We are excited to continue our “Office Hours with Dr. John Kelly” webinar series! This Fall we have a great lineup of national education leaders and mental health experts discussing a range of MTSS & School-based mental health services.
Aug 25 – NASP Past-President, Dr. John Kelly – Multi-Tiered System of Supports for Addressing Mental Health Services in Schools: An Overview and Introduction
Sept 14 – NASP Director of Policy and Advocacy, Dr. Kelly Vaillancourt – Advocacy Strategies to Promote Sustained and Equitable Access to Comprehensive School Mental and Behavioral Health Services
Oct 27 – School Psychologist, Shawna Rader Kelly – What MTSS – Tier 1 is and How it Works
Nov 17 – Rutgers Social-Emotional and Character Development Lab Director, Maurice Elias – SEL is Basic to Humanity; SEL is a Universal Catalyst
Dec 14 – School Psychologist, Pola Morrison – Using Teletherapy to Bolster Student Mental Health
This is one webinar series you won’t want to miss! Register now!
Watch the webinars live or watch the recordings later! *Live attendees will receive a certificate of attendance.
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About the Webinar Series
Multi-Tiered System of Supports for Addressing Mental Health Services in Schools: An Overview and Introduction
Aug 25, 2022
Presented by: John Kelly, PhD, NCSP
Supporting children’s mental health is critical to their success in school and life. Mental health services for children and youth are most effective when provided as a continuum of care that integrates schools, families, and communities. This continuum of care is most commonly known as a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS). The MTSS framework encompasses prevention and wellness promotion, universal screening for academic and behavioral barriers to learning, and implementing evidence-based interventions that increase in intensity based upon specific student needs.
This presentation will discuss the basic elements of a MTSS Framework, help distinguish between academic MTSS and mental/behavioral health MTSS, and the benefits of using a MTSS Framework to structure mental health supports in schools.
Dr. John Kelly is a retired school psychologist from the Commack School District, where he worked for 35 years. He is also an Adjunct Professor at St. John’s University in the School Psychology program. He earned his Ph.D. in Clinical and School Psychology from Hofstra University. Dr. Kelly has presented at numerous national and international conferences on topics that include mental and behavioral health services for children, advocacy training for school psychologists, legislative issues related to education and children, leadership development, violence and bullying prevention, and suicide awareness. Dr. Kelly is on the Executive Board of the New York Association of School Psychologists (NYASP) and is a Past-President of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). Dr. Kelly has received numerous state and national awards, including the NYS School Practitioner of the Year in 2001 and the NASP School Psychologist of the Year in 2003.
Advocacy Strategies to Promote Sustained and Equitable Access to Comprehensive School Mental and Behavioral Health Services
Sept 14, 2022
Presented by: Kelly Vaillancourt Strobach, PhD
Over the past few years, there has been increased attention, and unprecedented federal investments, in efforts to support increased access to comprehensive school mental and behavioral health services, and school mental health professionals. Most recently, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act provides billions of dollars to support the mental wellness of our students.
This webinar will: provide an overview of current federal funding streams available to support sustained and equitable access to comprehensive school mental and behavioral health services; highlight key activities and initiatives supported with this funding; and review some key actions at the local, state, and federal level that are necessary to ensure sustainable school mental and behavioral health service delivery systems.
Dr. Kelly Vaillancourt Strobach is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist and is currently the Director of Policy and Advocacy at the National Association of School Psychologists. Dr. Strobach consults with, advises, and collaborates with members of Congress, the Department of Education, and other key federal partners and national organizations to advance the availability of comprehensive school psychological services, promote safe schools, promote comprehensive school mental and behavioral health services, address the shortages in school psychology, and other education related issues. Dr. Strobach has developed, authored, and coauthored numerous articles and resources, including NASP’s Framework for Safe and Successful Schools and has presented nationally on issues related to school safety, school mental health, effective discipline policies, and the relationship between education policy and school practices.
Effective Tier 1 initiatives provide high quality, preventative supports to all students, increase equity, and result in improved educational outcomes. This session will review best practices for implementing high-quality, universal social-emotional learning programs in a multi-tiered intervention framework.
