In partnership with the Hennepin County be@school truancy prevention program, CASCW developed a two-part webinar series in place of the annual in-person conference that is typically held each Summer. This two-part series featured key topics facing students, families, school staff, and child welfare staff in Minnesota. This series was originally presented on August 10 & 17, 2021.
Part One
Return to school in the Fall
Staff from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) share guidance regarding school attendance and school engagement as schools begin the 2021-2022 school year during, what everyone hopes, will be the tail end of the pandemic.
Panel Discussion featuring School Leaders | How to re-engage this school year
While the pandemic is not over, many schools are returning to a more traditional in person model for the fall. Leaders from a variety of schools discuss how they plan to re-engage students. Panelists reflect on how to get students physically back into the building if they did distance learning most, or all, of last year. They consider how to reconnect as a school community in the fall.
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- Mauri Friestleben, MPS North High School Principal
- Tonya Allen, District 287 Director of Mental Health and Family Engagement
- Carl Schlueter, Seven Hills Preparatory Academy
- Ellen Vanden Branden, Hiawatha Academy
Part Two
Brandon Jones, MA, Executive Director of Minnesota Association for Children’s Mental Health (MACMH)
Using Sustainable Wellness to Move Beyond the Pandemic Woes
Educators and Families are counting the days until we return to the “new normal” for school — We are not “out” of the pandemic yet, and we are moving toward academic instruction in person. A year and a half since the effects of COVID started. Many people are wondering, how have we survived? what has happened to our young children? Will this ever end? Professionals who support families must recognize how untoward events like the COVID pandemic, racial unrest, and uncertainty have activated changes and cause many effects. Making sense of these family and community changes and helping educators, students, and families to adapt and anticipate what’s here and what’s ahead will be the focus of this talk.
Judy Brown, Program Manager, Minneapolis Public Schools Mental Health Support Services Manager
Minneapolis Strong – Engaging Our Heads, Hearts and Hands
The mental health needs of students are increasingly complicated, especially as school staff are pulled in multiple directions. Minneapolis Public Schools is one of the most diverse schools within Hennepin County, serving close to 35,000 students. Judy Brown, Manager of Mental Health Services will discuss the importance of the 3E’s: Eradicating the stigma of mental health, and how the District’s multi-tiered levels of mental health support is designed to Educate and Engage students, staff and families about mental health “stressors”. Ms. Brown will discuss how the current events in Minneapolis (and around the world) have had an impact on one’s mental health. She will discuss how MPS promotes mental wellbeing by engaging ones heads, hearts and hands. Ms. Brown will also share tangible materials/tools and resources that can be used to support one’s mental health during these times of uncertainty.
