JCISD Learning Services Update
August 2022 Update
Welcome Back!
The Jackson County ISD Learning Services & Instruction Department services many areas of education and our community. Our areas of service include, but are not limited to: Leadership, Continuous Improvement, Early Childhood, Whole Child, Attendance/Truancy, Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), Literacy, Math, and Science. (See LS General Org Chart).
Although these services are big buckets of work in & of themselves, we are intentionally not siloed. We believe the integration of our work across areas in & outside of Learning Services makes the greatest impact. We are also highly collaborative with other departments in the JCISD, such as Special Education, Technology, & Jackson Area Career Center.
If you have a new request for services/support or any feedback for improvement of our team... well, we want to hear from you! Click here to complete the form and we will get back to you!
In this issue of our Learning Services Newsletter, we are taking a special look at the Whole Child. Also, you will find upcoming PD opportunities, ways we are putting into action your suggestions, and ways to contact us! Next month we will spotlight Early Childhood.
The Whole Child Team
Health Education
Physical Education and Physical Activity
Nutrition Environment and Services
Health Services
Counseling, Psychological and Social Services
Social and Emotional Climate
Physical Environment
Employee Wellness
Family Engagement
Community Involvement
The following examples provide a snapshot of what “whole child” support looks like in a school or our community:
Helping to foster partnerships between schools and community providers
Providing professional learning opportunities to teachers, administrators and other school staff
Supporting a school or organization in improving their systems to identify needs of students and provide appropriate interventions and support
Coaching a school administrator or building team around improving school climate and culture
Obtaining voice and perspective of key stakeholders like teachers, students, and parents
Leading the Whole Child Collaborative, a cross sector space where schools, community organizations, healthcare providers, social services, etc., come together to address, and take action on needs in our schools and community
Collecting and utilizing meaningful data to drive decision making and change in schools
Janelle Buchler
Kelsea Jabkiewicz
Kelsea Jabkiewicz serves as the Whole Child Coordinator on the Whole Child Team. The main focus of her work centers around the WSCC components of Family Engagement, Community Partnership, Employee Wellness, and Social Emotional Climate. She spends a great deal of her time helping schools build and strengthen their systems to support students and families.
Eric Swihart
Rebecca Hurst
Kimberly Brown
Kimberly Brown is the Attendance, Truancy and Special Populations Coordinator at the JCISD. In this role she has the opportunity to work alongside LEA's in an effort to address chronic absenteeism and truancy for the K-12 student population in Jackson County. She also coordinates resources and services for families that experience housing instability and homelessness in Jackson County. She states "I look forward to working with you all in the near future!"
Frances Adams, Felicia Thornton, Tonya Kendra
- Act as liaisons between families, schools and community resources
- Help families navigate systems
- Engage with community partners, initiatives, and committees
- Implement screenings in order to identify needs and determine level of care needed
- Make referrals and coordinate care to assist students and families in connecting to needed services and supports
Did You Know?... Some Bright Spots in Whole Child
- Ten of our 12 public districts and two of our charters have established "whole child" or non-academic school goals in their Continuous Improvement Plans for the upcoming school year!
- We are launching an Attendance Task Force
- We received additional funding for McKinney Vento programing
- 25 school buildings from Hillsdale and Jackson County are committed to Step Up efforts for the 2022-2023 school year. Step Up is a program that provides funds, supplies, and coaching to schools working to improve their wellness culture and learning climate. School Wellness Teams assess the school environment with a survey then choose to focus on one of the following areas each year: Physical Activity, Nutrition, or Wellbeing. If you have questions about using Step Up for School Wellness to energize your school's environment contact Eric Swihart or click here to read more!
- Our team is growing! We were able to hire two more General Education Social Workers!