This presentation will discuss the basic elements of a MTSS Framework, help distinguish between academic MTSS and mental/behavioral health MTSS, and the benefits of using a MTSS Framework to structure mental health supports in schools.
Shawna Rader Kelly is a nationally certified school psychologist in Bozeman, Montana where she serves as the school psychologist at Bozeman High School and leads the district’s crisis response team. In her daily work she is actively involved in providing direct and indirect services to students, implementing multi-tiered systems of support, and supporting program evaluation in her building and district. In addition to her full-time work as a school psychologist, Shawna has worked as an adjunct professor at Montana State University and as a consultant for the Montana Office of Public Instruction, providing training to schools implementing multi-tiered systems of support. She serves as her state’s Credentialing Resource Specialist and chairs the state’s Credentialing and Professional Standards Board. With colleagues, she has worked to secure annual grants to support supervision of school psychology students and interns, support recruitment and retention efforts in the state of Montana, and to provide an annual training institute for prospective supervisors. Shawna is a frequent presenter at the state and national levels on topics such as mental and behavioral health services, MTSS implementation, threat assessment, school safety and crisis response, and professional supervision. An active volunteer leader, Shawna is a past-president and current committee chair for her state association, past Delegate to NASP, and former NASP Delegate Representative. She currently serves on the NASP Board of Directors as the Strategic Liaison for Professional Advocacy. In 2017, Shawna was recognized as the NASP School Psychologist of the Year.
SEL is Basic to Humanity; SEL is a Universal Catalyst
Nov 17, 2022
Presented by: Maurice Elias
We have learned a great deal about what is important for students’ success in school and life. This included social-emotional and character development (SECD, also referred to as SEL), a sense of positive purpose, the opportunity to make contributions, and access to school and classroom environments that consistently provide opportunities for growth in these essential areas. The challenges in accomplishing this are less technical than intentional. If this is not seen as a priority, it will not be done effectively. For students with special education needs, the need to focus on these areas- SECD, purpose, and contribution– is even more urgent. This work cannot be accomplished via “programs”; it requires a school-wide approach. This presentation will provide examples of what this looks like, drawn from schools that have walked the talk.
Maurice J. Elias is a professor in the Psychology Department at Rutgers University, director of the Rutgers Social-Emotional and Character Development Lab, and co-director of the Academy for Social-Emotional Learning in Schools, which offers certificate programs in direct instruction and school leadership relating to SEL and character development for educators and student support professionals in school and out-of-school settings. He has received the Sanford McDonnell Award for Lifetime Achievement in Character Education and the Joseph E. Zins Memorial Senior Scholar Award for Social-Emotional Learning from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). Prof. Elias is on the leadership teams of SEL4US and SEL4NJ.
Prof. Elias lectures nationally and internationally to educators and parents about students’ emotional intelligence, school success, social-emotional and character development, and youth purpose. Among Prof. Elias’s numerous books are The Joys & Oys of Parenting, Nurturing Students’ Character: Everyday Teaching Activities for Social-Emotional Learning, Boost Emotional Intelligence in Students: 30 Flexible Research-Based Lessons to Build EQ Skills, ASCD’s Promoting Social and Emotional Learning: Guidelines for Educators, the Social Decision Making/Social Problem Solving curricula for grades K–8, the new e-book Emotionally Intelligent Parenting, and a book for young children called Talking Treasure: Stories to Help Build Emotional Intelligence and Resilience in Young Children.
Prior to school closures due to the pandemic, researchers were already pointing to the viability of teletherapy services within schools. Then schools across the nation were faced with providing support services remotely without training and with emerging technology. What did we learn? And more importantly, where are we going as we continue to face staff shortages and increased awareness of the need for student wellbeing? Despite the challenges, we have found success in providing services to bolster student mental health in a consistently changing educational environment.
Pola Morrison has been a school psychologist for 25 years in K-12 districts across the nation and as an Accessibility Services Director in Higher Education. She has a longitudinal view of how special education supports individuals in education because she has serviced students early to adulthood. Her passion is to help innovate and collaborate with special education support services.