California Safe and Supportive Schools

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

Teacher Leaders

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.

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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.

Welcome & Keynote: Cultivating Healthy Relationships

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This keynote address from Jaleel R. Howard, MEd aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice on effective ways to build relationships in the classroom. This talk will highlight empirically-based research demonstrating the benefits of meaningful connections between students and adults in school settings. Educators will receive examples of how they can incorporate various instructional techniques and self-reflection to develop better relationships with their students.

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Event Welcome: 

Rebeca Cerna, California Center for School Climate Director

Rebeca Cerna (she/her/ella) serves as the Director for the California Center for School Climate. As an Area Director at WestEd, Rebeca supports districts, schools, and community partners in centering equity and improving educational, prevention, and health outcomes. Rebeca’s areas of expertise include health and wellness, school culture/climate, partner voice, data use, and cross-sector collaboration. She has extensive experience in working with communities that have been challenged by infrastructure deficiencies and in lifting the voices of all community members. Rebeca has also worked with diverse settings, including rural and urban communities, recent and mixed-status immigrant communities, and alternative education. Rebeca enjoys travel, photography and trying new restaurants.

Keynote:

Jaleel R. Howard, MEd

Jaleel R. Howard, MEd, is co-author of the book No More Teaching Without Positive Relationships, which reviews the teacher-student relationship research and provides practices for building relationships that make a difference. A former English teacher, Jaleel has extensive knowledge of classroom supports and accommodations for instructional practice that enhance learning for underrepresented students. Jaleel’s research interests center around urban contexts and social forces that affect the educational experiences and outcomes for chronically underserved students. Jaleel is currently a doctoral candidate at UCLA in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies.

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.

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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.

Youth Perspectives: The Importance of Caring Relationships at School

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Positive relationships are essential to building school climates that promote environments where students feel safe, supported, and engaged. When students feel connected at school, they are more likely to engage socially and academically. In this moderated Q&A session, the California Center for School Climate’s Youth Advisory Team will share their perspectives on how positive relationships at school have impacted them, how adults can support safe and supportive learning environments, and what adults should know about being a student today.

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Panelists

Aisha Bilgrammi, Sophomore, Orange County

Aisha Bilgrammi is a sophomore at Irvine High School. She wants to continue helping people and study business. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, going to the gym, and spending time with loved ones. 

Julian Berkowitz, Senior, Santa Clara County

Julian Berkowitz-Sklar is a senior at Saratoga High School. He enjoys reading fantasy/fiction, playing sports, spending time outdoors, and hanging out with friends and family. He hopes to continue meeting amazing people while pursuing his passions and helping to better the world. 

Alexa Southall, Sophomore, San Diego County

Alexa Southall is a sophomore in San Diego County. She’s interested in mental health advocacy and would like to study public policy in college. In her spare time, Alexa likes to crochet, journal, watch TV, and play games with her family. 

Jubia Chavez, Senior, Fresno County

Jubia Chavez is a senior in Fresno County. She will be majoring in interior design and architecture once she graduates. Her passions include family, art, travel, music, and helping those around her. 

Moderator

Lan Nguyen, Program Associate, WestEd

Lan Nguyen (she/her) is a Program Associate in the Resilient and Healthy Schools and Communities team at WestEd. As a technical assistance provider for the California Center for School Climate, she provides coaching support to educators and LEAs across the state on their school climate improvement efforts. In her spare time she enjoys traveling and being in nature.

 

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 session 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.

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Presenters:
Abby Arisco, Manager, SAVE Promise Clubs

Abby Arisco (she/her) is the SAVE Promise Club Manager for the Pacific Region of the United States at Sandy Hook Promise. As a SAVE Promise Club Manager and her background in nonprofit management, she advocates for the importance of the Youth Voice and why it’s necessary for adults to listen to it. She is also an outdoor enthusiast and loves finding the next adventure.

Blair Freedman, Senior Director, West Region 

Blair Freedman is the West coast Senior Region Director for Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) where she manages state-wide and local partnerships and leads a team charged with the program delivery, sustainability, and expansion of the Know the Signs programs. Blair holds a master’s in social work and a minor in Business Administration from Columbia University. Blair’s career has been in the nonprofit sector, fulfilling a personal and professional passion for youth services and programming. Joining SHP early in its infancy in 2016, Blair has been able to witness and contribute to SHP’s rapid growth and impact across the country.

Kimberly (Kim) Cheng, Wellness Center Coordinator, San Gabriel Unified School District

Kim is the Wellness Center Coordinator at Jefferson Middle School, San Gabriel Unified School District. This is Kim’s seventh year as a counselor and she is working to become a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. They are coming up on their one-year anniversary of having their SAVE Promise Club!

Sheila Hatfield, Student Services Specialist and SAVE Promise Club Advisor, Poway Unified School District

With 22 years of experience, Sheila is currently the Student Services Specialist and SAVE Promise Club Advisor at Mt. Carmel High School in Poway Unified, San Diego, CA, and on campus to listen, encourage, and support all students. As the SAVE Promise Club Advisor, she guides students towards positively changing school culture to promote inclusion and connectedness for all. Young leaders need to know that their words and actions make an impact and could save lives. Sheila loves spending time with her family and taking walks on the beach with her dogs.

Committing to Fostering Transformative Relationships

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Relationships are at the core of any educational environment and can make all the difference in how we create positive school climates. Join us to ground in transformative relationship practice to engage in throughout the school year. During the session, you can expect to reflect on relationships, identify your needs, and make a plan to create more transformative relationships with people in your educational community.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

  • Describe what transformative relationships mean for them individually
  • Identify and have a list of transformative relationships in their lives
  • Identify what they give to and receive from transformative relationships
  • Make a plan to communicate their needs around transformative relationships
  • Engage in mindfulness activities
  • Identify their preferred way of receiving and giving gratitude
  • Make a plan to incorporate gratitude into their day
  • Identify how to use gratitude individually, peer to peer, and as administrators

Watch the session recording:

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View the session slides and resources in this Linktree

Presenter:

Yasemin Rodriguez Corzo, Associate Director, Alliance for a Healthier Generation

Bio: Yasemin Rodriguez Corzo, MA is the Associate Director on the Whole Child Health National Advisor team at the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. With a background in education in emergencies, Yasemin has 10+ years in curriculum and content design, educational and workforce programming implementation, and research. In her current role, she oversees and collaborates with a team of National Advisors to create and curate resources, design and deliver high quality professional learnings, and cultivate and maintain national and regional partnerships to bolster practices and policies in whole child health. Yasemin holds a master’s degree from Teachers College, Columbia University in International Educational Development with a focus on Peace and Human Rights Education. In addition to improving practices and systems to ensure equitable education for children across the globe, Yasemin is also passionate about travel, going for long walks, and fish tacos.