Mental Health Team Update

Each month the Keystone AEA Mental Health Team will highlight some of our favorite resources and professional development opportunities.

The Trauma-Sensitive Classroom: Building Resilience With Compassionate Teaching

From the author of Mindfulness for Teachers, a guide to supporting trauma-exposed students.

Fully half the students in U.S. schools have experienced trauma, violence, or chronic stress. In the face of this epidemic, it falls increasingly to teachers to provide the adult support these students need to function in school. But most educators have received little training to prepare them for this role.

In her new book, Tish Jennings—an internationally recognized leader in the field of social and emotional learning—shares research and experiential knowledge about the practices that support students' healing, build their resilience, and foster compassion in the classroom. In Part I, Jennings describes the effects of trauma on body and mind, and how to recognize them in students' behavior. In Part II, she introduces the trauma-sensitive practices she has implemented in her work with schools. And in Part III, she connects the dots between mindfulness, compassion, and resilience. Each chapter contains easy-to-use, practical activities to hone the skills needed to create a compassionate learning environment.

Forward Families Forward 3-Part Videos Series for Families and Educators

Forward Families Forward has put together a 3-part video series for families and educators. The videos are brief (under 10 minutes) and have supporting resources. All are very current and include parent, student and educator perspectives.

The videos are as follows:

• Part 1: Understanding Trauma
• Part 2: Responding to Trauma
• Part 3: Trauma Sensitive Schools

The videos can be found here and the support resources are here.

Real Talk for Real Teachers

This is a new bi-monthly podcast from Conscious Discipline creator Dr. Becky Bailey. Dr. Becky Bailey and guests discuss social-emotional learning and classroom management. Podcast episodes are available at: https://consciousdiscipline.com/e-learning/podcast/

This collection of resources was developed and reviewed by a team of Parent Centers across the United States. The collection was updated in November. It includes helpful videos, infographics, fact sheets and more.

Topics include:

• Basic Information About Trauma
  
• What is Trauma-Informed Care?
  
• Trauma and Specific Populations
  
• Building Trauma-Informed Schools
  
• Responding to Disasters
  

The link to the collection is here.

It's a 2-for-1 combo!

We're combining KPEC (Keystone's Premier Education Conference) and our TSS (Trauma Sensitive Schools) Conference into one for 2019. #ALLIN conference attendees will be able to choose from a variety of sessions to improve instruction, student learning, and teacher thinking within the context of a trauma-sensitive school. Hands-on sessions will be offered, allowing educators to actually experience and practice. Recertification credit is available.

Pete Hall and Kristen Sauers will be our Keynote Speakers on June 25th. Pete and Kristen have written "Fostering Resilient Learners."

To view the full listing of our professional development opportunities and their descriptions, please click here.