California Safe and Supportive Schools

Peer Learning Exchange: Promoting Student Connectedness and Wellness Using Sandy Hook Promise “Know the Signs” Programs and SAVE Promise Clubs

Principals and Site Leaders

Peer Learning Exchange: Promoting Student Connectedness and Wellness Using Sandy Hook Promise “Know the Signs” Programs and SAVE Promise Clubs

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Sandy Hook Promise is a national nonprofit organization founded and led by several family members whose loved ones were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012. Turning their tragedy into a transformation, Sandy Hook Promise built innovative programs that have a proven track record preventing school violence and empowering youth to “know the signs” and build a more connected school community.

This Peer Learning Exchange will showcase how schools and districts can use Sandy Hook Promise’s no-cost “Say Something” and “Start with Hello” programs to transform school climate, improve student connectedness and create lasting change through youth-led Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) Promise Clubs. Sandy Hook Promise has been nationally recognized for the organization’s success in preventing multiple school shooting plots, teen suicides, and countless other acts of violence in schools across the country.

Join us for additional information on SAVE Promise Clubs to what was shared at the 2023 Annual Virtual Event.

Highlighted Resources

Presenting Partner:

Dion Chavis is the West Region Project Manager where he works to bring Sandy Hook Promise’s Know the Signs programs to schools and districts across the region. While also a speaker and trainer, Dion has successfully delivered over 500 trainings and workshop presentations in 10 different states during his career. Beyond his work as an advocate for youth violence prevention, as a community leader, he has worked to close the achievement gap and increase awareness about the importance of responsible parenting. He is also a proud husband, and father of two beautiful children.

Peer Learning Exchange: School Calming Spaces

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This Peer Learning Exchange will provide an opportunity to learn about how schools can create and use calming rooms and classroom corners to support students’ well-being and readiness to learn. Calming spaces can be integrated as part of a school’s comprehensive strategy to provide nurturing environments that foster positive student development and prevent harmful and persistent distress, thereby also improving school climate.

Laura Buckner will share lessons she gleaned from research and interviews with California school staff in developing a 2022 brief, Calming Spaces in Schools and Classrooms. Kim Bradley, Tahoe Truckee Unified School District (TTUSD) Wellness Coordinator, will discuss how she developed school wellness centers that offer space and opportunity for students to regulate themselves, as well as connection to more robust supports and services. 

Participants will then have time to interact with colleagues from across California to share and ask about the intentions and outcomes of, as well as the nuts and bolts of setting up and overseeing, such supportive spaces.

Highlighted Resources:

Shared Resource:

Presenting Partners:

Laura Buckner is a Technical Assistance Specialist with WestEd’s Resilient and Healthy Schools and Communities team. She is the author of Calming Spaces in Schools and Classrooms, highlights of which will be shared. Laura’s work centers on sharing information that is timely, relevant, and useful to education leaders as they seek to improve systems to address the whole-person and whole-community needs of their stakeholders. She does this by 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. She holds a joint MBA/MA in educational leadership from Mills College in Oakland, California. 

Kim Bradley is the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District (TTUSD) Wellness Coordinator, overseeing the school district’s Wellness Program. She is passionate about creating opportunities for youth voice and building connections between community resources and schools. Kim has worked in various roles with Tahoe Truckee social service and educational organizations including the Truckee Parent Co-Op, Tahoe Safe Alliance, and the Community Collaborative of Tahoe Truckee, and she played a key role in the creation of North Tahoe and Truckee Family Resource Centers, Sierra Expeditionary Learning School, and the TTUSD Wellness Program. Kim has a BS in Human Development from U.C. Davis and various professional certifications. She lives with her husband and two children in Truckee, and together, they enjoy spending time in nature, skiing, hiking, and going on family camping adventures. 

Beyond LCAP Compliance: Disaggregating Your California Healthy Kids Survey Data to Improve School Climate

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You have your California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) results. Now what?

Districts and schools often want to know how to understand their survey results and then translate that knowledge into action. When you see your results what do they actually mean? How do you translate your data to serve your local needs? This webinar will showcase how to explore CHKS results on the three measures that LEAs often use for the LCAP School Climate Priority 6: Caring Adult Relationships, School Connectedness, and School Safety. We will discuss how to disaggregate your survey data to find groups of students who need supports and outline steps to identify strengths and growth opportunities. From this webinar you can expect to take away resources and information on what possible steps you can take to strengthen school climate.

