A Kid’s Guide to Coronavirus via American Psychological Association (APA)

Posted on June 19, 2020 by C T

https://www.apa.org/pubs/magination/kids-guide-coronavirus-ebook.pdf

The APA posted this children’s book about COVID 19.

Rebecca Growe, MSW, LCSW and Julia Martin Burch, PhD illustrated by Viviana Garofoli

Magination Press • Washington, DC American Psychological Association

You probably already know a lot about different ways to be sick. You may know about colds, when you cough and sneeze a lot. You may know about strep throat, when it hurts to swallow, or ear infections, when your ear hurts inside.

What other ways to be sick do you know about?

Most sicknesses have been around for a long time. Scientists and doctors and all the grown-up helpers know just what to do to make people get better.

Can you think of some things that help people when they are sick?

This book is about a certain sickness. It’s called COVID-19, or coronavirus.

Have you heard of it?

Grown-ups have been talking about it a lot. You may have heard about it on TV or online.

What do you know about it already?

A lot of kids have questions about coronavirus. And without getting good answers, they might feel confused or even scared.

This book will help answer those questions!

This coronavirus is a new sickness. Grown-ups don’t know as much about it as they’d like. But here is what they do know:

Coronavirus is contagious. That means it can get people sick by moving from one person’s body to another person’s body when they touch or spend time close together. Coronavirus can move from you to someone else before you even start to feel sick.

Many people who get sick with coronavirus have a fever, a dry cough, and a little trouble breathing.

Anyone can get sick from coronavirus. It can cause big problems for older people or people who have other health issues.

Because coronavirus is such a new sickness, doctors and scientists are working really hard to learn how to help people get better and make coronavirus go away.

In fact, everyone can help out! You can do a lot to stop coronavirus from making people sick.

Can you think of any things you already do to make a difference?

You can wash your hands often with soap and water. Some people sing the ABCs while they do it—what about you?

You can also cover your coughs and sneezes with your elbow or a tissue and try not to touch your face a lot.

You can find fun ways to help, too.

Maybe you could paint a picture for your friend, or make a movie of your new dance moves to give Grandma a giggle.

You could write funny jokes on the sidewalk for your neighbors to see, or hang a sign in your window to brighten someone’s day.

Until scientists have found out how to make coronavirus go away for good, you and your family might have to make some other, bigger changes.

You might need to stay away from crowded places. This is because crowds make it easy for coronavirus to spread to more people and make them sick.

For the same reason, your parents might not work as much, or they might try to work from home. You might not be able to go to school or play with friends.

You might see people wear masks when they go outside. You might even get one of your own.

Super-heroes wear masks to protect their secret identities, right?

Now super-people everywhere are wearing masks to protect each other from coronavirus. Feel free to wear a cape, too!

These bigger changes can be hard.

What do you think some hard parts might be?

These bigger changes can be kind of nice.

What do you think some nice parts might be?

You should know that these bigger changes are temporary. That means they will not last forever.

Other things are staying exactly the same! Your grown-ups are still in charge of taking care of you. And it is still your job to be a kid, which means you still need to learn, play, and spend time with family.

What else is staying the same?

And if you ever have questions, or want to talk, your grown-ups are here to help you and to listen.

No sickness can ever change that!

The coronavirus pandemic can be frightening and confusing for children and adults alike. As a parent or caregiver, you have the challenging task of navigating and managing your own emotions and needs during the crisis while also supporting your child. The following tips offer information and concrete strategies that you can start using right away with your child and on your own.

Provide Just Enough Information

It is natural for children to be curious about

the new kind of illness they keep hearing adults discuss. Provide your young child with limited, age-appropriate facts about the virus. Focus on what they can do to keep themselves, their families, and their communities safe.

The information covered in this book is an appropriate example of how to talk with young children about the virus. Listen respectfully to their concerns and reassure them without being dismissive. Help them focus on what is in their control, such as social distancing and hand hygiene. Emphasize that it’s important they still do their “jobs” as a kid, including learning, playing, and spending time with family.

It is important to try to strike a balance between oversharing information, which may lead kids to worry about facets of the crisis they do not need to be concerned about, such as the economy, and under-sharing. Though parents sometimes withhold information from kids with the noble intention of wanting to spare them distress, too little information can send active

imaginations into overdrive, leading kids to concoct far scarier outcomes than what’s realistic.

Validate and Name Emotions

It is normal for children to have a range of emotions in response to the pandemic. Some children might feel anxious about the unknown and fearful about their safety. Others will feel sad or angry about canceled events like a vacation, or about losing their normal routine and time with teachers and friends. No matter the emotion, it is important to validate it, or in other words, to communicate to your child that their emotion makes sense and is okay for them to feel. For example, you might say, “It makes sense that you are feeling disappointed about missing your class field trip. You were really looking forward to it.” Or, “I can understand why you’re feeling worried. There are a lot of changes happening right now.” It is also helpful to specifically label the emotion your child is feeling; research demonstrates that naming an emotion decreases its intensity. In a difficult moment, taking the time to say, “I see that you are really sad” can be incredibly soothing to your child.

Parents sometimes try to make their children feel better by pointing out that the child has many privileges, and that other people are suffering more. For example, a parent might say, “Don’t feel sad about missing vacation! We’re lucky to have somewhere to live. Other kids aren’t that lucky.” Despite the good intentions, this is not a helpful approach, as it confuses children about why they are feeling what they are feeling. It can also lead them to feel ashamed for feeling sad about missing vacation. If you would like to teach your child to reflect on what they have to be grateful for, make a family practice of writing down “gratitudes” or discussing what you are each thankful for over dinner. By doing this when your child is calm rather than feeling sad or fearful, you teach them that their “gratitudes” are things to feel uncomplicated joy about, rather than guilt or confusion.

Focus on the Present Moment

Worried brains tend to focus on the future, predicting all of the scary things that might happen. Teach your child how to gently bring their mind back to the present moment by practicing mindfulness. Being mindful simply means that you are purposefully paying attention to the present moment without judging it as good or bad. Mindfulness can be practiced in countless kid-friendly ways. For example, you can play a mindful “I spy” in which you count all of the objects of a certain color in the space around you. You can mindfully eat, dance, walk, listen to music – the sky is the limit! Build times into the day to practice, such as in transition periods or at meals.

