Student Mental Health This School Year

 

Student mental health must be a priority this school year. Mental Health America recognizes the profound impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on youth mental health. Therefore, as students across the country return to their classrooms, we know we must prioritize their mental health and emotional well-being so that they can thrive in and out of the school setting.  Today, MHA launches our annual Back to School Toolkit to give parents, teachers, and school personnel the tools and resources they need to support their children’s mental health. This school year brings increased fear and trauma for many students after more than a year away from in-person learning. This year’s toolkit, Facing Fears, Supporting Students, is full of hands-on materials that can help students navigate all the emotions and challenges of the new school year.  This year’s toolkit includes: Fact sheets for parents/teachers Fact sheets for children/teens Key messages and statistics A sample drop-in article; Sample social media post language and images; Worksheets; and more! Download the free toolkit today to start implementing these resources in your home, classroom, or entire school community.  Download the Toolkit

PROMOTING YOUTH VACCINATIONS

 PROMOTING YOUTH VACCINATIONS

 

The Return to School Roadmap builds on the President’s call to increase COVID-19 vaccinations among adolescents as students return to school.  Vaccinations are the leading public health strategy to end the pandemic.  They are also the best way to prevent outbreaks, so students can return to and remain in classrooms. 

Last week, among other new actions to get Americans vaccinated and slow the spread of the delta variant, the President called on school districts nationwide to hold at least one pop-up vaccination clinic over the coming weeks, and the Administration directed pharmacies participating in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program to prioritize youth vaccinations and host clinics at schools and postsecondary institutions. 

This week, the Administration announced additional actions to help kids go back to school safely, including:

• Incorporating COVID-19 vaccination into sports physicals for student athletes this summer and fall, with the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, and 10 other sports and medicine organizations issuing a consensus statement to all their members urging medical providers to ask about COVID-19 vaccine status during sports physicals, and, where available, administer the COVID-19 vaccine.
• Sending pediatricians to “Back to School Nights” to get communities vaccinated against COVID-19, with the National PTA calling on its 22,000 local member PTAs and parent leaders nationwide to host community conversations about getting vaccinated at Back to School parent meetings.
• Providing schools with more resources to host pop-up vaccine clinics as students return to school, with a guide for hosting school-based clinics, template letters and text messages for school leaders to use in sending messages home for students and families about the vaccine, resources for teachers to use in discussing vaccines with students and parents, and materials parent leaders can use as part of community conversations on the vaccine.
• Providing institutions with more resources to host pop-up vaccine clinics as students return to campus, with a “Vax to School” College Checklist to increase awareness of and access to the vaccine -- following the nearly 900 colleges in the COVID-19 College Challenge that have committed to building vaccination rates.
• Launching a Back to School “Week of Action” (August 7-15) to get more young people vaccinated, with more than 90 youth groups, faith-based organizations, and schools hosting over 200 events and supportive canvassing, phone banks, and text banks.

Ohio PTA / ODE Parent Academy – Welcome Back to School!

 

 

You are invited to a Zoom webinar.

When: Sep 13, 2021, 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Topic:  Ohio PTA / ODE Parent Academy – Welcome Back to School!

Ohio PTA in Partnership with Ohio's Department of Education invites you to join us for a Welcome Back to School discussion with our guest panelists, State Superintendent, Paolo DeMaria, and Deputy Superintendent, John Richard.

 

Please register in advance for this webinar TODAY:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_d-4JgbK3RMKiEuttmSgFlg

 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

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Paolo DeMaria (Superintendent of Public Instruction, Ohio Department of Education)

Colleagues know Paolo DeMaria as a passionate leader, a tireless worker, a respectful listener and an energetic advocate for Ohio’s 1.7 million students. All are qualities he has called on daily during his tenure as Ohio’s superintendent of public instruction. His proudest accomplishment is the Ohio Department of Education’s partnership with stakeholders to develop Each Child, Our Future, Ohio’s strategic plan for education. He devotes his energy to realizing Ohio’s vision that each child is challenged to discover and learn, prepared to pursue a fulfilling post-high school path and empowered to become a resilient, lifelong learner who contributes to society. Mr. DeMaria believes that everyone shares the responsibility of preparing children for successful futures. With educators, partners, community organizations and parents working together, Ohio’s 3,600 schools and thousands of teachers can create bright futures for our students and state.

 

John Richard (Deputy Superintendent, Ohio Department of Education)

Mr. Richard believes every Ohio school and district should have outstanding leaders. Fueling that conviction are more than 10 years of experience as a part-time instructor in the University of Akron’s school principalship program and 30 years of field experience ranging from classroom teacher to district superintendent. As a district leader, he saw steady gains in student performance from 2005-2013.

As deputy superintendent of Ohio schools, Richard works closely with the four primary program centers of the Ohio Department of Education. The centers oversee all initiatives related to student supports, continuous improvement, performance and impact, and teaching, leading and learning. Richard continues to focus on leadership development by overseeing ongoing professional development sessions for the Department’s senior leaders. Richard speaks frequently to Ohio education groups about the critical impact of excellent educational leadership both on students’ lives and Ohio’s future.

 

ODE RELEASES RETURN TO SCHOOL ROADMAP

On August 3, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) released the "Return to School Roadmap," which is a resource designed to support students, schools, educators, and their communities as districts prepare to return to in-person learning in the fall. The Roadmap includes three "Landmark" priorities that schools, districts, and communities are encouraged to focus on in the upcoming school year.

 

These include:
(1) prioritizing the health and safety of students, staff, and educators,
(2) building school communities and supporting students' social, emotional, and mental health, and
(3) accelerating academic achievement.

 

As part of the Roadmap, DOE will release resources for practitioners and parents on each of these priorities and will highlight schools and districts that are using innovative practices to address these priorities. 

In launching the Return to School Roadmap, DOE also released:

• A fact sheet for schools, families, and communities on the Return to School Roadmap, reviewing the three "Landmark" priorities, and elevating schools and districts that are addressing each in effective ways.
• A guide for schools and districts outlining what schools can do to protect the health and safety of students, including increasing access to vaccinations and steps for implementing the CDC's recently updated K-12 school guidance.
• A checklist that parents can use to prepare themselves and their children for a safe return to in-person learning this fall.

 

Posted by Van D. Keating on 8/3/2021

Ohio School Board Association