culturally responsive and sustaining education, co-design, and school climate, Krystal centers the voices and experiences of community members in all of her work, especially those who have been kept furthest from opportunity. She currently leads the Safe and Supportive Learning Environments Deep Dive professional learning courses focused on racial equity and belonging through the California Center for School Climate and the Center to Improve Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety.

Shazia Hashmi (she/her) serves as a Technical Assistance Provider for the California Center for School Climate. As a Program Associate at WestEd, Shazia translates and applies research on equitable, developmentally appropriate strategies to support state education agencies, district leaders, and educators in serving communities. She supports research and technical assistance projects that focus on improving practices in social–emotional learning, school climate, and community engagement. She currently develops professional learning to build statewide capacity for authentic, meaningful community partnerships as a part of CCEE’s Community Engagement Initiative.

Session 2C: Transformative School Culture: Looking Beyond the Numbers to Support

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The pressure to raise student achievement has contributed to a dysfunctional system based on assessment scores and attendance rates, losing sight that behind those numbers is a child with challenges who may be losing hope, vision, and self-worth. Transformation means change, and change can be uncomfortable, but it is necessary because our children’s lives are at risk. It must be our responsibility to collaborate and build an education community that understands our students’ and families’ needs; supports and advocates for them; and promotes equity so that our students feel connected to adults that care for, love, and believe in them, giving them hope to succeed. Transformative school cultures empower our students to become confident, responsible, and caring citizens. Students will then take ownership to attain academic achievement and social and emotional success.  

The presenter will share the importance of creating student portraits as a way to utilize different data to learn how to support the whole child. She will also highlight the value of networking to build supports for students and to connect them with resources. 

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Session resources

Session Speaker: 

Judith Sanchez is a principal at Leavenworth Elementary School in Fresno Unified School District, the third-largest district in California. With 22 years as an educator in both elementary and secondary levels, Judith has a wide range of experience both inside and outside the classroom, in areas such as leading curriculum development, heading WASC accreditation, supervising and evaluating teachers, and organizing student activities. Her professional experience adds value in supporting teachers, staff, and community in achieving and maintaining a safe school culture and a commitment to student success. She believes that, as educators, it is our responsibility to provide the tools necessary to ensure our students are successful citizens, and to instill in them the desire to grow and be better people for themselves, their families, and their communities. Ms. Sanchez holds a master’s degree in administration leadership preparation from CSU Fresno and has been part of a Latino Leadership Cohort through Central Valley Latino Leadership Academy (CVLLA).

Session Moderator: 

Timothy Ojetunde (he/him) serves as a Technical Assistance Provider for the California Center for School Climate.

Timothy is also a Program Associate at WestEd with Resilient and Healthy Schools and Communities (RHSC) who supports districts and schools in centering equity and improving educational outcomes for all. Timothy’s expertise is grounded in school culture and climate, restorative practices, SEL, and trauma-informed practices, as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion. Timothy comes to WestEd with over a decade of knowledge and experience across multiple spaces and communities having been a teacher, advisory and school culture specialist, school administrator, and DEI consultant. In his work, he has coached school administrators, presented to leaders, and facilitated sessions for hundreds of educators and learners across multiple conferences. He is extremely passionate about creating equitable outcomes and is dedicated to supporting students and adults as they grow, develop, and find success.

Session 2B: The Art of Participatory Leadership

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Education systems change efforts are more likely to be equitable and sustainable when they are designed, implemented, and continuously improved in partnership with the communities they serve. Join us to explore leadership competencies that are necessary for system leaders to facilitate change efforts that work towards eliminating inequity and generating opportunity and well-being. 

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Session resources

Session Speakers:

Amber Valdez, EdD (she/her) is a Senior Program Associate II with WestEd’s Resilient and Healthy Schools and Communities team where she supports local, regional, and state agencies and organizations to design and transform complex systems for equity. Her expertise includes complex systems change, transformational leadership, participatory change approaches, cross-sector collaboration, continuous improvement/improvement science, and human-centered/liberatory design. Valdez brings experience working with public and private sector systems, including education, health, and community development agencies, nonprofit and for-profit organizations, and foundations. Before coming to WestEd, Valdez led a consulting business supporting youth-, family-, and community-serving agencies and organizations with strategic planning, resource development, and community partnerships. She also served as a nonprofit leader supporting school and district administrators with resource development, community schools design, family engagement, and educational leadership. 

Lan Nguyen (she/her) serves as a Technical Assistance Provider for the California Center for School Climate.

Lan is also a Program Associate at WestEd in the Resilient and Healthy Schools and Communities content area and has experience in diverse roles within large K–12 school districts supporting and guiding the implementation of Restorative Practices programs. As a former high school science teacher and experienced Restorative practitioner, Lan is grounded in the daily realities of school and classroom life and has used that knowledge to guide her work with school and district leaders. She has seen firsthand the transformative potential of effectively implementing Restorative Practices programs on the culture and climate of schools. Lan also has years of experience providing professional development and technical assistance to schools and districts around LGBTQ+ issues in education.

Session Moderator: 

Laura Buckner (she/her) serves as a Technical Assistance Provider for the California Center for School Climate.

Laura is a Technical Assistance Specialist with WestEd’s Resilient and Healthy Schools and Communities team. Laura’s work centers on sharing information that is timely, relevant, and useful to education leaders as they seek to improve systems and address the whole-person and whole-community needs of students, staff, and families. She is skilled at translating research to practice, supporting implementation of evidence-based practices in education, and designing learning opportunities that help practitioners align their goals with their activities. Prior to joining WestEd, Laura worked with community-based organizations, partnering successfully with schools and school districts to provide mentorship and mental health services to students in grades K–12.

