Session Descriptions
Opening Speaker
Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPHP
Dr. Jha is a physician, health policy researcher, and the third Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. Before joining Brown, he was the K.T. Li Professor of Global Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Director of the Harvard Global Health Institute (HGHI).
WellCheq: A Quick Morning Check-in For Student Wellness
Facilitated by Jodi Miller
This session will focus on the importance of student wellbeing, why we need to measure it, and how we can do just that. As teachers know firsthand, student wellbeing is related to attendance, engagement, and achievement. After a brief review of how stress can make it difficult for students to learn, we will discuss the value of understanding the emotional wellbeing of our learners. Participants will then learn about WellCheq, a new tool for checking in with students, as well as ways they can utilize the data collected by the app. The goal of this session is to demonstrate the value of this type of tool and how educators can use wellbeing data to support learners and meet their needs.
SEL and ARTS Integration in the Elementary School Classroom
Facilitated by Danielle Singh and Kristen Beland
In this session participants will engage with both a classroom and arts educators to discuss the importance of bringing the social and emotional needs of every student to the forefront of learning. This session will help explain how art directly impacts a students wellness, while how to integrate art and SEL into the core curriculum.
The 401 of the 411: Children’s Crisis Services in Rhode Island
Facilitated by Don Laliberte
Have you ever wondered what happens when you call 911 to send a student to the emergency room after a crisis in the classroom or at school? Or, what can the ER provide and not provide? What happens and what should you expect when you call the Kids’ Link RI hotline? What is the difference between screenings, assessments, and referrals? What does it mean when a student won’t be attending classes because they are in an “inpatient” facility, or what does a step-down program really mean? The presenter will discuss the various aspects of the children’s system of care from the emergency room, crisis clinic, partial hospitalization programs, as well as other diversionary programs and step-down care for youth and young adults in Rhode Island.
The Three B's: "Balance, Boundaries, and Breaks”
Facilitated by Evan Whitehead
In this session, Evan Whitehead will provide participants with practical and intentional mental health coping strategies to help participants navigate their everyday lives, through his Three B's Framework "Balance, Boundaries, and Breaks" which is rooted in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Mindfulness, Mindset, and Accountability. At the completion of the session each participant will have an understanding on how to implement the Three B's in their daily lives by prioritizing their overall health and well being through prevention, rather than intervention.
Suicide Is Everyone’s Business
Facilitated by Leigh Reposa
This training will provide participants with the opportunity to learn more about the QPR method - Question, Persuade, and Refer. By the end of the session participants will learn about and be able to identify risk and protective factors, myths and facts related to adolescent suicide, warning signs, how to ask questions around suicide, how to persuade a youth to get help with adults, and to whom youth can be referred for support.
Resiliency for Educators
Facilitated by Glenn Miller
Why is it that some people encounter adversity and loss and become defeated, while others adapt and grow? Why are some people able to extract something positive from even the most distressing experiences? Resiliency is that ability. COVID and all of its’ attendant changes and adaptations have impacted the working lives of educators across the country. Some have directly experienced tragedy and loss. Others have experienced the losses and tragedies of others vicariously. It all has an impact. This training explores ways to increase resiliency and reduce the damage of trauma.
The 3 Underlying Elements to Becoming a Trauma-Informed Entity
Facilitated by Karen Oliveira
The prevalence of trauma has been scientifically validated and is a core motivating factor for the need and use of trauma-informed approaches throughout diverse systems and organizations. There are many definitions for trauma-informed care and various models for implementation across disciplines. This brief workshop will address an overall definition of trauma-informed care as well as explore the three necessary components needed for becoming a culture that is, at its core, trauma-informed.