Safe School Ambassadors

For my item of interest, I chose to write about  the Safe School Ambassadors (SSA)  program used to stop bullying in the school. This program helps students to take an active role supporting other students who may be teased at a given moment. The staff members give these tools to popular students who may have the greater social influence to reach out to vulnerable isolated students.  This immediate intervention is quicker and often more effective than conflict resolution. While the popular students may mentor the other students, they are observant of  their peers' risky behaviors and sudden changes of behavior. There have been results where there is less wasted time disciplining troublesome students when school administrations implemented this program.

The Safe School Ambassadors program is one of many anti-bullying measures that are successful at stopping students from hurting one another. There are many times of bullying that consist of cyberbullying, under the radar, as well as mistreatment of LGBT individuals. I would like to incorporate this program in the future. Rather than assigning students to be ambassadors, I want to have them volunteer for the positions.This can be an afterschool activity where the students can foster new friendships and partnerships with others.  I want to foster a positive atmosphere inside and outside of the classroom for all students.

http://community-matters.org/programs-and-services/safe-scho

ol-ambassadors

Mandalas

While struggling to get a student comfortable in my office, I recalled how in our first meeting together she shared her love of art with me. I recalled how last year in my placement when I was working with an individual, we used Mandalas. While working with my student this year, we both looked at our art while talking and as a result, she began to open up. She did not have to make that eye contract while talking with me, and I believe that really helped her feel more comfortable in sessions. We no longer need to use the art as a place to get comfortable, but it was amazing to see how quickly she chanced when she was able to do something she loved that was also a soothing activity.

Research suggests that Mandalas reduce anxiety, so while working with an extremely anxious student, this is a good activity especially when starting to get to know each other. This activity fits into the School Social Work Model because this activity is evidence based, and I am using it to provide mental health services. It was evident when leaving that session, my student was less anxious about meeting with me, and as a result, we have had extremely effective sessions. I highly recommend doing Mandalas or any type of art therapy with your students when you can sense some anxiety, it is a simple activity that may help your student relax, and it is fun!

Second Step

The item of interest that I chose is Second Step Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Program. Programs are available for grades as young as pre-kindergarten through 8^th grade with each program being tailored for the grade that it is being used for. Second Step also provides anti-bullying and child protection programs as well. The program I specifically focused on was the Second Step SEL for elementary students. I chose this program because it is evidence based and it is endorsed by the Department of Education as being proven to decrease behavior problems in students. This program would fall under the home-school-community linkages in the school social work model.

            Each grade gets their own customized boxes. All the boxes contain lessons that explain the concepts, objectives, and preparation needed. The lessons clearly lay out what is intended to be done during each session. This can include watching a short video, listening to a story, or playing a game. Second Step SEL is intended to have one lesson be worked on for five days. The first day the initial lesson is taught, such as empathy, listening with attention, and being assertive. The following four days are intended to practice what was taught in the initial day or what Second Step calls “follow through.” The programs also consist of materials to be sent home with the students. The parents are provided with activities and information on the lesson that is being taught that week, so that they can reinforce and work on those lessons at home as well. The programs also come with resource DVDs and online materials, including Spanish translations, for the teachers to use to supplement the lessons.

www.secondstep.org 

StreetLight Chicago homeless youth

Rebecca Zavala

StreetLight Chicago

StreetLight Chicago is a new app created for adolescents experiencing homelessness in the city of Chicago. This application was created by the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. This new app provides up-to-date information on shelters, health clinics, emergency contacts, education and job placement, food programs, mental health services and more. This app was created from a focus group conducted on what did youth experiencing homelessness need? The app was created for youth so it is user friendly. The app has a map and provides locations for resources nearby and how to navigate to those locations. Through the app, you can book a bed for the night at a shelter. The app is helpful in that it is a “one-stop shop” for many resources.

This app will be helpful and we can share with our students. I think this app would be great for teenagers. This can also be beneficial in giving our students a sense of empowerment and providing them with this resource and hopefully they can seek services easily through the app. I also appreciate that the creators really tailored it to adolescents. This application would fall under the core competency five: Advance human rights and social and economic justice. Our students have basic human rights, such as freedom, safety, privacy, an adequate standard of living. We are the advocate for the student and it is our responsibility to provide and inform our students of resources available to them.  

http://www.streetlightchicago.org/

Zones of Regulation Curriculum

          The item of interest that I have chosen is the Zones of Regulation curriculum. As social workers in the school setting, we encounter many students that in some way struggle with regulating their emotions. Self-regulation is something that everyone, whether we are aware of it or not, are continually working on. Many of us have the ability to recognize when we may be feeling less regulated and are able to manage our own feelings to get to a calm state. For a lot of us, this comes naturally but for others such as many of our students, the skill of being able to manage our own emotions needs to be taught and practiced. Originally, the curriculum was created for students diagnosed with things such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), Tourette syndrome, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), conduct disorder, selective mutism, and anxiety disorders. These are all diagnoses that we encounter daily as school social workers. However, the curriculum is now said to be able to reach a much broader population, the zones can benefit everyone, not just students.

            The Zones help teach self-regulation by categorizing the various ways we feel by putting the emotions into four different colored zones. By categorizing our emotions into four colored zones, we help students become more aware of how they are feeling and by identifying how they are feeling they can learn more skills as to how to help manage these emotions. The red zone describes emotions such as anger or rage. The yellow zone describes emotions such as frustrated, anxiety, silliness, or nervousness. The green zone describes a calm state when a person may feel happy, focused, or content. Finally, the blue zone describes low alertness and feelings of sadness, boredom, or tiredness. Each zone contains emotions that are totally natural, but depending on the environment that the emotions are being experienced, they may need to be managed. This curriculum teaches students to use strategies to move zones, such as moving from red to green. The curriculum offers 18 complete lessons to work with the students on. My supervisor explained to me that although some of the lessons may seem repetitive and that we are saying the same thing over and over, that by the end of the curriculum that you will start to notice a difference with the students. Although the curriculum is fairly expensive my supervisor has told me that it is extremely worthwhile. 

Kuypers, L. M., & Winner, M. G. (2011). The zones of regulation: a curriculum designed to foster self-regulation and emotional control. Santa Clara, CA: Think Social Publishing,Inc.

Bounce back
https://bouncebackprogram.org

Bounce Back is a school-based group intervention for elementary students who were exposed to stressful and traumatic events Designed to be administered by clinicians, Bounce Back is based on Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma inn Schools or CBITS. Bounce back trainings can be done completely online; the training offers multiple lectures that outline the curriculum in specific details. Once you complete all lessons you have access to all the material, resources, and activities all planned out and ready to use with students specifically in the school setting and dealing with trauma. This program is laid out in 10 sessions, which include individual, parent and group sessions. The purpose of Bounce Back is to teach students ways to cope with and recover from traumatic events, helping them go back to their routine of doing what they want and need to do. The Bounce Back program is appropriate for children and families of diverse ethnic and social backgrounds.  The training is intended to teach the adult the process of the program from the initial interview and screener, to the lessons and activities and eventually “graduating” from the program.  The program is free; however, it will take you a couple of hours to complete the whole training, and it can be done in more than one sitting. I encourage everyone to check it out and complete the training to help build your social work resources. 


https://bouncebackprogram.org