Canadian Association for School Health

Inaugural Pre-conference National Community of Practice

Symposium, April 21, 2008Gatineau, Quebec

Proceedings fromCreating Connections in

School Mental Health 2006

An International Symposium onProgressive Efforts in School-Based

Mental Health Programming

Goals of the Day

• Increase capacity in Alberta relevant to School Mental Health.

• Engage members of the Education sector, along with supportive allied professionals in child-serving sectors, in developmental discussions.

• Generate recommendations and record what enhanced capacity in School Mental Health could look like, regionally and provincially.

Specific Objectives

• Present information on learnings and outcomes

• Generate relevant recommendations and desired outcomes for development in Alberta

• Provide impetus for the establishment of an Alberta “Community of Practice”.

• Explore opportunities for collaboration

Participants

• 60 Alberta based front line and management level education and health/school health practitioners

• 15 Panel presenters (Alberta-based and international)

Symposium Themes

• The Importance of Infrastructure• Bridging Research to Practice• Whole School Mental Health/Universal

Prevention Programming • School-based Service Delivery• Critical Issues in Mental Health/Education

Integration

Symposium Format

• 4-5 Leaders/Practitioners in the thematic area

• 10 minutes each to highlight 3 most significant learnings, 3 most prominent outcomes

• 20 small group discussion to generate 3 recommendations and 3 potentially desirable outcomes from these recommendations

Whole School Mental Health

• or- School Mental Health in Health Promoting Schools

• or-School Mental Health within Comprehensive School Health Framework

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Panel Presenters

• Helen Butler, Mgr. Prof. Learning, Adol. Health and Social Environments, Ctre. for Adol. Health, Melbourne

• Jennifer Axelrod, Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago

• Caroline Clauss-Ehlers, Dept. Counselling Psych., Rutgers, New Jersey

• Louise Rowling, U of Sydney, Australia; President, Intercamhs

• Additional commentary by Mark Weist, Director, Center for School Mental Health, University of Maryland and Carl Paternite, Director School based Mental Health Programs, Dept.of Psych., U of Miami in Ohio

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School Environment/Ethos

Learning/Instruction

Community/Services

Whole School/ComprehensiveSchool Health

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Research

• &Practice-Unidimensional, collaborative knowledge creation, transfer & exchange

• ID innovation by single, and school based practitioners & offer resources re: evaluation and dissemination

• Action-based, built on existing structures, where possible

• Link to school reform/school change/effective schools literature

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Research (2)– Integrally involve researchers continuously– Compile provincial cost-benefit analysis of

impacts of smh in relation to key factors eg. justice, hospitalization, medical leave

– Engage teachers as reflective practitioners-just just for outside experts to do

– Collect and collate baseline & ongoing data on prevention programming to track progress

– Build data base re: school based healthy policies and practices and track changes

What we know…in Alberta (1)

• Key Issues (Advancing the Mental Health Agenda, April 2004)Service capacity and gaps, especially for childrenStigmatization and inequity-creates significant barriers

to treatmentFunding inadequacyNeed for integrated service deliveryNeed for decentralized, multi-provider service

environmentNeed to address organizational barriers to integrating

services

Research (3)

• Investigate impacts of collective efficacy/professional satisfaction/school connectedness (of students and school staff) on school climate and connectedness with academic success and well-being.

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Policy

• Make Social Emotional Learning a mandated component of curriculum

• Focus on prevention efforts, implementing protective factors, starting in pre-K.

• Boards of Education invest in the philosophy and make it an integral part of their mandate

• Ensure cross ministerial policy and resources to promote and support collaboration at all levels

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Training

• Integrate into mh promotion initiatives to reduce stigma to staff, students and community

• PD for teachers on mh and mh promotion essential:– connection between education and mh– role of educators in mh prevention and

promotion– understanding of issues, responses,

resources and self-care 15

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Training (2)

• Pre-service training• Resources to support school communities

to learn from and share with each other in expertise and successful approaches

• Cross-sectoral training, co-developed and co-delivered

• Systematically provide structured opportunities for school staff to reflect on how everyday practice promotes mh

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Practice

• Adapt and implement developed whole school mh promotion approaches eg Mind Matters, Gatehouse Project (Australia)

• Integrate knowledge and practice regarding academic and non-academic barriers to learning and cognitive functioning

• More school-friendly, school based support across the continuum

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Practice (2)

• Re: whole school practice-review existing “templates” for programming and services and re-educate stakeholders re: their implementation, emphasizing flexibility to meet the needs of various settings and cultures

• Develop processes which help parents to be heard rather than blamed

• Build on the concepts within “healthy school communities”-use consistent language

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Practice (3)

• Focus on whole school community, including students and all adults

• Develop a community of practice regionally, provincially, and beyond

• Listen to the ideas of educators, students and community members, and involve them in solution finding

• Enlist media involvement• Create safe environments for discussion

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Gloria Wells

• Director, Collaborative Initiatives, Rocky View School Division, Airdrie, Alberta

• Executive Director, Wellsprings Education and Human Service Consulting, Calgary, Alberta

• Contact: gwells@rockyview.ab.ca or

wellsgl@shaw.ca

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