LGBTQ Inclusive Schools

http://www.welcomingschools.org/.  

Welcoming Schools is a website that provides resources for a LGBTQ and gender inclusive school. There is professional development training that they provide to elementary school educators around prevention of bias based bullying, being inclusive in schools and support of Transgender and non binary students.  They also provide resources for those working at a school.

This website provides tips for having an inclusive classroom.  For example, what could that look like and what conversations could be helpful.  They also include ideas of how to respond when a student says harmful things like, "that's so gay".  In addition, they discuss how to initiate these conversations with students who use hurtful language about gender and they give sample responses.  It gives ideas on how to navigate these conversations, which can be difficult, especially with younger students.

There are lessons on how to create an inclusive school and also how to prevent bias bullying.  Also, they mention how books can be a great tool for teaching students to be inclusive and there are lesson plans for the books. 

The HRC Welcoming Schools approach is firmly grounded in research and they also have a case study of the program’s efficacy with 12 schools.  There are numerous videos showing these lessons and the purpose of welcoming schools. This is great resource to have guidance in creating a dialogue with students and a positive environment at your school about being inclusive. It provides support in knowing how to address questions and conflict that come up in schools in order to have a safer and more welcoming school environment.

Thoughts Are Not Facts Activity

Note Card

Birds of a Feather Worksheet

 At my field placement we have a Tier 1 intervention, called Ladies Lunch.  All girls are welcomed to attend.  During ladies lunch we have snacks, do crafts, have discussions, practice mindfulness and coping strategies, and have outside speakers come in who are experts on various topics, from motivational speakers to professionals in careers the girls are interested in pursuing.  A few weeks ago we had a clinical psychologist from the Dupage Health Department come and talk to the girls.  I was really impressed by the activity she did with the girls and how well the girls responded to it, so I asked her if I could share it with my class.  I am at a high school, but I think this activity could work well with younger students and males. It could be done in individual sessions or group sessions. It is designed to be an introduction to mindfulness, focusing thoughts on the present moment, and not allowing the bad or embarrassing moments to overtake our thought processes and shape our sense of identity.

The first step of the activity is to allow students a minute to draw dots on a note card.  Next, students are given the "birds of a feather" worksheet and are asked to check off thoughts that trouble them about themselves.  They are then asked to move on to the next section and check off what thoughts often accompany those thoughts, showing that negative thoughts often "flock together."  The last section of the worksheet focuses on checking off the emotions that student's feel as a result of the negative thoughts they have about themselves.  After giving students some time to process that, she asked the students to look at their note card and compared it to all the moments in our day, week, month, year.  She explained that there are millions of moments, but we tend to hold on to the few moments where we felt embarrassed, like a failure, or less than.  For example, just because you fail one test does not mean you will fail all tests.  She explained the importance of being in the present moment and not allowing negative thoughts to hold you back.  She explained one way to get back into the present moment when students begin having negative thoughts is to just be aware of how you are feeling without any judgement.  Finally, the thoughts are not facts sheet was handed out and gone over.  Students were told to keep this in a folder or notebook and refer back to it when they begin having negative thoughts or emotions. 

Suicidal Ideations

Last Friday at my internship, we had three crises. Three students had to be evaluated because of suicidal ideations. Since this was the most overwhelmed I have ever been at the school I decided to look into some resources to help with the process. I have provided some links as resources when faced with a student that has suicidal idealizations, and we as social workers have to hospitalize them. 

The first link, I find to be the most helpful, comes from the NASW website. Under school social work tool kit, you can find many articles. When I searched suicide, this and a few other tools came up. This PDF is extremely long, however, it gives step by step tools for all suicide related situations that come up in the school. Chapter two is the chapter I focused on because that chapter has guidelines and assessment tools for going through the process of hospitalizing a student. Chapter 3 discusses what to do when a student from the school commits suicide. Chapter 4 also has resources on a few training options social workers can take to be more prepared for the time they have a suicidal student. 

            The next link is also from the NASW website. This link does not go into what to do when you have a student who has suicidal ideations in your office, but just talks about preventative measures to take within the school. The article discuses warning signs to be on the lookout for. 

            The final link is to the Illinois Department of Human Services. This page explains what SASS is, how to get in contact with SASS, and what the purpose of SASS is. The link also explains who is eligible for the SASS services. 