Session 2A: Reducing Stress and Trauma by Normalizing School Safety Practices

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This session dives into the idea that school safety is the role of all education partners. Implementing standard best practices that reinforce safety into daily school routines is a key and fundamental component in keeping students and staff safe and in reducing trauma. Ultimately, by empowering students through familiarity with safety-related situations, they are better equipped to make crucial in-the-moment decisions that keep everyone safe. 

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Session resources

Session Speakers:

Jeff Caldwell is a senior lead in school safety in WestEd’s Justice and Prevention Research Center. In this role, he works with state entities and school districts to provide technical assistance and resources related to school safety. He is the former associate director of school safety readiness at the Texas School Safety Center, where he was involved in the creation, implementation, and administration of statewide initiatives for school safety. Jeff has a diverse career in law enforcement, municipal government, and private industry, including roles as a school resource officer, chief of police, city marshal, city administrator, and director of various divisions, including emergency management, code enforcement, and the health department. His experience also includes facilitating professional development and personal growth training. When not working, Jeff enjoys his role as president of the board of directors of the Greater San Marcos Youth Council, as well as hiking, writing, and projects around the house. 

Shawna White is a senior lead in school safety in WestEd’s Justice and Prevention Research Center. Dr. White brings a decade of experience leading research and technical assistance projects at local, state, and federal levels. She currently leads projects related to school emergency management and critical incident response, behavioral threat assessment implementation, and general school safety technical assistance. Prior to WestEd, Dr. White served as associate director of research and evaluation at the Texas School Safety Center, where she oversaw research related to behavioral threat assessment, school policing, and health and resilience in schools. She also led program evaluation of all center trainings and events, identifying key successes and opportunities for improvement to better serve school communities. In her free time, she enjoys spending quality time with her two young children, as well as hiking, swimming, reading, and solving puzzles of all varieties. 

Session Moderator:

Antoinette Miller (she/her) serves as Technical Assistance Provider for the California Center for School Climate.

Antoinette is also a Program Associate in WestEd’s Resilience and Healthy Schools and Communities area. In this capacity, she provides coaching, technical assistance, and professional learning to schools, districts, and county offices of education. Antoinette’s expertise is grounded in school climate and culture, mindfulness, healing-centered and restorative practices, social emotional learning and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Antoinette comes to WestEd with two decades of knowledge and experience in education, having previously worked as a general and special education teacher, districtwide intervention specialist, and a Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) coordinator. Antoinette is dedicated to supporting the growth and development of all students and adults.

Guided Wellness Break

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Join others in the education community to take some time to  learn and practice ways to use breath, movement, and more to ground ourselves in the moment and be better able to connect positively with our colleagues, students, and family and community members.  

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Session resources

Speaker:

Emily Hernandez, Ed.D., LMFT, brings over 25 years of experience working in public education and mental health. Dr. Hernandez is the director of the Employee Assistance Service for Education (EASE) in the Los Angeles County Office of Education. Her professional background includes working directly with schools, families, and communities including school counseling and child welfare and attendance, K-12 administration, clinical mental health, private practice, employee assistance services, and counselor preparation and education. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with areas of expertise in working with children, couples and families, educators, victims of violence, trauma, and crisis counseling. As a leader in the field, she has presented locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally and has authored a variety of scholarly work. She has served on multiple organizational leadership advisory and executive boards advocating for the need for mental health services in education in various capacities. She brings a unique lens to working with educators and school systems understanding the importance of bridging the gap towards more access to mental health in prevention and intervention in education. She enjoys spending her personal time with her family and friends doing some of her favorite things like walking her dog, gathering together, camping, hiking, yoga, dancing, painting and reading.

Session 1C: Talent Is Universal, Access Is Not: Why Partnerships Matter

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It’s more than just partnerships, it’s uniting power and purpose. Together, we can close the opportunity gap and remove the “red tape” to affording equitable and transformational access for all youth. Through partnerships, we can level the playing field by removing barriers and bringing new resources, opportunities, and experiences to communities, facilitating access and support for the whole child.  

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Session resources

Session Speaker:

Jessica Ochoa, M.Ed., is an accomplished public education and civic sector trailblazer with nearly two decades of diversified experience with a commitment to leadership and service. She is currently the executive director of communications and community relations with the Inglewood Unified School District and serves on the board of directors for the California Association of Latino Superintendents and Administrators (CALSA). Her prior experience includes leading public education initiatives with the California Department of Education. As a leader in education, Jessica understands the importance of access, and has an unwavering commitment to social justice. She aims to deepen the impact of partnerships for the benefit of our deserving youth from all backgrounds. Jessica was recently recognized by CALSA as 2022 Region 5 (Los Angeles County) Classified Management of the Year. She enjoys playing golf in her free time. 

Session Moderator: 

Nakanya Magby (she/her) serves as a Technical Assistance Provider for the California Center for School Climate.

Nakanya Magby (she/her) is a Senior Program Associate in WestEd’s Resilient and Healthy Schools and Communities (RHSC) area. In this capacity, she provides coaching, training, and curriculum development in areas related to school climate and culture, trauma-informed practices, and equitable supports. Currently, she supports the California Center for School Climate and the Connecticut Department of Education. Most recently, she served as a school climate and culture specialist at the state level in Washington, DC, providing professional development, technical assistance, and coaching for a safe and supportive school climate to include multi-tiered systems of support and trauma-informed and equitable supports. Nakanya joins WestEd with over 20 years of experience in education and mental health, having previously worked as a special educator, school counselor, dean of students, and district- and state-level specialist. Nakanya believes that all students should have access to a quality educational experience both academically and emotionally.