JCISD Whole Child
December 2019
Check out the Whole Child Website
Whole Child Collaborative
The Whole Child Collaborative meets on the first Wednesday of every month. This meeting consists of school and community partners coming together in a trusting, collective space to learn, collaborate, advocate and take action to change systems that impact young people. Visit the Whole Child Collaborative tab on our website to view slides from previous meetings.
In December, the Whole Child Collaborative transitioned to an action team structure in order to start making impact in our targeted root causes. Starting January 2020, Action Teams will meet monthly and Whole Child Collaborative will meet quarterly
Action Team Structure:
- Create shared space to work together around a shared root cause where they have capacity and influence to impact system change
- Action teams emerge and respond to identified needs
- Lead the development and implementation of powerful strategies to address shared root causes by aligning activity and resources
Action teams will:
- Commit to working together on a planned and consistent/ongoing basis
- Authentically engage those most impacted by the problem
- Use system change frameworks and methods and data (ie human centered design, etc) to better understand the problem and make change
- Communicate transparently to share learning, align and coordinate the work
- Track real time measures of change
- Identify and communicate barriers faced and resources needed
ACTION TEAMS EXIST TO TAKE ACTION!
2020 SCHEDULE
January: Action Team Meeting
February: Action Team Meeting
March 4th: Whole Child Collaborative
April: Action Team Meeting
May: Action Team Meeting
June 3rd: Whole Child Collaborative
July: Action Team Meeting
August: Action Team Meeting
September 2nd: Whole Child Collaborative
October: Action Team Meeting
November: Action Team Meeting
December 2nd: Whole Child Collaborative
How to Overcome the "winter blues"
Stay the Course: Support Attendance in the Winter Months
Every winter, bad weather — snow, slush, freezing temperatures or even heavy rains in warmer climates — can present challenges to getting children to school. So do the colds, fevers and earaches that often come with the winter months.
These tough, but common winter conditions mean it is even more important to remind parents about the importance of good attendance so they are motivated to make every effort to get their children to school despite the challenges! Absences, even if they are excused, can add up to academic trouble.
The tools and resources in this winter messaging toolkit (on this page, below) can help parents and community members develop strategies and plans to overcome weather-related barriers that stand in the way of getting children to school. While such extra steps are important for all families, they are even more important for low-income students who are more likely to depend on public transit or walking to get to school, both of which can be easily disrupted in bad weather. These same students are less likely to have access to good health care, making them more susceptible to colds and other ailments.
What They Have to Say...Matters
The Whole Child Team was awarded a Learning Community Partner Project grant through the Jackson Collaborative Network grant last winter. This project allowed us to participate in a learning community of other cross-sector grantees and learn from one another about best practice strategies to authentically engage various members of our community. It is critical to obtain the voice of those we serve, but many of us don’t know how to do that well, what tools and resources are available to help us in that effort, and what authentic engagement looks like in reality.
Engaging students in their educational experience is a core value and tenet of the Whole Child Model (WSCC). Authentic youth engagement is achieved when children and youth feel respected for their ideas and opinions and are free to state them; are involved in an environment that facilitates their engagement; and are included in, and connected to, the school in meaningful ways.
A number of powerful themes emerged from the interviews...data that can, and should, drive our thinking and decision making about how best to support all students, especially those who have faced the most barriers in school. Some of the key findings included:
What students shared:
Things outside of school, such as personal and family issues, greatly impact their ability to focus, study and make good choices. (Outside circumstances impact school performance)
Alternatives to suspension and expulsion are needed
They need a clear path from alternative settings back to general education settings
Racism is alive and well and needs to be addressed
Bullying continues with little to no intervention from adults around them
What students need:
To know they are cared about, and supported, by their teachers and other school staff
Help with bullying, racist behavior, and discrimination
Adults who don’t make assumptions about them
Less punitive means of discipline
Access to resources both in and out of school
Someone to talk to about life, relationships, etc.
Mentors, people to connect to. Role models who are like them
Techniques for handling stress
NEXT STEPS:
As a result of this project, the Whole Child team is developing a tool kit of resources, protocols, and tools that schools can use to connect with their students in more rich and meaningful ways. Authentic engagement is more than asking questions, giving students a survey and checking a box. Authentic engagement is about creating trusting spaces where students feel safe; truly hearing what our students are telling us even when what they have to say feels uncomfortable; and engaging them in the design of strategies and solutions to make their school experience more rewarding and equitable.
How can communities use school spaces during vacation times
Schools are more than just places of learning for children. They serve as centers of connection for families from surrounding neighborhoods and have many facilities and resources that can benefit the wider community.
Opening school spaces during times when students are not on campus can significantly improve health and equity for those who live nearby. School facilities can provide spaces for many types of activities and events:
Physical activity
Community gardens
Continuing education opportunities
Cultural events
Cooking and nutrition classes
Farmers markets
Whole Child Resources and Updates
Nutrition Education Resources...School Wellness Specialist, Amiee Vondrasek
Strength & Conditioning software for Athletics and PE tracking… local rep, Mike Holmes
Senate Bill 600 - this bill eliminates Health and PE as a graduation requirement. Serious advocacy is needed from you, the teachers! Print, sign, and send the letter to your Senator in addition to speaking to your community. This sweeping change is bad for Whole Child development and may impact the need for schools to employ health and PE teachers.
Learn Whole Child strategies to model healthy behaviors and a comprehensive school physical activity program at the national SHAPE Convention
LAUNCH & ENERGIZE...keynote speaker Dr. Deb Berkey shared her personal narrative in addition to a motivational poem, “The Dash” by Linda Ellis. I hope you enjoy the quick read and consider sharing your story with students.
Upcoming Whole Child Trainings
- Vaping Solution Room Day 2: December 9th, 2019. Email eric.swihart@jcisd.org to register
- Attention Middle School Health Teachers. Click HERE to register for Michigan Model Training: Tobacco/Vaping and Alcohol & Other Drugs Modules: January 29th, 2020
- MI School- School Justice Partnership: May 11-13th, 2020 http://www.school2prison.com
Contact the Whole Child Team
Eric Swihart: Whole Child Coordinator (eric.swihart@jcisd.org)
Caitlin Williams: Attendance and Homeless Program Coordinator (caitlin.williams@jcisd.org)
Rebecca Hurst: Behavior Health Project Coordinator (rebecca.hurst@jcisd.org)
Kelsea Jabkiewicz: Data Integration and Medicaid Cost Recovery Coordinator (kelsea.jabkiewicz@jcisd.org)
Angela Maddox: Whole Child Secretary (angela.maddox@jcisd.org)
Website: www.jcisd.org
Location: 6700 Browns Lake Road, Jackson, MI, USA
Phone: (517) 787-5903