Create a New Routine

It can feel next to impossible to maintain a routine during the quarantine. Yet, flexibly following a consistent plan day-to-day provides much-needed stability for your young child. This is particularly important given that their world has changed dramatically in a short time. Routines do not have to be complicated. For example, it can be helpful to just structure the day around basic needs such as wake-up times and bedtimes, meals, and periods in which you get active. Constructing a routine around these building blocks of physical and mental health makes it more likely that they will occur consistently.

Consider giving your child age-appropriate tasks to help the family, such as setting the table, helping to prepare food, or cleaning up after a meal. Though teaching your child a new skill takes more effort and attention in the short term, it will make your life easier (and increase your child’s level of independence and sense of competence) in the long term.

Create Memories

Look for opportunities to create new, special family rituals. These do not have to be time consuming or involve preparation. For example, you can jump-start your days with a family dance party in which a different family member chooses a song each day and everyone dances around the breakfast table. You might also help your children brainstorm ways that they can give back to their community, such as writing cards for the elderly or creating supportive signs for health-care workers. When your children look back on this time, they will remember that, despite the many challenges, the time at home also allowed your family to create memories together.

Put the Oxygen Mask on Yourself First

Whenever you can, pause and take a moment or two to check in on yourself and your emotions.

Just like your child, you will reduce your own emotional intensity by noticing and labeling your feelings. During a crisis, this kind of self-attention can feel like the last thing a busy parent or caregiver has time for. However, by ensuring that you are attuned to and taking care of your own needs, you will have reserves available to help support your children during difficult moments. You will be grateful that you preemptively invested the time in yourself when you must draw on these reserves to help a struggling child.

Make a point to practice what you preach with your children. Focus on what is in your control, such as practicing and modeling coping skills, limiting news consumption, and creating your own new routines around sleep, nutrition, and exercise. Most important–validate and be gentle with yourself. It is impossible to perfectly fulfill all of the roles you are being asked to play in this moment in time. Get comfortable with being good enough. This may look like allowing your children more time on screens than you would normally, cooking (or just heating up!) very basic meals, or practicing a coping strategy for two minutes while hiding in the bathroom.

When to Seek Help

If your child is experiencing so much anxiety or sadness about COVID-19 that it causes significant distress or begins to impact their functioning (e.g., consistent trouble sleeping, eating, or engaging in typical life activities), you should consult with a licensed psychologist or other mental health professional. There is no need to wait until social distancing restrictions are lifted. During the current crisis, many mental health providers are offering therapy over virtual meeting platforms. The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for children and adults alike. Yet within great challenges lie opportunities for growth, bravery, and resilience. You are taking a concrete, effective step forward simply by taking the time to read this book and reflect on how to help your child. Remind yourself of this whenever the “not good enough” monster strikes. You are doing the best you can, and that is enough.

Rebecca Growe, MSW, LCSW, is a clinical social worker with a private practice. She specializes in treating child and adolescent anxiety disorders, disruptive behavior, and traumatic stress. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri.

Visit http://www.growecounseling.com

Viviana Garofoli earned her degree in fine arts in 1995, and since then has dedicated her time to illustrating children’s books. She has illustrated over 20 children’s books and contributed to many editorial and textbook illustrations around the world. She lives in Buenos Aires.

@vivi_garofoli

Julia Martin Burch, PhD, is a staff psychologist at the McLean Anxiety Mastery Program at McLean Hospital in Boston. Dr. Martin Burch completed her training at Fairleigh Dickinson University and Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. She works with children, teens, and parents and specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy

for anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and related disorders. Outside of her work at McLean, Dr. Martin Burch gives talks to clinicians, parent groups, and schools on working with anxious youth.

Magination Press is the children’s book imprint of the American Psychological Association. APA works to advance psychology as a science and profession and as a means of promoting health and human welfare. Magination Press books reach young readers and their parents and caregivers to make navigating life’s challenges a little easier. It’s the combined power of psychology and literature that makes a Magination Press book special.

Visit maginationpress.org @MaginationPress

Copyright © 2020 by Magination Press, an imprint of the American Psychological Association. Illustrations © 2020 by Viviana Garofoli. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system,

without the prior written permission of the publisher. Permission is granted to download and print or reproduce for personal, educational, and non-commercial use only.

Magination Press is a registered trademark of the American Psychological Association. Order books at maginationpress.org or call 1-800-374-2721.

Book design by Rachel Ross

eISBN: 978-1-4338-3415-8

NASP Article on Suicide Prevention During the Pandemic

Posted on June 14, 2020 by C T

Suicide Prevention within COVID 19 Pandemic

Posted by: Margaret A. Sedor, Ph.D., NCSP, LEP, NASP GPR Western Regional Coordinator on Jun 11, 2020

Over the past several years in working with students at the secondary level, I have found myself approaching school breaks with trepidation for their wellness, mental health, and safety. Unfortunately, when students are out of school, our community has been impacted by student deaths resulting from suicide. Now, impact of the global pandemic has intensified the concern for students given the closures of school buildings with the reopening unknown. The mandates of “stay in place”, social distancing, and face coverings over the past few months, have resulted in drastic change in routines, increase in uncertainty, the loss of employment, and the lives of over 100,000 U.S. citizens. Educators responded by transforming the face of schools virtually overnight from brick and mortar to computer screens within a distance learning platform. The pandemic has intensified the concern for the safety, wellness, and mental health of our students with implications for policy and the practice of school psychologists.

Nationally, suicide is the leading cause of death among youth. Advocacy efforts at the local, state, and national level on behalf of students has resulted in new suicide prevention policy and practice. Over the past few years, there have been several new federal and state laws that have advanced suicide prevention efforts in schools. The recent legislation has demonstrated the commitment and recognition of policymakers around the importance of school-based prevention efforts; the approval for a 3-digit national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline system and mandated suicide prevention education for students, staff, and parents. NASP has continued to provide leadership and advocacy efforts with suicide prevention. NASP, in partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the American School Counselor Association, and the Trevor Project authored a comprehensive guidebook [Model School District Suicide Prevention Policy] for school administrators and policymakers. This guidebook provides a framework for best practices for the continuum of K-12 suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention policies.

