TheMarch 2019

ConnectorOur focus is on serving you!

76 Plaza Blvd • PO Box 850 • Kearney, NE 68848-0850 • Ph: 308.237.5927 • Fax: 308.237.5920 • www.esu10.org

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A Message From Dr. Wheelock

Since high school state basketball is quickly approaching, a quote by John Wooden came to mind that sums up our recent weather, “Flexibility is the key to stability.” Rescheduling and restructuring our plans, activities, and meetings can be difficult, however I have been so impressed by the flexibility displayed by our member schools and ESU 10 staff members. This “can-do” attitude is certainly key in providing stability in the educational opportunities we offer our students.

Due to our winter weather, we have had to reschedule many of our annual school district meetings. The goal of these meetings is to “partner with stakeholders to meet changing needs through professional expertise in providing services, learning opportunities, and sup-port.” Currently, our ESU 10 team has met representatives from 21 member schools. All 33 ESU 10 school meetings have been scheduled, and they will be completed by early March.

These meetings provide the feedback we need to guide us in using our resources to best serve our schools’ distinct needs. We also use the information gathered from these meetings to drive the budget process, as we align our resources with the identified needs. The annual visits have reinforced the quality of our member schools and their leadership teams. I feel blessed to be a part of the dedicated ESU 10 team that continues to impresses me with their steadfast focus of serving others.

I recently had an opportunity to join our team of Nebraska ESU administrators at a Legislative Day with Nebraska State Senators in Lincoln. We were able to highlight the programs and services that are offered throughout Nebraska. I would like to thank our Senators and their staff members for taking time out of their hectic schedules to come visit with us. We appreciate their leadership and commitment to education in our great state.

Thank you again for your flexibility that helps provide our students with educational stability! We enjoy our relationships and teamwork with all of our schools. GO 10!

76 Plaza Blvd • PO Box 850 • Kearney, NE 68848-0850 • Ph: 308.237.5927 • Fax: 308.237.5920 • www.esu10.org

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ESU 10 Workshops

CC0 Public Domain

March 04 Academic Quiz Bowl Grades 6-8

05 World Language Cadre 06 Grades 6-12 Math Professional Learning Network

06 Mapping Your Success Career Curriculum Training

06 K-5 Math Professional Learning Network

06 CRDC Report Workday

11 7 Topic Zoom Series: Leading Continuous Improvement

12 CIP Technical Assistance Follow-up (Years1-5)

13 PowerSchool - PowerScheduler Prepare to Build

13 ESU 10 Superintendent Meeting

14 Social Studies Workshop

14 Fierce Conversations 25 Academic Quiz Bowl Grades 9-12

28 Assessment for MTSS Social Emotional Behavior, Session 3

76 Plaza Blvd • PO Box 850 • Kearney, NE 68848-0850 • Ph: 308.237.5927 • Fax: 308.237.5920 • www.esu10.org

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The Early Development Network (EDN) provides early intervention services for families with children birth to age three with developmental delays and/or health care needs. Our program connects families with needed services and provides ongoing support. EDN has caring and professional Services Coordinators to serve families with an individu-alized and strengths based focus. These services are free to families and we welcome anyone who may have questions or concerns. If you are concerned about a child’s development or know someone who is please call EDN (308)237-2280 at ESU 10 for services in Region 10 or 1(888)806-6287 for referrals throughout Nebraska. If you are unsure which EDN office serves your area please call (308)237-2280 and we are happy to assist you in finding your best contact person.

To learn more about our program please visit esu10.org and choose the EDN tab in English or Spanish or visit edn.ne.gov.

Celebrating the Week of the Young Child by LaRae Flood, EDN Team Leader

CC0 Public Domain

http://esu10.orghttp://edn.ne.gov

76 Plaza Blvd • PO Box 850 • Kearney, NE 68848-0850 • Ph: 308.237.5927 • Fax: 308.237.5920 • www.esu10.org

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Cultivating Resilience by Theresa Ritta-Olson, T & L Coordinator

There is a moment between stimulus and response that demonstrates our resilience. Every day, educa-tors face many moments between something that happens and how they respond. Each moment, by itself, may seem like a minor inconvenience but when compiled can lead to exhaustion, overreaction, and even burnout.

Starting May 31, ESU 10 will be offering a year-long course to support teachers that would like to build their resilience. All participants will receive Elena Aguilar’s books, Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators and the Onward Workbook. Once a month participants will meet either in person, at ESU 10, or con-nect using the video-conferencing platform, Zoom. Every month will have a new theme that will aid educators in their self-care journey. Participants will also brainstorm and share ideas for using the themes with students.

This course is also an opportunity for educators to receive graduate-level college credit through Hastings College. Each semester (summer, fall, and spring) will be worth one credit. Therefore, participants can choose to earn either 1, 2, or 3 credits for this class.

For more information on this course and to register, go to bit.ly/CRregESU10. Also, check out Elena Aguilar’s site, Onwardthebook.com, and follow her on Twitter, @brightmorningtm.

