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Transcript of Canadian Association for School Health Inaugural Pre-conference National Community of Practice...
Canadian Association for School Health
Inaugural Pre-conference National Community of Practice
Symposium, April 21, 2008Gatineau, Quebec
Proceedings fromCreating Connections in
School Mental Health 2006
An International Symposium onProgressive Efforts in School-Based
Mental Health Programming
Goals of the Day
• Increase capacity in Alberta relevant to School Mental Health.
• Engage members of the Education sector, along with supportive allied professionals in child-serving sectors, in developmental discussions.
• Generate recommendations and record what enhanced capacity in School Mental Health could look like, regionally and provincially.
Specific Objectives
• Present information on learnings and outcomes
• Generate relevant recommendations and desired outcomes for development in Alberta
• Provide impetus for the establishment of an Alberta “Community of Practice”.
• Explore opportunities for collaboration
Participants
• 60 Alberta based front line and management level education and health/school health practitioners
• 15 Panel presenters (Alberta-based and international)
• The Importance of Infrastructure• Bridging Research to Practice• Whole School Mental Health/Universal
Prevention Programming • School-based Service Delivery• Critical Issues in Mental Health/Education
Integration
Symposium Format
• 4-5 Leaders/Practitioners in the thematic area
• 10 minutes each to highlight 3 most significant learnings, 3 most prominent outcomes
• 20 small group discussion to generate 3 recommendations and 3 potentially desirable outcomes from these recommendations
Whole School Mental Health
• or- School Mental Health in Health Promoting Schools
• or-School Mental Health within Comprehensive School Health Framework
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Panel Presenters
• Helen Butler, Mgr. Prof. Learning, Adol. Health and Social Environments, Ctre. for Adol. Health, Melbourne
• Jennifer Axelrod, Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago
• Caroline Clauss-Ehlers, Dept. Counselling Psych., Rutgers, New Jersey
• Louise Rowling, U of Sydney, Australia; President, Intercamhs
• Additional commentary by Mark Weist, Director, Center for School Mental Health, University of Maryland and Carl Paternite, Director School based Mental Health Programs, Dept.of Psych., U of Miami in Ohio
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School Environment/Ethos
Learning/Instruction
Community/Services
Whole School/ComprehensiveSchool Health
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Research
• &Practice-Unidimensional, collaborative knowledge creation, transfer & exchange
• ID innovation by single, and school based practitioners & offer resources re: evaluation and dissemination
• Action-based, built on existing structures, where possible
• Link to school reform/school change/effective schools literature
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Research (2)– Integrally involve researchers continuously– Compile provincial cost-benefit analysis of
impacts of smh in relation to key factors eg. justice, hospitalization, medical leave
– Engage teachers as reflective practitioners-just just for outside experts to do
– Collect and collate baseline & ongoing data on prevention programming to track progress
– Build data base re: school based healthy policies and practices and track changes
What we know…in Alberta (1)
• Key Issues (Advancing the Mental Health Agenda, April 2004)Service capacity and gaps, especially for childrenStigmatization and inequity-creates significant barriers
to treatmentFunding inadequacyNeed for integrated service deliveryNeed for decentralized, multi-provider service
environmentNeed to address organizational barriers to integrating
services
Research (3)
• Investigate impacts of collective efficacy/professional satisfaction/school connectedness (of students and school staff) on school climate and connectedness with academic success and well-being.
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Policy
• Make Social Emotional Learning a mandated component of curriculum
• Focus on prevention efforts, implementing protective factors, starting in pre-K.
• Boards of Education invest in the philosophy and make it an integral part of their mandate
• Ensure cross ministerial policy and resources to promote and support collaboration at all levels
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Training
• Integrate into mh promotion initiatives to reduce stigma to staff, students and community
• PD for teachers on mh and mh promotion essential:– connection between education and mh– role of educators in mh prevention and
promotion– understanding of issues, responses,
resources and self-care 15
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Training (2)
• Pre-service training• Resources to support school communities
to learn from and share with each other in expertise and successful approaches
• Cross-sectoral training, co-developed and co-delivered
• Systematically provide structured opportunities for school staff to reflect on how everyday practice promotes mh
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Practice
• Adapt and implement developed whole school mh promotion approaches eg Mind Matters, Gatehouse Project (Australia)
• Integrate knowledge and practice regarding academic and non-academic barriers to learning and cognitive functioning
• More school-friendly, school based support across the continuum
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Practice (2)
• Re: whole school practice-review existing “templates” for programming and services and re-educate stakeholders re: their implementation, emphasizing flexibility to meet the needs of various settings and cultures
• Develop processes which help parents to be heard rather than blamed
• Build on the concepts within “healthy school communities”-use consistent language
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Practice (3)
• Focus on whole school community, including students and all adults
• Develop a community of practice regionally, provincially, and beyond
• Listen to the ideas of educators, students and community members, and involve them in solution finding
• Enlist media involvement• Create safe environments for discussion
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Gloria Wells
• Director, Collaborative Initiatives, Rocky View School Division, Airdrie, Alberta
• Executive Director, Wellsprings Education and Human Service Consulting, Calgary, Alberta
• Contact: [email protected] or