At the district level, we have responded as school psychologists to address the student needs by engaging in grassroots advocacy and leadership roles to expand efforts beyond district crisis response (i.e. suicide intervention, postvention) to ensure a comprehensive suicide prevention framework. Suicide is a 24/7 issue. Thus, we partnered with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, law enforcement, community mental health agencies, and with local hospital emergency screening unit teams. As a result, our team developed a district protocol to prevent, assess the risk of, intervene in, and respond to suicide. Several integral components of a multi-tiered system of suicide prevention has emerged within the district; board approved suicide prevention policy, a district NASP PREPaRE trained crisis team, a district suicide prevention coordinator, a district suicide prevention council, district-wide coordinated implementation of Signs of Suicide (SOS) prevention education for students, staff, and parents, a community suicide prevention forum, suicide prevention training of trainers (TOT) of school site coordinators, suicide risk assessment protocol and training, educating the community regarding firearm safety, and postvention support in collaboration with community partners.

In March 2020, the global pandemic of COVID-19 drastically changed the landscape of education and our practice as school psychologists, especially with suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention. Within the first week of school closure, our community was impacted by the death of a student by suicide. To be honest, there was uncertainty in the “if” or “how” to best provide crisis response and postvention supports. In collaboration with a few of our NASP PREPaRE community leaders -thank you Dr. Melissa Reeves and Dr. Ben Fernandez – we navigated the discussion with the site crisis leadership team, guided the response efforts, and initiated revision of our suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention protocol to address the needs within a distance learning educational milieu. As a result, our district has provided a comprehensive on-line suicide prevention protocol with embedded forms and resources.

As we continue to face social distancing and school closures in response to the global pandemic, the need for school psychologists to advocate and provide guidance and leadership in suicide prevention efforts is paramount. Suicide prevention programs and policies expand our roles as crisis responders to include preventive supports for student wellness, mental health, and safety. The uncertainty surrounding the pandemic may generate for students intensified sense of fear, worry, isolation and suicide risk factors; simultaneously impacting youth protective factors such as hope, access to trusted adults, peer connection, and social activities. It is critical to begin or further our efforts to support our students by engaging in advocacy and providing leadership within our district, state, and at the national level with suicide prevention.

I encourage you to review the resources developed by NASP and your state professional organization. Ask yourself what can I do, especially during this time of the global pandemic, to address student mental health needs and ensure comprehensive suicide prevention policies and practices that encompass prevention, intervention, and postvention? Each of us are “ADVOCACY”, let’s find our voice!

NASP Comprehensive School Suicide Prevention in a Time of Distance Learning

Preparing for Virtual School Suicide Risk Assessment Checklist

COVID-19: Crisis & Mental Health Resources

Source

CALIFORNIA SCHOOL REOPENING GUIDEBOOK “Stronger Together”

Posted on June 10, 2020 by C T

The California Department of Education recently released a guidebook for reopening schools. I was particularly drawn to pages 34-36 on “Mental Health and The Well-being of All”. This guide book is easy to read and navigate and should be a good reference tool for reopening.

Link:

Stronger Together- Guide to Reopening Schools

Teach Your Kid Some Social Skills This Summer

Posted on June 4, 2020 by C T

As a parent, we have the responsibility to teach our kids how to interact with others effectively. Social skills are key to navigate through life and can be an incredible asset for future success. The link below has 101 social skill activities!

Weblink:

101 WAYS TO TEACH CHILDREN SOCIAL SKILLS A READY-TO-USE, REPRODUCIBLE ACTIVITY BOOK by Lawrence E. Shapiro, Ph.D.

PDF

101-Ways-to-Teach-Children-Social-Skills

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The Real and Lasting Impacts of Social-Emotional Learning with At-Risk Students

By Jennifer Gunn

Finding a way to reach at-risk students who are struggling in various ways can be difficult, but social-emotional learning can open doors. Copious research has shown that the impact of social-emotional learning (SEL) runs deep. SEL programs are shown to increase academic achievement and positive social interactions, and decrease negative outcomes later in life. SEL helps individuals develop competencies that last a lifetime.

The five components of social-emotional learning are:

self-awareness

self-management

social awareness

relationship skills

responsible decision-making

“When students are struggling and school performance is poor, they are more likely to find school and learning as a source of anxiety, manifesting in diminished self-efficacy, motivation, engagement, and connectedness with school,” says Dr. Christina Cipriano. Therefore, when it comes to our nation’s most at-risk students, receiving SEL training in the classroom can make a huge difference in preparing them for a healthy and successful life well beyond school.

Academic achievement

One of the most extensive studies of the long-term impacts of SEL was completed by researchers from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL); Loyola University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of British Columbia. Their work reviewed over 213 studies on the impacts of SEL. According to CASEL, they found that students who were part of SEL programs showed 11 percentile-point gains in academic achievement over those who were not a part of such programs. Compared to students who did not participate in SEL programs, students participating in SEL programs also showed:

Improved classroom behavior

An increased ability to manage stress and depression

Better attitudes about themselves, others, and school

These student perceptions coupled with developed emotional intelligence lead to long-term academic success. SEL has the ability to give at-risk students the tools they need to overcome obstacles and plug into their education for long-term achievement.

Positive life outcomes

A 2015 study published in the American Journal of Public Health looked at students 13 to 19 years after they received social skills training through the Fast Track Project. Fast Track, which was run in four communities: Durham, Nashville, rural Pennsylvania, and Seattle, describes its work as “based on the hypothesis that improving child competencies, parenting effectiveness, school context, and school-home communications will, over time, improve psychopathology from early childhood through adulthood.”

The study also found that teaching social skills in kindergarten leads to students being less likely to live in public housing, receive public assistance, or to be involved in criminal activity. “At age 25, people who were assigned to the program are happier, have fewer psychiatric and substance abuse problems, are less likely to have risky sex, and are arrested less often for severe violence and drug-related crimes,” according to Child Trends.

Early interventions of SEL show outcomes far into adulthood, reducing the life risks for impoverished and at-risk students.