Watch the session recording:

View the recording transcript.

View the slides and resources in this Linktree.

Presenters:

Leslie Poynor

WestEd Research Associate Leslie Poynor is the State Coordinator for the California School Climate, Health, and Learning Survey System, the largest statewide survey of resiliency, protective factors, and risk behaviors in the nation. She provides technical assistance to all levels of education personnel in conducting and using the data from all CalSCHLS surveys in data-driven decision-making, including the California Healthy Kids Survey. She also develops and facilitates professional development and data workshops on creating safe and supportive school climates as well as on the education of the whole child.

 

Peer Learning Exchange: Shifting student outcomes through purposeful relationships with families/caregivers— prioritizing respect, cultural sensitivity, consistency, and data

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The Peer Learning Exchange offers an overview of Camille Creek Community School’s implementation and continuous development of the Family Support Liaison (FSL) roles. In this presentation, learn about the who, what, why, and how of the FSL roles at Camille Creek Community School as supported by the California Community School Partnership Program.

View the highlighted resources:

Presenting Partner: Alonso Medrano

Mr. Alonso Medrano arrived in the United States at a very young age as an immigrant and very quickly learned the need to adapt to create a new life from nothing. He learned the importance of unity, work ethic, healing, cultural humility, family, and education. He continues to allow these to guide his personal and professional journey. Mr. Medrano is an associate marriage family therapist and holds a master’s degree in psychology from The Wright Institute in Berkeley, California, and a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in psychology from Sacramento State University.

He has served in the mental health field for over 15 years. His natural inclination to work from a strength-based, culturally inclusive, and systems/collective lens has facilitated his ability to adapt to working in different places. In his current role at Camille Creek, he has been developing and implementing the parent liaison roles. These new roles focus on enhancing the school’s working relationship with parents/caregivers by creating a mutual partnership through respect, support, and meeting them where they are at.

He resides in Napa, California, where he and his wife are raising their two children. When not working, Mr. Medrano is in the kitchen cooking up a feast or at the school cafeteria trying to beat his record of preparing 125 quesabirrias for students and staff. He and his wife travel near and far for good food and enjoy getting lost in nature hikes.

Schools as Centers of Wellness: A Collaborative Approach to School Mental Health 

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This session highlights the collaborative partnership between the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) and the Sacramento County Department of Health Services (DHS). An innovative collective impact approach, placing a mental health clinician in every school in the county to work within a continuum of care at the school site transforms schools into “Centers of Wellness.” The presenters will address both the why and how to integrate mental health and wellness through an MTSS lens and to build community- and county-wide partnerships to support whole-child development.

Watch the session recording:

View the recording transcript

View the session slides and resources in this Linktree

Presenters:

Christopher Williams, Ed.L.D., MSW, Director, School-Based Mental Health and Wellness, Sacramento County Office of Education

Dr. Christopher Williams is the Director of School-Based Mental Health and Wellness at the Sacramento County Office of Education. He leads a team intent on bringing the health and education systems together as partners to create a continuum of care for mental health and wellness throughout Sacramento County. The team’s mission is to intervene as early as possible to eliminate the school-to-prison pipeline, reduce the number of “system-involved” adults and adolescents, and mitigate the onset and impact of mental health disorders in Sacramento County.

For close to 20 years, Chris has been involved in education, mental health, and youth development. He is currently a member of the California State Student Mental Health Policy Workgroup and the California State Student Attendance Review Board (SARB). Before relocating to the West Coast, Chris was a founder and Executive Director of P2L: Pathways to Leadership as well as the Vice President of Social Emotional Learning for The Leadership Program, both in New York City. Chris’ work there centered on students who were at risk of dropping out, focusing on altering the trajectory of their lives. Chris has taught at Columbia University, NYU, and Harvard, where he was awarded the Excellence in Teaching distinction. He holds a master’s degree in Social Work from New York University and a Doctorate in Education Leadership from Harvard Graduate School of Education. He lives in Roseville, CA, with his wife, two boys, and Lexie, a 70 lb. rescue shepherd-mutt whose goal in life is to be a lap dog.

