For years, districts have been working to develop and implement a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) in the area of academics. Another essential component of a MTSS framework that has been gaining more momentum from districts since the pandemic is social-emotional behavioral learning (SEBL). Throughout the past year, we have fielded an increased number of requests for providing training to school staff in SEBL supports for students. One way to address these requests is to ensure that at ESU 10 we are offering a continuum of layered supports to meet districts’ needs.
This year the Teaching and Learning (T&L) Department has collaborated with the Special Education Department to create a Social Emotional Behavioral Committee that meets monthly to review what is being done to support districts in the area of SEBL and to ensure that we are providing a continuum of supports to our stakeholders. The vision of the SEBL Committee is to promote a collaborative culture which will advance professional growth, build capacity, and develop and maintain consistency in the use of evidenced-based practices in the area of Social-Emotional Behavior Learning. Individuals that are a part of this committee include T&L Coordinators, a Special Education Coordinator, a School Psychologist, and a Licensed Mental Health Practitioner.
As a result of these collaboration efforts, we are excited to be partnering to hold a two-day Mental Health Summit in July to support district teams with building and enhancing their MTSS framework of support in the area of mental health and social-emotional behavior learning. Throughout the school year, team members from the T&L and Special Education Departments will continue to offer support to districts that attend the Mental Health Summit to build the capacity of their staff and system with addressing mental health and social-emotional behavioral needs.
Another exciting opportunity that we are offering districts as part of our SEBL support, is a training for K-12 staff by a national organization called Safe and Civil Schools. The two-day training titled, “CHAMPS: A Positive and Proactive Approach to Classroom Management/Discipline in the Secondary Classroom” is a proactive, positive, and instructional approach to classroom management. Teachers will learn how to teach students to behave in a responsible manner, improve behavior in transitions, reduce off-task behavior during instruction and independent work, and use positive feedback and consequences more effectively.
These two training opportunities are just a couple of different ways that we are supporting districts with building capacity of their staff to meet the increasing SEBL needs of students. We look forward to continued collaboration and partnership between the T&L and Special Education Departments through the SEBL Committee to continue to enhance our services to meet the growing mental health and social-emotional behavioral needs of our stakeholders.