California Safe and Supportive Schools

Improving Student Wellness With A Multi-Tiered System of Support (Santa Clara County Office of Education)

California Center for School Climate

Improving Student Wellness With A Multi-Tiered System of Support (Santa Clara County Office of Education)

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The Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) recently developed a model to formalize school-based health offerings throughout the 32 LEAs, public charter schools, and early care and education programs it supports countywide. Based on a multi-tiered system of support, the SCCOE wellness center model addresses the root causes of mental, physical, and social health issues within the community through a range of preventative, group, and individual services.

Featured Speakers:

  • Dr. Mary Dewan, County Superintendent of Schools
  • Amanda Dickey, Director, Government Relations
  • Dr. Chaun Powell, Director, Youth Health & Wellness Professional Learning & Instructional Support Division

View the transcript for this audiocast.

Download the Santa Clara County Office of Education brief.

Participatory Systems Change for Equity: An Inquiry Guide for Child-, Youth- and Family- Serving Agencies

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View the Resource in Spanish

When child-, youth-, and family-serving agencies facilitate systems change efforts without those who experience and are impacted by these systems, they run the risk of perpetuating inequity and causing harm to the very people they intend to serve. Participatory systems change involves community members and system leaders to collectively identify, design, decide, implement, and assess priorities, actions, and investments that work toward eliminating systemic oppression and generating system conditions that promote equity, opportunity, and well-being.

System leaders can use this guide to help facilitate participatory systems change. The guide features elements of participatory systems change that institutions and organizations can apply depending on local context and locally defined goals. With this guide, system leaders will:

  • Understand what participatory systems change is and how it can contribute to transformative change at the systems level that promotes equity, opportunity, and well-being for young people, families, and communities
  • Gain insights into integrating elements of participatory systems change into any initiative at any phase of implementation
  • Consider key questions and resources in order to align change initiatives with elements of participatory systems change

Cultivating Caring Relationships at School: 15 Activities That Promote Staff and Student Connection

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This resource, coauthored and reviewed by California Center for School Climate’s Youth Advisory Team, contains 15 classroom-based activities that promote the development of positive relationships between staff and students at both the elementary and secondary levels. Activities are designed to be low cost and easy to implement. Each activity contains detailed instructions as well as adaptations for both in-person and online learning environments.

Watch this video to learn about an activity in the toolkit!

View the transcript.

Calming Spaces in Schools and Classrooms

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As the places where young people spend a significant amount of their lives, schools have an immense opportunity to attend to the social, emotional, and mental health needs of students on a regular basis. 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.

This brief describes calming spaces and the potential positive impacts that offering such spaces in schools or classrooms can have on students’ mental health and learning. It features several examples of calming spaces and related resources from California and beyond, provides an explanation of how calming spaces align with other initiatives for supporting student well-being, and offers practical guidance for educators to consider when setting up their own calming spaces.

Engaging the School Community in the Transformation Process (Horace Mann Middle School)

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The perspectives of diverse school community members are integral to school climate improvement efforts and ensure that a shared vision for safe and supportive learning environments is authentic and effective. In this audiocast, you’ll hear how San Diego Unified’s Horace Mann Middle School has engaged in team-based climate and connectedness improvement work to promote supportive student-staff relationships.

Featured Speakers:

  • Dr. Nea Hearn, District–level Instructional Coordinator San Diego Unified School District
  • Sarah Schulte, Site–level instructional coordinator at Horace–Mann Middle School
  • Nate Leboff, Math teacher at Horace–Mann Middle School
  • Catherine Fox–Copeland, English teacher at Horace–Mann Middle School
  • Gladys, 7th grade student
  • Ahn, 8th grade student 

View the transcript for this audiocast.

Download the Horace Mann brief.