Professional Learning
Our mission is to study and share the most effective ways to address the out-of-school factors impacting student learning and thriving in schools, and to support practitioners in implementing evidence-driven integration of school and community resources.
The Systemic Student Support (S3) Academy is a district learning network created by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy, and the Boston College Mary E. Walsh Center for Thriving Children. The S3 Academy is comprised of district and school teams from across Massachusetts that are working to transform their approaches to student support on behalf of the more than 85,000 students they serve.
Webinar
A Framework For Supporting Students During COVID And Beyond
On February 11, the Boston College Mary E. Walsh Center for Thriving Children hosted a panel discussion entitled A Framework For Supporting Students During COVID And Beyond. This panel, made up of educators and student support professionals who have experience implementing systemic integrated student supports, helped to deepen understanding of integrated approaches to student support, as well as the ways in which such an approach is aligned with equity opportunities in our schools.
Continuing Education Modules
Counseling The Whole Child: Supporting Students During COVID
Description:
This continuing education module has been designed for school counselors or adjustment counselors in elementary schools (K-5 or K-8) who are seeking practical ways to anticipate and respond to student behaviors related to beliefs about COVID and experiences over the spring and summer.
School counselors are looking ahead to an unprecedented context for school reopening in the fall. Children will bring with them to school the consequences of a range of experiences related to COVID and school closures--some good, some very challenging, and some traumatic. What is the range of responses we can anticipate from children in the new environment? How do children at different ages understand and explain the disease? What can school counselors be aware of, and how can they acknowledge this range of feelings and intervene as appropriate? Finally, how can counselors support teachers, administrators, and other staff?
This continuing education module will provide opportunities for school counselors to:
- Recognize and respond to children’s feelings, beliefs and behaviors about COVID and their experiences over this past spring and summer.
- Identify ways to share information with and support school leaders, teachers, and staff
School counselors and student support staff will apply techniques for recognizing and responding to children’s feelings, beliefs, behaviors related to COVID and their experiences over this past spring and summer. Counselors will identify ways to share information with teachers, school leaders, and other support staff.
Course Dates and Format:
Self-paced continuing education online module (asynchronous) available for 3 weeks between September 28th - October 16th, 2020. All participants will receive the option to join a 1 hour synchronous Zoom session. Zoom sessions will be offered on the following dates. Participants will be asked to register for one of the two virtual sessions:
- October 8, from 12:00-1:00 p.m.
- October 8, from 3:00-4:00 p.m.
All participants are encouraged to attend the Zoom session which will provide a collaborative learning environment for practitioners to connect with each other and deepen their understanding of the module content.
Certification of Completion:
Participants will receive 4 PDPs for the online module with an optional 5th PDP through participation in the Zoom session. For this module, participants can choose from one of two virtual session times to receive the 5th credit hour.
Counseling The Whole Child: Systemic Approaches To Student Support During COVID
Description:
This continuing education module has been designed for school counselors or adjustment counselors in elementary schools (K-5 or K-8) who are seeking the benefits of a systemic approach to supporting students and families in the context of COVID.
School counselors are core to comprehensive student support in schools. Their critical role takes on new importance in the context of COVID. This continuing education module addresses key questions: How can schools efficiently review the strengths and needs of all students at the start of the school year? Who should collaborate on these reviews? What are practical ways to act on information about student and family needs? What tools can facilitate connections to the right supports?
This continuing education module will provide opportunities for school counselors to:
- Identify and apply tools and techniques for holistic review of all students’ strengths and needs
- Create a plan for carrying out a holistic review and connecting students to needed supports
School counselors and student support staff will identify and apply practical tools and techniques for holistic review of all students in the transition from summer to a COVID context of school re-entry. They will create plans to work with teachers to develop approaches to connecting all students and their families with needed supports based on their individual strengths and needs.
Course Dates And Format:
Self-paced continuing education online module (asynchronous) available for 3 weeks between September 28th - October 16th, 2020. All participants will receive the option to join a 1 hour synchronous Zoom session. Zoom sessions will be offered on the following dates. Participants will be asked to register for one of the two virtual sessions:
- October 15, from 3:00-4:00 p.m.
