Students, families, and educators are currently navigating unprecedented stressors related to COVID-19 and other local and national events that significantly impact well-being and engagement with schools. As states, districts and schools plan for reopening in a variety of ways, supporting student mental health has never been more critical.
The National Center for Safe Supportive Learning Environments (NCSSLE) is pleased to offer the second Bringing Into Focus webinar to support K-12 school systems as they identify and address the mental health needs of students in the 2020-2021 school year.
The first webinar, held in August, illuminated challenges related to supporting students’ immediate mental health needs in today’s unique circumstances as schools reopen. National experts in school mental health considered how schools can: carry out appropriate check-in and screening approaches to inform schoolwide practices and indicated mental health programming; and work with community partners to arrange “ready capacity” to address the most serious mental health needs students will likely present. This second webinar focused on the essential purposes of school mental health programming at each of the three tiers—universal, targeted and indicated—and will share best practices at each level to support students as they return to school, whether they do so on-line/virtually, through physical attendance in school buildings, or a hybrid/combination of both. Presenters discussed key components of comprehensive school mental health programs, both in-person and from a distance, to ensure that school systems have the right supports needed to meet the mental health needs of all students this school year.
The webinar is applicable to state, district, and building-level administrators, teachers, and specialized instructional support personnel working to foster students’ well-being as schools re-open. The webinar featured examples, tools, and resources to support re-engagement in school.
The webinar included the following presenters:
- Sandra Williamson, Director, National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments
- Nancy Lever, Ph.D., Co-Director, National Center for School Mental Health
- Sharon Hoover, Ph.D., Co-Director, National Center for School Mental Health