Reduced aggression

Researchers have also found that SEL reduces aggressive behaviors in the classroom, freeing teachers and students to focus more on learning. Research shows that students who receive SEL training are 42% less likely to be involved in physical aggression in schools. Mindfulness practices, a staple of SEL, were shown to reduce reactive stress responses in students. One study examined breathing techniques as a means to calm students with behavioral and emotional difficulties. The study revealed that mindfulness exercises can have a noticeable and positive impact on reducing reactive behavior and aggression.

Source

Research shows that children with a stronger social-emotional skill set were less likely to experience health problems, struggle with substance abuse, or engage in criminal activity as they got older. A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety

Additional research further illustrates how early education programs promote social mobility within and across generations, helps prevent obesity, reduce health care expenditures and leads to overall higher-quality of life.

Source

Considerations for Academic Assessments and Interventions Upon the Return to School via NASP

Posted on June 4, 2020 by C T

Considerations for Academic Assessments and Interventions Upon the Return to School

Link to PDF

COVID-19 has caused the closure of nearly all schools in the United States, affecting more than 55 million students. Efforts to continue education for children via remote instruction have been highly variable, ranging from daily contact via the web with the student’s regular teacher(s) to no contact at all. In fact, in the Los Angeles Times, Blume and Kohli reported that one-third of high school students in L.A. Unified had not checked in daily online with their teachers since schools had closed, and a much smaller number (15,000) had never checked in at all.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic raised immediate worries about students including their access to a safe and supervised environment comparable to what they would get in school, access to food programs, access to routine and compensatory special education services for students with disabilities, and the provision of general instruction toward important grade-level objectives necessary for success as children continue in school.

Schools are working now to determine when and how students and staff may return to school safely. One of the challenges that schools must address is the significant disruption to the learning process. Because students’ experiences during remote learning were highly variable, schools will need to assume that children have lost about 25% of the prior grade level’s instruction because most schools were closed for 8–10 weeks of the typical 36-week school year. Compounding the problem of lost instruction will be missing assessment data. Children are routinely screened for important milestones in reading, math, and writing and participate in year-end accountability assessments to quantify the degree to which the schools are providing instruction that is sufficient to help most children attain proficiency. Because of the timing of the closures, spring screenings and year-end accountability assessment data will not be available.

These converging events—loss of instruction and an absence of data—create a perfect storm for school psychologists who are responsible for helping schools meet the needs of diverse learners, including identifying and making eligible those students who are in need of special education. NASP has developed a series of resources and webinars to provide actionable how-to advice to cope with missing academic data, identify children in need of instructional supports, and use the resulting data to inform referral and eligibility decisions. These are available in the NASP COVID-19 Resource Center at http://www.nasponline.org/COVID-19. Importantly, many students will be returning to school with increased social-emotional and mental health issues associated with the crisis, which will complicate school function in many ways. It will be imperative that schools attend to the mental wellness of students on a school-wide, classroom, and individual basis as intentionally as academic interventions and supports. Resources regarding students’ mental health are also available in the NASP COVID-19 Resource Center.

New Screening Procedures Will Be Required

Schools—and school psychologists—will be eager to collect fall screening data to make decisions as quickly as possible upon a return to face-to-face learning. However, fall screening must proceed differently than it has in the past.

There will be a higher prevalence of academic risk in nearly all schools. Children will be arriving at the next grade level having only received about a 75% dose of the prior year’s academic instruction. To deal with this higher base rate of risk, screening procedures must account for base rates.

The figure below shows the posttest probabilities of academic failure across varying levels of risk. The greater the prevalence of risk (move toward the right on the x-axis), the less accurate the screening will be for ruling students out as not needing academic intervention, which is the purpose of academic screening. Negative posttest probability is the probability of academic failure when a student has passed the academic screening. So at 50% risk, 10% of students passing a screening that has .90 sensitivity and .90 specificity will actually experience academic failure. As prevalence increases, negative posttest probability climbs. Once negative posttest probability is greater than 10% (VanDerHeyden, 2013), or greater than your local base rate of risk which you can estimate from past year’s proficiency rates on the year-end test, the screening is not useful to rule students out as needing more intensive academic intervention than is currently provided in their general education environment. The key message here is that single-point-in-time screenings will not be sufficient for determining academic risk in the fall.

Use Class-Wide Intervention to Improve Decision Accuracy and Provide Learning Gains for Students

How can the school psychologist proceed in an environment in which academic screenings will not be useful to determine who is really at risk? Introduce instructional trials as rapidly as possible and measure students’ learning gains as the second screening gate. Class-wide intervention (e.g., PALS, class-wide peer tutoring, PRESS center reading, Spring Math class-wide intervention) lowers the base rate of risk to allow for academic screenings to function more accurately.

In a recent study, decision accuracy was examined for fall screening, winter screening, and response to class-wide intervention with above 20th percentile performance on the year-end test as the gold standard for students in kindergarten and grades 1, 3, 5, and 7 in mathematics. Negative posttest probabilities were stronger (lower) when response to class-wide intervention was used as the screening criterion (VanDerHeyden, Broussard, & Burns, 2019).

Here is another way to view the effect of class-wide intervention as a screening gate. In this class, at the beginning of intervention, the score range is highly restricted, which makes distinguishing which children are truly at risk technically difficult if not impossible. Introducing a daily 15-min class-wide intervention increases the score ranges over weeks of intervention and makes apparent the student who really requires intensified instruction or a comprehensive eligibility evaluation.

The figures below, reprinted from VanDerHeyden (2013) shows that the same screening is not useful due to a high base rate of risk before intervention, but following class-wide intervention becomes very useful for ruling students out as needing academic intervention.

Accuracy of the Mathematics Screener for Students Who Receive a Free or Reduced-Price Lunch

Illustration of the Use of Intervention to Reduce Overall Risk and Permit More Accurate Screening Decisions

Note. From “Universal Screening May Not Be for Everyone: Using a Threshold Model as a Smarter Way to Determine Risk,” by A. M. VanDerHeyden, 2013, School Psychology Review, 42, p. 410. (https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.2013.12087462). Copyright 2013 by the National Association of School Psychologists. Reprinted with permission.