- The School Social Worker/Community School Engagement Specialist (SSW/CSES) provide a variety of services to support the mental health needs of students in Jackson County. During the 2021-22 school year, the SSW/CSES group worked with a total of 1,282 students. Part of their role is to screen for social/emotional health using mental health screening tools. Collectively they have administered 388 screenings. Many of the students that are referred to the SSW/CSES require monitoring and working long-term with the student. In order to do this, they use a document called the Plan of Care which allows the social worker to develop and implement an individualized plan for each student that assists with case management and care coordination along with monitoring the student’s progress. During the last school year, 108 Plans of Care were developed by the social workers.
What to Expect from the Whole Child Team this Upcoming Year
- Check out Our WHOLE CHILD WEBSITE for valuable information, tools, and resources on all things “whole child”!
- Join us for quarterly Whole Child Collaborative (WCC) meetings: 9/7/22, 12/7/22, 3/1/23, 6/7/23)
- McKinney Vento Kickoff Meeting- 09/01/2022
- Fall Attendance Meeting- 09/22/2022
- Be a changemaker! Join one of our monthly action teams! CLICK HERE for MORE INFORMATION
- Coming this fall: We are launching an Attendance Taskforce that will be working to address needs around attendance and improve our system!
- We have three General Education Social Workers/Community School Engagement Specialists who can work with children, youth and families with the greatest needs!
- CLICK HERE to access our WELLNESS LIBRARY of resources to check out for your classroom or school
- Looking for creative ways to capture the voice and perspective of your students or parents? Check out our JCISD Engagement Toolkit
- A Crisis Response toolkit is being developed and will be shared in the fall!
A Spotlight on Upcoming PD Opportunities
Training Title: MIPHY 101 for Community Partners
Description: Participants will learn about the MIPHY Survey (Michigan Profile for Healthy Youth), how to access Jackson County results, potential uses of the data, and local trends, strengths, and areas of need. The MiPHY provides student results on health risk behaviors including substance use, violence, physical activity, nutrition, sexual behavior, and emotional health in grades 7, 9, and 11. The survey also measures risk and protective factors most predictive of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use and violence.
Date: Oct. 5
Time: 9:30-11am
Format: In-person
Audience: Community Partners
Link to register and number of SCECH's available: TBA
Training Title: MIPHY Updates and Results for School Teams
Description: Participants will learn about the MIPHY Survey (Michigan Profile for Healthy Youth), how to access county and local results, potential uses of the data, and local trends, strengths, and areas of need. School teams will also look at results for their respective schools. The MiPHY provides student results on health risk behaviors including substance use, violence, physical activity, nutrition, sexual behavior, and emotional health in grades 7, 9, and 11. The survey also measures risk and protective factors most predictive of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use and violence.
Date: Oct 19
Time: 9:30-11am
Format: In-person
Audience: School staff
Link to register and number of SCECH's available: TBA
Training Title: HIV Certification & Sex Ed Updates
Description: This regional professional learning opportunity is intended for teachers who provide instruction in Sex Education and/or HIV education to K-12 students. The Michigan Department of Education recommends that teachers who instruct Sex Education take this course as a refresher at least once every five years. Michigan law requires that teachers who provide HIV instruction receive this professional development. The course will not certify teachers to teach Sex Education; only HIV/AIDS certification will be given.
Date(s): Sep. 8, Nov. 17, & March 23, 2023 Times. Vary. Click dates for times.
Format: Online
Audience: Any K-12 teacher of HIV and Sex Ed instruction
Link to register and number of SCECH's available: Click each date for specific times and registration links. Sep. 8, Nov. 17, & March 23, 2023
Training Title: Energizing Physical Education
Description: PE teachers gather to share what works, problem-solve common challenges, and learn new activities to engage students mentally, physically, and socially!
Date: TBD
Time: TBD
Format: In-person
Audience: Any PE teacher or classroom teacher interested in incorporating physical activity in the classroom.
Link to register and number of SCECH's available: TBA
There will be additional trainings and drop-in sessions (both training and Q&A Sessions) scheduled. Once the schedule is finalized it will be posted.