This year-long experience will focus on the habits and dis-positions of individual resilience. If we cultivate resilience in teachers, students will thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

CC0 Public Domain

http://bit.ly/CRregESU10http://Onwardthebook.commailto:@brightmorningtm.

76 Plaza Blvd • PO Box 850 • Kearney, NE 68848-0850 • Ph: 308.237.5927 • Fax: 308.237.5920 • www.esu10.org

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MTSS for Social Emotional Behavioral Well-Being by Patrice Feller, MTSS Facilitator/Coach

Continued on next page

Adults frequently lament “kids aren’t what they used to be.” They share the perception that childhood experiences may be more traumatic these days. In addition, the influence of social media appears to be changing youth patterns of socializing and entertain-ing. Some would argue that many factors interact negatively with the development of social emotional development and behavioral well-being of our students. It is easy to understand that education suffers when students are affected by these factors.

It is also understandable that these factors influence the career readiness of our children. When asked what skills they value in employees, employers often list “soft skills” as more important than academic skills. The term “soft skills” typically refers to social emotional skills and behaviors. According to The Conference Board report, the top five valued skills are (in order of importance):

1. Professionalism/work ethic2. Teamwork/collaboration3. Oral communications4. Ethics/social responsibility5. Reading comprehension (in English)

Mental health is synonymous with social emotional and behav-ioral well-being. ESU 10 MTSS supports both the development of academic and social emotional and behavioral well-being (or mental health). A parallel with multi-tiered system of supports can be made between the two. In the academic world, educators start with assessments to determine what the students know or do not know, provide solid instruction, apply effective instructional practices, use research-based interventions, monitor progress, and make data-based decisions. In the social emotional behavioral realm, effective educators start with assessments to determine what the students know or do not know, provide solid instruction, apply effective instructional practices, use research-based interventions, monitor progress, and make data-based decisions. Educators actually do know what to do to promote students’ social emotional and behavioral development, but many have not thought of the parallel with academic instruction and supports. Children learn social behavior in ways simi-lar to the way they learn academic skills; thus, teachers can teach social skills using a similar approach.

When our struggle with social skills or behavior challenges, educators sometimes throw up their hands and say, “What do we do?” It seems they are less than confident in knowing how to promote students’ social emotional well-being. They equate social emotional well-being with mental illness which, understandably, they are not trained to address. While mental health is another way to define social emotional and behavioral well-being, mental illness is only the negative extreme of poor development of mental health, just as a specific learning disability is the negative extreme of poor development of academic achievement.

Some ESU 10 schools are beginning to focus on their multi-tiered system of supports for social emotional and behav-ioral development. Educators in these schools are beginning to take collaborative responsibility for meeting students’ academic and behavior or social emotional needs. Competence in academic skills is important to social emotional development and vice versa. To achieve both competencies, schools are advised to establish universal supports for all students. Individualized supports are then built on those universal practices for students who have greater needs. When schools focus on this area of improvement, the teachers’ collective efficacy improves and they begin to learn that they can make a difference in developing students’ mental health.

76 Plaza Blvd • PO Box 850 • Kearney, NE 68848-0850 • Ph: 308.237.5927 • Fax: 308.237.5920 • www.esu10.org

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MTSS for Social Emotional Behavioral Well-Being (Continued)

What universal supports are helpful in promoting both academic and social emotional and behavioral development? Effective educators start by relating to students--intentionally working to establish and then to maintain positive relationships. However, when something occurs to damage a relationship, educators consciously and systematically work to restore relationships with their students. They are informed about the effects of trauma and practices needed to lessen the consequences of adverse childhood experiences. They know that a school’s positive culture and climate can balance the instructional needs of their students.

On one hand, teachers work to create positive behavior supports (PBIS) that increase the probability of student suc-cess. They intentionally design the physical arrangement of space and materials to benefit student achievement. In ad-dition, educators develop routines and schedules to maximize the effectiveness of their instruction. Finally, the struc-ture of the learning environment includes physical cues and verbal prompts for student completion of expectations. Next, effective educators develop clear and positively stated schoolwide and classroom behavioral expectations that are modeled, taught, practiced with guidance, monitored and corrected as needed. When students use and then master these expectations, they are consistently acknowledged.

On the other hand, adults teach social emotional learning com-petencies suggested by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning: - awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Students who struggle with the use of the expectations or com-petencies are provided with corrective instruction. Students who continue problem behaviors are given systematic and consistent corrective opportunities to learn.

In a meta-analysis of research conducted to determine the effec-tiveness of instruction in SEL, the following outcomes have been found: • 9% improvement in attitudes about self, others and school• 23% improvement in social and emotional skills• 9% improvement in classroom behavior• 11% improvement in achievement test scores• 9% decrease in conduct problems• 10% decrease in emotional distress

It is with a foundation of positive culture and climate and an instructional balance between providing positive behavioral supports and social emotional learning that students’ mental health will be developed.

76 Plaza Blvd • PO Box 850 • Kearney, NE 68848-0850 • Ph: 308.237.5927 • Fax: 308.237.5920 • www.esu10.org

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