Marcella Rodriguez, MS, PPSC, APCC

Marcella Rodriguez is a Coordinator of School Based Mental Health and Wellness for Sacramento County Office of Education. Marcella has worked in schools within Sacramento County since 2009 and more specifically in school-based mental health services since 2012. She has supported the creation and development of various programs in the county, integrating behavioral health systems and educational systems to build sustainable systems and services for all community members. Marcella is a bilingual, first-generation Latina-Americana who holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Master of Science in Counseling, a Pupil Personnel Service Credential, and an Administrative Credential. She is also a registered Associate Professional Clinical Counselor with the Board of Behavioral Sciences. Marcella lives in Lincoln, CA, alongside her husband, two energetic and heart-filled kids, and Luke, a first-generation labradoodle named after the one and only Luke Skywalker.

Centering Relationships and Data for Informed Decision Making

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To make informed decisions that are reflective of your school community and all educational partners, robust relationships are core to have powerful data conversations. Relationships allow educational partners to feel comfortable sharing varying options with their peers and school staff. Additionally, showing care in how data are collected, shared, and used to make improvements further strengthens trusting relationships among staff, students, families—the entire school community. In this session, you’ll hear two district examples of how engaging a range of role groups in transparent processes were key for implementing decisions to improve school climate that were reflective of the school community.

Watch the session recording:

View the recording transcript

View the panel slides and resources in this Linktree

Panelists:

Dr. Jennifer Edic Bryant, Ed.D., Education Consultant, Azusa Unified School District

Dr. Jennifer Edic Bryant has worked in California public education for over 31 years. She began her career as a classroom teacher in a Title I school in Los Angeles County, serving historically underserved students and families. From the beginning of her education career, Dr. Bryant has focused on ensuring equitable, comprehensive education for all students in partnership with families and communities. Today, as a full-time consultant, her mission is to use her extensive K–12 public education experience and capacity to provide opportunities for students and families to access the best education outcomes possible, resulting in empowerment, a sense of fulfillment, and lives that reach their full potential. She is part of the State of California’s Community Engagement Initiative, which builds district and community capacities to collaborate, with a focus on improving student outcomes through effective engagement and partnerships.

Mayra Rico, Family Member, Azusa Unified School District

Mayra Rico is a proud parent of three daughters who attend Azusa Unified School District schools. As she became a parent volunteer, she noticed the need for parent involvement and became a big advocate for it. She understands that many parents want to be involved, but can’t because they are working hard to put food on the table; therefore, she needed to also be their voice and advocate for their children.

Rico currently serves on various committees in the Azusa school district. She is President of the School Site Council at Azusa High, parent representative for the Student Attendance Review Board, parent representative for the Superintendent’s Round Table, parent representative for the Parent Advisory Council, and a member of the Executive PTA Board. She works closely with the community liaisons at Azusa school sites to help facilitate the Families in Schools program. She also supports the Azusa School District orchestra and Mariachi by volunteering her time to help beginner string players. ” Because of the experience Mayra gained while being an active parent, she now works for the Community Resources Department with the City of Azusa, is the President of the Rotary Club of Azusa, and is a board member of Azusa Beautiful and Azusa Leaders for Learning Education Foundation.

Dr. Jennifer Martin, Assistant Superintendent, Improvement and Analytics, Hemet Unified School District

Dr. Jennifer Martin has served Hemet Unified School District as an educational administrator since 2012. Most recently, she was
Assistant Superintendent of Student Services and has held various administrative positions within Hemet Unified, including serving as Director of Special Education and Principal at Valle Vista Elementary and Dartmouth Middle Schools. Dr. Martin, under her new title of Assistant Superintendent of Improvement and Analytics, plays a key role in supporting the work the district is engaged in to improve student learning outcomes from a systems perspective and applying a scientific approach to continuous improvement. Personally, Dr. Martin is a mother of two sons and wife to a fellow educator. Dr. Martin is positioned and actively working to further Hemet Unified’s vision: To design a system that leads to equitable educational outcomes for all students, including and especially those who have been kept furthest from opportunity, we EMBRACE and EDUCATE students in deeper learning competencies that EMPOWERS each student for college, career, and life.

Kimberly Romeril, Principal, Hemet High School, Hemet Unified School District 

Kimberly Romeril is the Principal at Hemet High School. Prior to this position, she served as an administrator at Cawston Elementary, Acacia Middle School, and Hamilton High School in Hemet Unified. Kim is committed to collaborative relationships with students, families, staff, and other community members on the path to equity and excellence for all students. She has been an integral part of the Hemet Unified School District’s journey of improvement and learning. Her three children are all proud graduates of Hemet High.