Relying on a Period of Waiting for General Education to Improve Base Rates Is Inefficient and Unlikely to Work

There will likely be a sense of urgency around completing pending evaluations and perhaps even new evaluations. All evaluation teams are required to determine if a student’s academic concerns are a result of a lack of instruction when considering specific learning disability (SLD) identification regardless of the approach to eligibility determination that is used. Assessing the quality of instruction provided during the COVID-19 school closing is fraught with problems. Whether the instruction at home was delivered by caregivers or through an internet connection with teachers, decision teams cannot presume that the quality of core instruction replicated what would have happened in school. Except in unusual cases, the quality of instruction likely cannot be ruled sufficient.

Instruction as a cause (the most likely cause) of poor performance can only be ruled out by delivering a dose of instruction and measuring the child’s response directly. There is no substitute for that step and even if you choose to use a method other than response to intervention (RTI) to satisfy criterion 1 and 2, you still must satisfy criterion 4 to determine eligibility for SLD.

School psychologists may be tempted to institute waiting periods before recommending Tier 2 or 3 interventions as a means to avoid overpopulating those intervention groups and depleting resources. Waiting times have not been shown to lower risk over time. At best it is a tactic that will be highly variable (i.e., dependent on the quality of core instruction and teacher-initiated supplementation of core instruction) and at worst, it will be less efficient.

School psychologists should not enter a hands-off waiting period with schools. Rather, school psychologists should return to school equipped to help teachers boost their core instruction, given that children will likely be arriving with skill gaps. School psychologists can support teachers in delivering class-wide intervention and small groups to provide acquisition instruction for missing prerequisite skills and fluency-building intervention for skills that are foundational for subsequent learning at each grade level.

Decision teams can use the resulting performance data of students to determine who really needs a diagnostic assessment, individualized instruction, and potentially an eligibility evaluation. Controlling the dose of instruction allows this identification to occur in a more rapid and nimble fashion than would be possible otherwise. It is possible to make a decision about the need for more intensive academic intervention following only 4 weeks of well-implemented class-wide intervention.

Delivering High-Quality Class-Wide Intervention Requires Focus on Implementation

A new survey study out by Silva et al. (in press) examines actions taken in the name of multitiered systems of support (MTSS) and RTI. This survey replicates the findings of an earlier study (Burns, Peters, & Noell, 2008) finding that very particular barriers continue to interfere with the capacity of school psychologists to help schools use MTSS to improve achievement. School psychologists encounter the same barriers now as we did in 2008: we struggle to interpret the data we collect, to effectively get interventions underway, and to use implementation science to ensure high-quality implementation of academic interventions. In the Silva et al. (2020) study, only 7% of respondents reported looking at intervention integrity when an intervention was not working as planned.

In a context of elevated base rates of academic risk, we must do better. When children return to school, hopefully this fall, there will be an opportunity for school psychologists to be highly useful instructional allies to teachers. We can use our rapport and trust with teachers to connect, support, and empower them to do what works. Implementing class-wide academic intervention will produce achievement gains for students and as a wonderful side effect, will give us the best data upon which to base referral and eligibility decisions.

This series of resources and webinars will equip you to move forward with the right actions to screen, implement class-wide interventions in reading, writing, and math, and to use the resulting data for referral and eligibility decision making regarding SLD.

References

Blume, H., & Kohli, S. (2020, March 30). 15,000 L.A. high school students are AWOL online, 40,000 fail to check in daily amid coronavirus closures. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-30/coronavirus-los-angeles-schools-15000-high-school-students-absent

Burns, M. K., Peters, R., & Noell, G. H. (2008). Using performance feedback to enhance implementation fidelity of the problem-solving team process. Journal of School Psychology, 46, 537–550. doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2008.04.001

Silva, M. R., Collier-Meek, M. A., Codding, R. S., Kleinert, W. L., & Feinberg, A. (2020). Data Collection and Analysis in Response-to-Intervention: A Survey of School Psychologists. Contemporary School Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-020-00280-2

VanDerHeyden, A. M. (2013). Universal screening may not be for everyone: Using a threshold model as a smarter way to determine risk. School Psychology Review, 42, 402–414.

VanDerHeyden, A. M., Broussard, C., & Burns, M. K. (2019). Classification Agreement for Gated Screening in Mathematics: Subskill Mastery Measurement and Classwide Intervention. Assessment for Effective Intervention. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534508419882484

Contributor: Amanda VanDerHeyden

Please cite as:

National Association of School Psychologists. (2020). Considerations for academic assessments and interventions upon a return to school [handout]. Author.

School Reentry Considerations Supporting Student Social and Emotional Learning and Mental and Behavioral Health Amidst COVID-19 via NASP and ASCA

Posted on June 4, 2020 by C T

NASP and the American School Counselor Association has released guidance for SEL and school re-entry considerations. This is a timely resource as we know all districts are in the process of planning for reentry. Please share it with your district leadership teams. I love how NASP is always NASPing.

Link to School Reentry Considerations Supporting Student Social and Emotional Learning and Mental and Behavioral Health Amidst COVID-19

Say Their Names: A toolkit to help foster productive conversations about race and civil disobedience

Posted on June 3, 2020 by C T

This tool kit is aimed to help educate and shift the lens of understanding systemic racism, as well as helping educators bring these anti-racist values into the classroom.

Say Their Names

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A toolkit to help foster productive conversations about race and civil disobedience

“In a racist society, it is not enough to not be non-racist, we must be anti-racist” – Angela Davis.

Say Their Names. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the countless others that came before.

If you are planning on talking to your students or children about the recent racial violence or civil disobedience, please first read “Don’t Say Nothing” by Jamilah Pitts. This piece illustrates how vital it is to engage young people in conversations about race and racism, and Ms. Pitts lays out the argument better than we ever could.

We hope that you take this time to read, reflect, and engage with both the young people and adults in your life in conversations around how we can confront racism every day. Safeguarding our young people means that we all must do the work to think and act equitably, show up for our Black students and colleagues, interrogate our own biases, and live an actively anti-racist life.

Below are suggestions and strategies for educators and parents on having conversations with young people in school and at home about race, racism, racial violence, understanding biases, and how to take action for racial justice.

