2019 SEL Exchange Program (Online Version)

Breakout Sessions 20 | S OCIAL & E MOTIONAL L EARNING EXCHANGE 2019 Day 1 - Thursday, October 3, 2019 Mid-Day Session 11:35am - 12:45pm Location/Room Biology Speakers Nick Yoder CASEL Linda Dusenbury CASEL Christina Mann Kansas MTSS and Alignment Pat Conner Tennessee Department of Education Martin Mueller Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (Washington) Myron Melton Kansas State Department of Education Choose Your Words Carefully: Language Can Alter the Special Education Experience and Provide Social Emotional Support to Families Session focus area: Communication Secondary focus area: Practice Topic: Parenting The Individualized Education Plan (IEP) process is intended to utilize collaboration to support each child in meeting their full potential. The deficit language often present in IEPs shifts the collaborative process away from a strengths-based approach and creates social and emotional parental stress and diminished parental involvement with the IEP process, all to the detriment of the student we intend to serve. In this session, participants take the perspective of a parent navigating a deficit-based system and experience its emotional impact on the parental mindset. We hope to begin answering the question “How can a shift in language choice better support social and emotional engagement for all stakeholders and ultimately improve student and family well-being?” Addressing Inequitable Discipline Policies and Practices Session focus area: Policy Secondary focus area: Practice Topic: Supportive discipline policies and approaches Join the Chicago Public Schools’ Office of Social and Emotional Learning as they share the policies and SEL support model that has resulted in significant reductions in the use of punitive discipline practices in Chicago schools. Participants will explore current district-level and school-based efforts to reduce inequitable discipline practices, including changing policies and promoting SEL-based best practices. Learn continuous improvement strategies that maintain an equity-focused approach to supporting school- level restorative practitioners and experience activities that form part of the professional development Chicago’s SEL team provides for school disciplinarians. Statewide Systems to Build Adult Capacity to Support SEL Session focus area: Policy Secondary focus area: Practice Topic: Promoting adult SEL As a part of any comprehensive SEL effort, teachers and other school and district staff need to learn about SEL, its key components, and strategies to enhance professional learning. In this session, state teams participating in the Collaborating States Initiative (CSI) will discuss ways in which they support SEL through their professional learning and micro- credentialing processes—creating a comprehensive system of support for teachers and other adults to enhance student social and emotional development. Moderated by CASEL’s CSI team, panelists include leaders from Kansas, Tennessee, and Washington. Location/Room Theater Speakers Anne Childers Pajaro Valley Unified School District Jason Davis Millersville University Location/Room Water Tower B Speakers Benjamin McKay Chicago Public Schools Laura Hurwitz Chicago Public Schools