            All these links I have provided are great resources for school social workers to have because unfortunately many students self-harm and have suicidal ideations. It is our job to assess them, call their parents to inform them, and get the students the help and care they need. Our job in this situation is very stressful and overwhelming, which is why understanding what to do is imperative. 

https://store.samhsa.gov/shin/content//SMA12-4669/SMA12-4669.pdf

https://www.socialworkers.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=KAdzT4skAT8%3d&portalid

http://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=92597

Impulse Control

Impulse Control

Activities & Worksheets for Elementary Students

This is a great resource for kids that have ADHD or difficulties controlling their impulsive behaviors. You can get it on amazon for $35. It is titled Impulse Control: Activities and Worksheets for Elementary School Students by Tonia Caselman. This book is something I recently came across when searching through my supervisors books for something work on with a student that has ADHD. The worksheets and activities can be used for either individuals or groups. A lot of kids with ADHD have challenges with their impulsive behaviors (acting before thinking). This book has a lesson plan to teach kids how to think before acting which is super helpful for kids with these challenges. The chapters can all be easily copied and printed for use. I haven't used it yet but I am planning on using a worksheet titled "Stop and Think" for the student I am working with that has ADHD. It gives an example of a situation where the student didn't stop and think and the problem that came about when that happened. Then, it gives a blank sheet for the student to fill out a time when they didn't stop and think. It is evidence based that students with ADHD have difficulties controlling their impulsivity, so teaching a child how to help their impulsivity will help them to be more aware and allow them to learn to prevent these types of behaviors.

Item of Interest - I Love Me

Items of Interests - Art Therapy

Summary

The item of interest that I chose is an artistic therapeutic technique. It is called “I Love Me.” The purpose of this activity is for students to better their self-esteem and show them that there’s different things that represent who they are as a whole; this activity can help them love their uniqueness. This activity requires students to write down what makes them, them. They write this on the leaf and paste it to the tree (the tree trunk represents themselves). The picture below is an example however, it can be adjusted using any image of a tree and leaves. It could be as simple as the students cutting out their own tree’s and leaves.

I believe that this is a great idea to use for students who are in 4^th grade all the way to high school students. This is a great activity for student who have low self-esteem or who have feelings of anxiety. It can help show them that they are beautiful in their own unique way. This activity is fun and relaxing; who doesn’t love art?! This activity fits into the School Social Work Model because it is evidence based; art therapy has been shown to reduce feelings of anxiety and has also shown to be a form of relaxation. I have used this activity at my previous internship and the students loved it. I can’t wait to use this in one of my sessions this year.

Activity

 

McKinney-Vento Act

Resource for homeless students

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987: US law provides federal money for shelter programs for the homeless, particularly students who do not have a fixed, regular, and adequate place to sleep at night. It also provides for families who have lost their homes and need to live with friends or relatives.  The goal of the McKinney-Vento Act is to focus on students so that they are able to stay in their old school or attend a school in the area in which they may have had to relocate. During the transition of the family finding stable housing and if the student has to change schools, the student may have a difficult time transitioning and may fall behind.  According to the brochure, students can fall behind as much as 6 months with each school change.  Therefore, having stability can make a great difference in students’ academics.  The key points of the McKinney-Vento law are that children without school or medical records have the right to immediately enroll, the right to be provided with transportation to and from school if needed, and qualify for educational assistance and free lunch.  Children younger than age 5 may also qualify for educational services.

Link
https://www.isbe.net/pages/homeless.aspx

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Group activities resource

104 Activities that build: self- esteem, teamwork, communication, anger management, self-discovery, coping skills, is a book that I discovered and purchased over the summer as a resource for activities to do in any groups that I may have. The book contains game and activity ideas to address different topics. The games can encourage children to modify behavior, increase interaction with others, start discussions, address issues, and build relationships. The activities in the book are best suited for middle school and high school age students. I think it’s a great resource because most of the activities don’t require many materials and all of them have some sort of discussion piece that can be done following the activity.

The book’s author, Alanna Jones, is a certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, who has worked in psychiatric hospitals with children, adolescents, and adults. She has several other books out with therapy games and other team-building activities. These activities can help us deliver evidence-based education, behavior, and mental-health services to our students.