California Safe and Supportive Schools

Stronger Connections Wellness Mini-Session 2

Mental Health

Stronger Connections Wellness Mini-Session 2

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Need a quick break? Join a 20-minute Wellness Mini-Session to practice a strategy designed for education settings. These monthly sessions will feature wellness experts from throughout California sharing a variety of ideas that you can use and share to promote stress management. Together we will engage in a practice, process, and plan model to build confidence in leading mindfulness lessons, support self and student care through parallel processes, and set up for success in sustaining mindfulness practices across the school day and year. Participants will have the opportunity to explore social emotional learning aligned Mindfulness lessons through experiential learning.

Watch the webinar here:

View the recording transcript

Facilitator:

Meade Williams is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California specializing in mindfulness-based practices and is currently the Mindfulness Coordinator with Tulare County Office of Education’s Project AWARE. Meade is passionate about supporting youth through their unique journey while strengthening the communities that serve them. In addition to her work with Tulare COE, Meade maintains a private consultation practice— Garden House Therapy.

Comprehensive School Safety Planning: Legislative Updates and Best Practices for School-Based Behavioral Threat Assessment

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California recently revised state legislation regarding comprehensive school safety plans, some of which pertains to schools’ responses to threats. As leaders consider how to meet the required mandates for school safety planning, evidence-based best practices on behavioral threat assessment can provide insights into how schools can protect students and school personnel while also supporting mental health and well-being.

Join experts from the California Department of Education and WestEd’s Justice and Prevention Research Center to learn about the recent changes to state legislation, as well as practical, evidence-based components of behavioral threat assessment.

Watch the session recording:

View the recording transcript.

View the session resources:

Presenters:

Tom Herman is an Education Administrator with the School Health and Safety Office in the Whole Child Division at the California Department of Education. He oversees state and federal programs related to health and safety, crisis response, school climate, restorative practices, harassment and bullying, and alcohol and other drugs (ATOD) prevention. Dr. Herman also oversees areas of comprehensive sexual health and reproduction, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), and the California Healthy Kids Survey. Also, the LGBTQ+ State-Wide Advisory Task Force is in the School Health and Safety Office. A former Principal and Vice Principal, Dr. Herman is committed to student academic success and the physical and emotional wellbeing of all students.

 

Curtis Herring is a School Safety Technical Assistance Specialist with the WestEd Justice and Prevention Research Center. He supports local, regional, and state education agencies in their implementation of evidence-based violence prevention strategies. His work has included several notable projects, such as the development of a campus mindfulness room, the introduction of processes and procedures related to Behavioral Threat Assessment, the development of a campus-based mentorship program, and the institution of school counseling data collection and analysis methods.

California Center for School Climate Youth Public Service Announcements on Student Mental Health and Substance Abuse

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Members of the CCSC Youth Advisory Team create public service announcements to share information about student mental health and substance abuse. Click on the videos below to learn about youth perspectives on these important topics. Transcripts for the videos are available.

Mental Health

Aayushi Khatri – What Everyone Should Know About Student Mental Health

Aayushi Khatri shares about the prevalence of mental health challenges among young people and encourages adults to consider how to provide easily accessible mental health resources to students.

Alexa Southall – What Everyone Should Know About Student Mental Health

Alexa Southall encourages a collective approach to supporting mental health, which includes talking openly and reaching out to others who may be struggling.

Aisha Bilgrammi – What Everyone Should Know About Student Mental Health

Aisha Bilgrammi shares her ideas on how schools can create environments where students can access mental health resources and have their emotional wellbeing supported. 

Substance Abuse

Colin Do – What Everyone Should Know About Substance Abuse

Colin Do discusses underlying issues that may lead to substance abuse among young people and encourages those who are struggling to seek professional help.

Project Cal-Well: Building Sustainable School-Based Mental Health Systems

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Project Cal-Well is a cross-agency mental health initiative led by the California Department of Education focused on building capacity for sustainable school-based mental health systems in local educational agencies (LEAs) throughout California. This document provides information about Project Cal-Well and links to highlights of work conducted during the project’s second cohort (2019-2024). The highlighted partner summaries can also be found using the links below:  

Del Norte Unified School District: A Comprehensive Approach to Mental Health Services Through Project Cal-Well

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Project Cal-Well is a cross-agency mental health initiative led by the California Department of Education focused on building capacity for sustainable school-based mental health systems in local educational agencies (LEAs) throughout California. As part of a series highlighting the work of Project Cal-Well partners in Cohort 2 (2019-2024), this document summarizes how Del Norte Unified School District leveraged Project Cal-Well funding to expand its focus on social and emotional learning, increase awareness of mental health services available to students in the district, effectively use data to make decisions about service needs, and establish a referral system with mental health partners in the community.  

Stanislaus County Office of Education: Project Cal-Well Journey

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Project Cal-Well is a cross-agency mental health initiative led by the California Department of Education focused on building capacity for sustainable school-based mental health systems in local educational agencies (LEAs) throughout California. As part of a series highlighting the work of Project Cal-Well partners in Cohort 2 (2019-2024), this document summarizes how the Stanislaus County Office of Education leveraged Project Cal-Well funding to provide much-needed mental health services to students during and following the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of their work, students and staff at the partner districts in Stanislaus County are now more aware of mental health challenges and how to get help or to support someone who is struggling.