At this time, we must focus on our shared humanity, and prioritize learning and talking about the root causes of the current protests and interracial activism. This is a time to come together, listen, learn, share in the grief and in hope, and act for a more just, equitable, and racially conscious world.

If you have suggestions for any lessons or activities, please share them with us here.

For more information on social-emotional support and guidance, contact the CPS Office of Social and Emotional Learning at OSEL@cps.edu or your Network SEL Specialist.

For more information on resources, protocols, and practices for civil discourse, youth voice, civic learning, and engagement, or K–12 social science, contact the CPS Department of Social Science and Civic Engagement at SSCE@cps.edu.

For information on the CPS Equity Framework and supporting tools and resources, please visit cps.edu/equity.

Included in this document:

Where to start? Guidance for CPS staff, families, and community members.

Note: This is a living document and will be updated on an ongoing basis.

Make a commitment to:

Taking care of the mental and emotional health of our youth, our colleagues, and ourselves.
Listen. Talking about race, racial violence, racism, Black Lives Matter, and elevating youth voices.
Paying close attention to the news, media, and other information sources.
Working to be actively anti-racist.

Take care of yourself. Take care of others.

Consider the mental and emotional health of o ur young people, our colleagues, and ourselves.

Educate yourself.

Educate yourself on the current moment and learn why people are organizing. Do research to better understand these issues, and do not rely on Black people to explain their feelings or their knowledge.

Engage our youth.

Acknowledge what has happened. Acknowledge this is hard. Show that you care, and tell our youth you are here for them. Be patient and understanding.
Hold space for youth to reflect and to share how they feel. Acknowledge the issues behind the current moment and the pain folks are feeling. Consider holding circles or free-form discussions. If you are a teacher looking for ideas on how to introduce these discussions in your classroom, explore these instructional protocols and activities.
Remember not to take symptoms of trauma (anger, withdrawal, distance, irritability) personally. If a young person does not want to talk or share, that is okay. Acknowledge their feelings and support youth where they are.
Learn about and pay attention to media and information.
Talk and learn about how to be actively anti-racist.

Resources for Realizing Our Commitment to Anti-racist Education:

C onsider the mental and emotional health of our youth, our colleagues, and ourse lves.

How can I support youth through this trauma?
How can I use restorative practices to host healing spaces?
Where can I find resources for myself and my colleagues?

Talk about race, racial violence, racism, and Black Lives Matter.

How do I start conversations about these topics and support youth remotely?
How do I support Black youth without inducing further trauma?
How do I talk about this with non-black youth?
How do I talk about this with elementary-aged youth?
How do I show up for my Black colleagues?

Pay close attention to media and information.

How is this story being told, and why is this important?
How should I consume media at this moment? What questions should we be asking ourselves?
How do we hold the media accountable? How are we accountable for the information we share?

Be actively anti-racist.

What does it mean to be anti-racist and why is it important?
What does it mean to be an anti-racist educator?
How do I take action? How do I get involved?

Review additional resources for teaching and talking about race, violence, and police violence.

Consider the mental and emotional health of our youth, our colleagues, and ourselves.

Violence has an impact on all of us, especially on our mental health. The protests that have gripped our city and nation reflect the hurt, anger, and pain of generations of racial trauma. Emotional responses may manifest in different ways, including anger, irritability, grief, and hopelessness. We should be aware of signs of trauma or distress not only for our youth but also for ourselves and our colleagues.

How can I support young people through this trauma?
Title/Resource	Description	Link
When We Normalize Racism And Bigotry, We Do Violence To Our Mental Health	This brief statement from Mental Health America calls attention to the impact of violence (including witnessing violent events in media reports) on our mental health, and especially the mental health of marginalized communities. The statement also contains links with additional information and resources.	https://mhanational.org/when-we-normalize-racism-and-bigotry-we-do-violence-our-mental-health
Addressing Race and Trauma in the Classroom: a Resource for Educators	This resource from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) is designed to help educators understand the interplay of race and trauma in the classroom. The guide reviews historical trauma and racial trauma explains the impact of trauma on different age groups and offers supplemental resources.	NCTSN: Addressing Race & Trauma in the Classroom
Managing Strong Emotional Reactions to Traumatic Events: Tips for Families and Teachers	This resource from the National Association of School Psychologists provides a brief review of anger—a common reaction to trauma—and reminds adults of how the reactions of children and youth are influenced by adult responses.	NASP: Managing Strong Emotional Reactions to Trauma
Responding to Student Mental Health Concerns During School Closure	This district guide provides guidance on responding to student mental health concerns during remote learning, including a list of mental health resources.	Responding to Student Mental Health Concerns
How White Parents Can Talk About Race	NPR’s Michel Martin talks to Jennifer Harvey, author of Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America, about how to talk with white kids about racially-charged events.	https://www.npr.org/2020/05/31/866426170/raising-white-kids-author-on-how-white-parents-can-talk-about-race
Mindfulness Techniques for Students and Staff	Calm Classroom is a simple and accessible way to integrate mindfulness into the classroom or home culture. Mindfulness is the ability to pay attention to our present moment. The daily practice of mindful breathing, stretching, focusing, and relaxation exercises cultivates a greater sense of self-awareness, mental focus, and emotional resilience within educational and personal spaces.	https://mcusercontent.com/8b2c19337fef7c5607939c263/files/6ca21f04-5bd5-4841-be21-6bf20902f13f/Keep_Calm_Practice_Calm_Classroom.01.pdf

How can I use restorative practices to host healing spaces?
Title/Resource	Description	Link
How to Host a Virtual Circle	Guidance on how to facilitate and adapt the model of an in-person circle for a virtual, online setting. Previous experience facilitating in-person circles is helpful but not necessary.	https://healingcirclesglobal.org/how-to-host-a-virtual-circle/
Circle Forward	Sample scripts for hosting talking circles from the Circle Forward book specifically related to grief, loss, and trauma.	Circle scripts

