From Sean Reinhart
Happy Friday Special Educators!
So much has happened this week. Each day seemed like a week in itself!
It was great to see many of you during our Q and A session on Tuesday. We hope to provide another Q and A session toward the end of next week when we have a better idea of how the developing CDL program will look. How we proceed with SPED services will depend on the number of students participating and at which levels. Thanks in advance for your positive thinking and helping develop solutions to this unique challenge. Also, this week saw our special educators receive their first dose of vaccines. Big shout out to Tami Pike and Julianne Repmann for their work behind the scenes to make this happen.
Go out and enjoy the spring like weather for this MLK long weekend. I’ll leave you with 2 quotes that are 70 years old, but so meaningful today.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
– Martin Luther King Jr.
From Josh Marks
Certified Special Programs Staff,
We are happy to be able to hire 6 Instructional/Curriculum Coaches within special programs. Staff in this position will receive an extra duty contract for $625 for the remainder of this school year and $1250 for next year as these are two-year positions. Staff who are selected to be part of this team will work with Special Programs leadership on future planning around professional development and the direction of the department. If you are interested, please submit a no more than one page essay describing why you would like to hold the position as well as one reference. Send these to Candy Gelatt in HR by February 12th. Interviews will be held after finalist are selected. To access a job description and a reference form click here.
For additional questions please feel free to reach out to me…Josh Marks
From Behavior Coaches
TAKE A MINUTE TO MAKE SPACE FOR YOURSELF
Looking for a quick way to ground yourself? Relax, and slow things down with the help of the Breathe Bubble. Just take a minute and plug in this video.
Helping Students and Educators Recover from Covid Trauma
Wondering how we are going to recover from the Covid Trauma as students and educators return to the classroom? Find answers and more in this great article on how to support the emotional well-being of both educators and students so that both healing and learning can begin.
CASEL SEL TOOLS – As Students Head Back To School
As we begin to transition from distance learning back to in-person learning, SEL remains as important as ever. This is the perfect time to re-examine our efforts to make needed adjustments and refocus on supportive relationships, equitable environments, and the academic, social, and emotional development and overall well-being of all students and adults.
ODE New Mental Health Resources: Mental health refers to the emotional, social, cognitive, behavioral, physical and relational thriving of individuals and systems. The Oregon Department of Education has recently created 2 valuable resources that are designed to assist school district leaders, administrators, staff, school-based mental health professionals and community partners in promoting the mental health and well-being of school communities.
The first resource, ODE Mental HealthTool Kit addresses six, primary content areas: (1) Leading from Strength to Promote Mental Health; (2) Addressing Traumatic Stress; (3) Elevating Student Voice; (4) Centering Racial Equity and Anti-racism; (5) Promoting Inclusive School Environments; and (6) Delivering Multi-tiered Systems of Support.
The second resource, ODE Mental Health and Well-Being Page includes information about ODE’s current mental health-related activities and initiatives such as Adi’s Act (suicide prevention) and the Strengthening Mental Health in Education initiative with OHA, as well as providing many tools and resources for students, families, school staff and leaders.
”Tier 1 and More” Blog
The Behavior Coaches blog is full of resources for PBIS, Social-Emotional Learning, Trauma-Informed Practices and more.