Alameda County, Social & Emotional Learning, 2025, Elementary School, Funded Projects
Our team of six elementary educators will work with The Teaching Well to obtain a two year cycle of wellness coaching. The program will include both self and collective care practices, and will also teach us how to model healthy SEL habits for our students. By integrating mindfulness into our teaching practice, we will develop tools to better manage our stress and build emotional resilience. Our students are still developing their prefrontal cortexes and rely on us to offer a regulated presence they mirror through co-regulation. Engaging in Mindful Mentoring and Group Coaching, the teachers on our team will not only grow individually but also as a cohesive group, equipped to mentor others and sustain this professional learning approach within the Garfield community.
2025, Social & Emotional Learning, Alameda County, Middle School, High School, Funded Projects
This project will provide CVUSD Middle and High School Activities Directors (ADs) with dedicated collaboration and professional development time in order to build our own capacity as well as our students’ capacity for leadership and school connectedness. Because there are only 1 or 2 Activities Directors at each site, opportunities to collaborate and take part in meaningful professional development are limited. This dedicated collaboration and professional development will support our growth as a team and our ability to inspire and connect students to their schools. California Association of Directors of Activities (CADA) resources will add a new layer to our professional knowledge.
2025, Social & Emotional Learning, Santa Clara County, Elementary School, Funded Projects
Teacher and administrator burnout is growing at our school. Our nucleus of trained teachers will improve the school’s response to challenging student behaviors and address key factors, such as chronic absenteeism and family engagement. We will work with a consultant to implement Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS, via https://livesinthebalance.org), partnering adults and students to find agreed-upon solutions, while also building student agency and problem-solving. We will take a case-study approach with target students, apply it broadly in our classrooms and collaborate weekly to debrief. This project will invest us with purpose and enthusiasm to revitalize the school community in service of students.
2024, Social & Emotional Learning, Alameda County, Elementary School, Funded Projects
This project aims to develop and implement DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) curricula through project-based learning that incorporate diverse perspectives, cultures, and voices in a K-8 Mandarin immersion school.
Marin County, Social & Emotional Learning, 2024, High School, Funded Projects
Our goal is to empower staff to conduct classroom inquiry to galvanize our collective efficacy – a shared belief that through our collective action, we can positively influence student outcomes.
Alameda County, Social & Emotional Learning, 2023, Elementary School, Funded Projects
Play theorist Brian Sutton-Smith concluded, ‘The opposite of play is not work–the opposite of play is depression.’ While research supports this, traditional schools continue to treat play as frivolous and double down on the pressure to raise students’ standardized test scores.