- October 16, from 12:00-1:00 p.m.
All participants are encouraged to attend the Zoom session which will provide a collaborative learning environment for practitioners to connect with each other and deepen their understanding of the module content.
Certification Of Completion:
Participants will receive 4 PDPs for the online module with an optional 5th PDP through participation in the Zoom session. For this module, participants can choose from one of two virtual session times to receive the 5th credit hour.
Teaching The Whole Child: Supporting Students During COVID
Description:
This continuing education module has been designed for teachers in elementary schools (K-5 or K-8) who are seeking practical ways to anticipate and respond to student behaviors related to beliefs about COVID and experiences over the spring and summer.
As teachers plan for school to reopen, the unique circumstances of COVID are raising questions about student needs and possible responses. Students will return to school having experienced a range of effects of COVID that will shape their behavior and ways of engaging in the classroom.
What is the range of responses we can anticipate from children in the new school year? What behaviors can we anticipate, and what are productive ways to acknowledge this range of feelings and intervene as appropriate? ? How can teachers themselves find the support they need in this new environment? This continuing education module will provide opportunities for teachers:
- Recognize and respond to children’s feelings, beliefs and behaviors about COVID and their experiences over this past spring and summer.
- Identify ways to obtain additional needed support for their own work as they launch the school year
Teachers will apply techniques for recognizing and responding to children’s feelings, beliefs, and behaviors related COVID and their experiences over this past spring and summer. Teachers will identify ways to obtain additional needed support for their own work in the new environment.
Course Dates And Format:
Self-paced continuing education online module (asynchronous) available for 3 weeks between September 28th - October 16th, 2020. All participants will receive the option to join a 1 hour synchronous Zoom session. Zoom sessions will be offered on the following dates. Participants will be asked to register for one of the two virtual sessions:
- September 29, from 3:00-4:00 p.m.
- October 1, from 12:00-1:00 p.m.
All participants are encouraged to attend the Zoom session which will provide a collaborative learning environment for practitioners to connect with each other and deepen their understanding of the module content.
Certification Of Completion:
Participants will receive 4 PDPs for the online module with an optional 5th PDP through participation in the Zoom session. For this module, participants can choose from one of two virtual session times to receive the 5th credit hour.
Teaching The Whole Child: Systemic Approaches To Student Support During COVID
Description:
This continuing education module has been designed for teachers in elementary schools (K-5 or K-8) who are seeking the benefits of a systemic approach to supporting students and families in the context of COVID.
Teachers are looking ahead to school re-entry in the context of COVID, in some cases with new models of school engagement and instruction. This continuing education module addresses key questions: What systems and processes can teachers and schools use to gain a deeper understanding of the strengths and needs of all students in this context? Who can help teachers with these reviews? What are practical ways to act on information about student and family needs? What tools can facilitate connections to the right supports?
This continuing education module will provide opportunities for teachers to:
- Identify and apply tools and techniques for holistic review of all students’ strengths and needs
- Create a plan for carrying out a holistic review and connecting students to needed supports
Teachers will identify and apply practical tools and techniques for collaborating on a holistic review of all students in the transition to a COVID context of school re-entry. They will create plans to work with principals, school counselors, and others in the school and community to develop approaches to connecting all students and their families with needed supports based on their individual strengths and needs.
Course Dates And Format:
Self-paced continuing education online module (asynchronous) available for 3 weeks between September 28th - October 16th, 2020. All participants will receive the option to join a 1 hour synchronous Zoom session. Zoom sessions will be offered on the following dates. Participants will be asked to register for one of the two virtual sessions:
- October 15, from 3:00-4:00 p.m.
- October 16, from 12:00-1:00 p.m.
All participants are encouraged to attend the Zoom session which will provide a collaborative learning environment for practitioners to connect with each other and deepen their understanding of the module content.
Certification Of Completion:
Participants will receive 4 PDPs for the online module with an optional 5th PDP through participation in the Zoom session. For this module, participants can choose from one of two virtual session times to receive the 5th credit hour.