Resources for Educators & Families

The JCISD Whole Child Team has developed a series of 10-15 minute videos to help educators with common struggles that have been occurring during this unprecedented time.

To view the video on Engaging Parents and additional resources, visit the Whole Child Website

Our schools and community have come together to ensure that all of our students are fed during this time of crisis. Click here for a list of school district food distribution sites.

Michigan Department of Education also released a map showing food sites across the state.

View it here.

Jackson County Food Pantry List

Please click on the following link to complete the COVID-19 Response Fund application:

https://form.jotform.com/DanaAshlock/Covid-19-Response-Fund-Grant-App

Eligibility: ​ Nonprofit organizations and other community groups working to address the

needs of those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in Jackson County, Michigan.

Grant Uses:​ To cover expenses related to meeting the Human Services Needs of Jackson

County residents ​OR​ the Operating Expenses of nonprofit organizations/ community groups

in Jackson County, Michigan.

Examples of Human Services Needs: ​ Child Care/Education, Food Security, Mental Health

Resources, Housing, Health Services, and/or Technology. As long as funds are available,

you may reapply for Human Service Needs grants as the needs arise.

*Basic Needs Items: If you need diapers, toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc., please contact

Colleen Sullivan at ​csullivan@uwjackson.org​ or (503) 680-0584. Smaller requests may be

able to be filled immediately while larger requests will be determined by the grant

committee. Please note, safety training may be required for redistribution of items.

Teens are suffering from missing out on these experiences and the opportunity for connecting with their peers at critical transitions into adulthood, says Dr. Ludmila De faria, a psychiatrist with Florida State University.

She says they're "mourning the loss of important developmental milestones they were supposed to be doing at this time in their lives."

And experts advise parents to take these issues seriously and try to help kids process them.

View all the tips here helping HERE

MDHHS partnered with Headspace to offer free evidence-based guided meditations and at-home workouts. Check out the site: www.headspace.com/MI No login required...just scroll down and try out some of the many options.

Most of us are proficient in how to complete the tasks and responsibilities of our positions while working remotely. We have the tools we need to perform our job functions and we have the technical skill to do so.

But how do we remain connected to each other virtually? How do we foster a collaborative team environment and avoid feelings of isolation while working remotely for extended periods of time?

View the Entire List of Team Building Activities Here

Curious about how to virtually foster a sense of belonging for your school community? Looking for new strategies and systems to build a virtual classroom community? Join this webinar to learn some “use tomorrow” strategies, as well as virtual systems that can help you to maintain and foster meaningful relationships virtually.

View the Webinar Here

1. Pet your dog or cat. As you do so, focus on the softness of their fur, the repetitive motions. If you don’t have a pet, get a fluffy pillow!

2. Do a few Affirmations. Positive self-statements can bring more confident self-talk into your day and they force you to say nice things to yourself where you usually wouldn’t. Choose a statement each day and take 5 minutes to say it out loud to yourself at least 10 times. Really focus on the statement, don’t argue with yourself against it!

3. Accept a compliment. While not something you can plan, accepting compliments can go a long way in improving your self-esteem. Think about it. Every time you reject a compliment, you are filling your head with excuses and negative self-talk. Instead, when someone compliments you, say thank you and SMILE!

Entire List of Self Care Activities

• ABCmouse: Reading, math, science, art & colors curriculum for ages 2-8. They offer a 30-day trial after you watch their video on their homepage.
• BrainPOP: Over a 1,000 short animated movies for grades K-12 in all subjects, with quizzes and related materials. You can request free unlimited use of the BrainPOP suite for the duration of your school closure here.
• CK-12: Free and customizable K-12 open educational resources that are aligned to state curriculum standards.
• EducationCity: Targeted at grades PreK-6 providing lesson plans, resources and activities. 21-day free trial here.
• Edulastic: Library of standards-aligned practice questions to create assessments in minutes. They’re offering Premium and Enterprise features for free until July 1, 2020. Learn more here.
• IXL: K-12 curriculum supports for math, language arts, science, stocial studies, spanish, and Common Core. Teachers can start a 30-day trial account here.
• Khan Academy: 100% free covering a wide range of subjects. Particularly strong in STEM subjects.
• PBS: Free K-12 classroom resources ranging from media galleries, videos, and lesson plans. Create a free account for full features.

• Apple Keynote: Apple’s version of Powerpoint. Free with Mac.
• Buncee: Create visual representations of content for media-rich lessons, reports, newsletters, and presentations. 30-day trial offered here.
• Google Slides: Free PowerPoint alternative. Easy sharing and integration with Google Classroom.
• PowerPoint: Powerful presentation tool. May require an Office 365 subscription to truly be helpful. In the case where your school district does not cover Office, you can get comparable features for free with Google Slides.
• Slido: Allows for more interactive presentations with live polls and insights. They announced educator supports for COVID-19 here.
• StoryboardThat: Use tons of illustrations and create storyboards for free. There is a free trial as well here.

• Answer Pad: Gives a student response system and grades your quizzes. Ideal for BYOD classrooms. The free plan supports up to 200 students.
• Eduflow: Build learning activities and monitor student progress. Includes pre-made learning flows to help foster peer review and collaboration.
• Flipgrid: Create short videos with students with Grids. Grids serve as meeting places and allow for icebreakers, weekly reflections, and mini-presentations. Great for remote learning and building community.
• Kapwing: Collaborative online image and video editor with a cloud storage workspace. Great for teachers making video materials or lessons to send to students or students to work on group projects. Free pro licenses are being offered here.

Janelle Buchler: Whole Child Consultant (janelle.buchler@jcisd.org)

Eric Swihart: Whole Child Coordinator (eric.swihart@jcisd.org)

Caitlin Williams: Attendance and Homeless Program Coordinator (caitlin.williams@jcisd.org)

Rebecca Hurst: Behavior Health Project Coordinator (rebecca.hurst@jcisd.org)

Kelsea Jabkiewicz: Data Integration and Medicaid Cost Recovery Coordinator (kelsea.jabkiewicz@jcisd.org)

Angela Maddox: Whole Child Secretary (angela.maddox@jcisd.org)