Where can I find resources for myself and my colleagues?
Title/Resource	Description	Link
Mental Health America: Supporting Others	This article shares simple actions that anyone can take to help others who are going through difficult times.	https://mhanational.org/supporting-others
Radical Self-Care in the Face of Mounting Racial Stress	This article from Psychology Today provides steps for cultivating hope during times of distress and provides self-care strategies for adults.	Psychology Today: Radical Self Care in the Face of Mounting Racial Stress
CPS Employee Assistance Program	While it is great to check in with family, friends, and colleagues, sometimes it also helps to talk to someone who is trained to help you understand and work through feelings and emotions. Please remember that you are always welcome to reach out to the Employee Assistance Program. These services are confidential.	Employee Assistance Program
The American Nightmare	This thinkpiece provides insight to the mental, social, and historical impacts of systemic racism in America on Black people and how we have arrived at our current state in America.	The American Nightmare
Your Black Colleagues May Look Like They’re Okay — Chances Are They’re Not	This article highlights the stressors of working while Black during a pandemic in which race is both a factor and a trigger. This article supports empathetic thinking and social awareness.	Your Black Colleagues May Look Like They’re Ok- Chances Are They’re Not
Detour Spotting for White Anti-racists	How can white allies monitor their own patterns of behavior through an anti-racist lens in order to not perpetuate white supremacy?	Detour Spotting for White Anti-racists
Avoiding Racial Equity Detours	Describes four detours to racial equity work and how we can identify and avoid them.	Avoiding Racial Equity Detours

Talk about race, racial violence, racism, and Black Lives Matter.

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

These resources explore our responsibility as educators, parents, and citizens to discuss race, racial violence, racism, and Black Lives Matter with youth, as well as resources to help us do this work.
Please note that schools and teachers should provide families and youth with an opt-out option. No matter how well-planned and expertly-facilitated these conversations are, they can be re-traumatizing to Black youth.

How do I start the conversation and support youth remotely?
Title/Resource	Description	Link
Violent protests are not the story. Police violence is.	This article provides information about the root causes of the protests and emphasizes why we need to focus on police brutality and racial discrimination.	Violent protests are not the story. Police violence is
Facing History and Ourselves: Teaching In The Wake Of Violence	This resource is a guide for teachers on navigating conversations with their students after news of a mass shooting, terrorist attack, police violence, and other violent events.	Teaching In The Wake Of Violence
Teaching Tolerance: Black Lives Matter Still Matters	This resource outlines why it is important to teach young people of all races about the Black Lives Matters movement, its origins, and its continued relevance.	Black Lives Matter Still Matters
NYCSchools: Fostering Community During Remote Learning~Teacher Reflection Guide	This guide provides reflection questions and ideas for teachers seeking to foster a welcoming and affirming remote learning environment. This guide can be used for individual reflection and as a jumping off point for group reflection.	Fostering Community During Remote Learning~Teacher Reflection Guide
Anti-Defamation League: George Floyd, Racism and Law Enforcement “Table Talk: Family Conversations about Current Events”	This reading provides suggestions for how educators, parents, families, and caregivers can discuss George Floyd, police violence, racism, and protests with youth. It also includes discussion questions and suggestions for how to take action.	Table Talk: Family Conversations about Current Events
Talking About Race. The National Museum of African American History and Culture	Talking about race, although hard, is necessary. These tools and guidance are designed to empower your journey and inspire conversation. Many of the tools for educators are PK-12. And there are great resources for individual work, no matter your role.	https://nmaahc.si.edu/learn/talking-about-race

How do I support Black youth without inducing further trauma?
Title/Resource	Description	Link
Teaching Tolerance: Black Minds Matter	This resource outlines the impact of racial disparities in mental health access and treatment and how schools and educators can play a major role in helping to mitigate those disparities.	Black Minds Matter
Teaching Tolerance: Don’t Say Nothing. Silence Speaks Volumes. Our Students Are Listening.	This resource outlines the importance and duty of educators to acknowledge and discuss race and racism with youth.	Don’t Say Nothing. Silence Speaks Volumes. Our Students Are Listening.
Teaching Tolerance: Ending Curriculum Violence	This article from Teaching Tolerance explores how despite the best intentions, teachers can create “curriculum violence” that can have detrimental effects on our youth.	Ending Curriculum Violence

How do I talk about race, racial violence, racism, and Black Lives Matter with non-black youth?
Title/Resource	Description	Link
Anti-Defamation League: How Should I Talk About Race in my Mostly White Classroom?	This resource provides guidance and considerations for how to engage in reflection and discussion on race and racism with white youth.	How Should I Talk About Race in my Mostly White Classroom?
Safe Space Radio: Tips and Strategies “Talking to White Kids about Race and Racism”	This resource provides tips for educators and parents on how to have a conversation on race and racism with white youth.	Tips and Strategies: Talking to White Kids about Race and Racism
Letters For Black Lives: An Open Letter Project on Anti-Blackness	This resource includes letters written by Asian American and Latinx American youth to their parents about the importance of centering Black lives in any discussion on race, discrimination, and injustice. It is an example for how non-black students can engage in learning and reflection on race, racism, and Black Lives Matter.	Letters For Black Lives
New York Times: A Conversation on Race	This resource includes a series of videos on different racial and ethnic groups describing their experiences with racism, including the following: A Conversation with my Black Son A Conversation About Growing Up Black A Conversation With Black Women on Race A Conversation with Latinos on Race A Conversation with Asian-Americans on Race A Conversation with Native Americans on Race A Conversation with White People on Race A Conversation with Police on Race	A Conversation on Race

How do I talk about this with elementary-aged youth?
Title/Resource	Description	Link
Teaching Tolerance: Y’all Still Don’t Hear Me Though	This text for grades 6-8 features a 2015 essay by Lecia J. Brooks as she recounts her perspective as a protester who participated in the Los Angeles Race Riots that followed the trial of those who had committed police brutality against activist Rodney King. Her account details the pervasiveness of police brutality and why demonstrators protest against it.	Y’all Still Don’t Hear Me Though
Children Community School: Social Justice Resources	This site contains resources and considerations for how to discuss race and social justice topics including racism, police brutality, and protests with youth.	Children Community School: Social Justice Resources
Edutopia: Teaching Young Children About Bias, Diversity, and Social Justice	This resource contains five strategies for engaging youth in learning and discussion on bias, diversity, and social justice.	Teaching Young Children About Bias, Diversity, and Social Justice
Oakland Library: Talking to Kids about Racism and Justice, a list for Parents, Educators, and Caregivers (Pre-K and up)	This resource provides a list of educational resources to engage young people (Pre-K and up) in learning about racism and justice.	Talking to Kids about Racism and Justice, A list for Parents, Educators, and Caregivers

Pay close attention to media and information.

Media has power. What we see and hear shapes what we think, how we see ourselves, and how we engage with the world around us. Teaching young people at all ages critical media and information literacy skills is key for preparing youth for civic life.

How is this story being told, and why is this important?
Title/Resource	Description	Link
Facing History and Ourselves: How Journalists Minimize Bias	This lesson from Facing History and Ourselves asks youth to consider how biases and stereotypes influence the way we interpret the world around us and how both journalists and media consumers address issues of bias in themselves and others.	How Journalists Minimize Bias
5 Key Questions and Concepts that can Change the World	It is important that we cultivate critical media dispositions and skills in our youth so that they consume information effectively.	Edutopia: Social Media and 5 Key Concepts Free lessons from the Center for Media Literacy using 5 Key Concepts/Questions that can be used with students every day.
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? (And Other Conversations about Race)	The chapter from Beverly Daniel Tatum’s book “Defining Racism: Can We Talk?” explores the definition of racism, its cost, and impact.	Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?
Here’s What You Need to Know About Breonna Taylor’s Death	This article provides a timeline of the events surrounding the killing of Breonna Taylor, whose death has received national attention and whose name has been included alongside Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd in discussions about violence against Black Americans.	Here’s What You Need to Know About Breonna Taylor’s Death

How should I consume media at this moment? What questions should we be asking ourselves?
Title/Resource	Description	Link
Teaching Tolerance: Living with the Bear	This article discusses how constant exposure to violence via social media is harming our youth, and how we can give them the support they need.	Living with the Bear
Teaching Tolerance: Teaching Students about Confirmation Bias	This article focuses on concerns about the impact of fake news by helping youth know and understand confirmation bias (our tendency to more readily believe information that supports—or confirms—our existing worldviews and to exclude information that might contradict previously held assumptions).	Teaching Students about Confirmation Bias
Teaching Tolerance: A Classroom Discussion About the Media, Trust, and Knowledge	This article encourages students to think through problems in the contemporary media landscape to help them become more active, open-minded knowledge-seekers.	A Classroom Discussion About the Media, Trust, and Knowledge

How do we hold the media accountable? How are we accountable for the information we share?
Title/Resource	Description	Link
Vox: Media Coverage of Protests Sure Looks Different when Demonstrators are White	This article examines how the media covers protests when the demonstrators are white.	Vox: Media coverage of protests sure looks different when demonstrators are white
When They See Us: Improving the Media’s Coverage of Black Men and Boys	This article shows how media coverage shapes the ability of individuals and communities to receive fair and equal justice and how persistent trends of distorted media depictions of Black men and boys contribute to negative stereotypes, inequitable treatment, and unequal opportunities.	When They See Us: Improving the Media’s Coverage of Black Men and Boys

Be actively anti-racist.

“In a racist society, it is not enough to not be non-racist, we must be anti-racist” – Angela Davis.

These resources explore what it means to be anti-racist and its importance to our role as educators, parents, and citizens. We must first listen, then learn, discuss, and act.

What does it mean to be anti-racist and why is it important?
Title/Resource	Description	Link
National Museum of African American History and Culture: Being Anti-racist	This hand-out explores and offers guidance on the the following topics: What does it mean to be anti-racist? Becoming an anti-racist as a white person. Becoming an anti-racist as a person of color.	Racial Healing Handbook: Practical Activities to Help You Challenge Privilege, Confront Systemic Racism, and Engage in Collective Healing
Teaching Tolerance: White Anti-Racism: Living the Legacy	A conversation about power, privilege, identity, and what it means to be anti-racist with community activists incuding: Diane Flinn, a white woman and managing partner of Diversity Matters. Georgette Norman, an African American woman and director of the Rosa Parks Library and Museum. Sejal Patel, a South Asian American woman and community organizer in South Asian immigrant communities. Yvette Robles, a Chicana and Community Relations Manager in Los Angeles.	White Anti-Racism: Living the Legacy

How can I be an anti-racist educator?
Title/Resource	Description	Link
Edweek: The Urgent Need for Anti-Racist Education	As educators, we don’t just teach content; we teach life lessons. Here are changes we can make to ensure we are breaking down racist beliefs and systems of white supremacy in our own classrooms.	The Urgent Need for Anti-Racist Education
ASCD: How to be an Anti-Racist Educator	Included in this article are five actions we can take to be anti-racist educators for our youth, including “Engage in Vigilant Self-Awareness,” “Study and Teach Representative History,” and “Talk about Race with Youth.”	How to be an Anti-Racist Educator
Edutopia: Creating an Anti-Racist Classroom	This resource helps us to reflect on our own biases and about our own practices in the classroom as we engage in anti-racist work.	Creating an Anti-Racist Classroom
Chicago Regional Organizing for Anti-Racism	Chicago ROAR is a regional program of Crossroads Antiracism Organizing and Training. The purpose of Chicago ROAR is to dismantle systemic racism and build anti-racist multicultural diversity within institutions and communities by training institutional transformation teams They are offering free virtual workshops.	Chicago Regional Organizing for Anti Racism

Additional resources for teaching and talking about race, violence, and police violence.


Title/Resource	Description	Link
NY Times: First Encounters with Race and Racism: Teaching Ideas for Classroom Conversations	This is a lesson plan from the New York Times on how to engage youth in conversations about race, including discussion questions, videos on race and implicit bias, and voices from youth about their experiences with racism.	Firs t Encounters with Race and Racism: Teaching Ideas for Classroom Conversations

Teen Wellness Workbooks via Misty Bonita School Psychologist

Posted on June 3, 2020 by C T

In this time of overall melee in the United States, we need Mental Health supports to help cope with all that we are experiencing. These teen resources gathered by School Psychologist Misty Bonita a Licensed Educational Psychologist, NCSP Ed.S are a wealth of strategies for coping and growing in a variety of social-emotional and life issues.

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