Kindness week serves as a reminder to everyone in the school community of the importance of treating others with compassion and respect, not just during the designated week but every day. By dedicating specific time and effort to celebrating Kindness, Washington Elementary not only enhances students’ social and emotional development but also strengthens the bonds within the school community. It cultivates a culture where acts of kindness are not just encouraged but celebrated, reinforcing the notion that everyone has a role to play in creating a positive culture and climate.
Our Unconditional Education Partnership at Washington Elementary is built on the foundational values of love, compassion, and joy. We believe that Kindness is a powerful tool for nurturing the well-being of everyone and is a significant step towards empowering our students to be the best versions of themselves. Kindness week serves as a reminder to everyone in the school community of the importance of treating others with compassion and respect, not just during the designated week but every day. By dedicating specific time and effort to celebrating Kindness, Washington Elementary not only enhances students’ social and emotional development but also strengthens the bonds within the school community. It cultivates a culture where acts of kindness are not just encouraged but celebrated, reinforcing the notion that everyone has a role to play in creating a positive culture and climate. At Washington Elementary school, Kindness week has become a tradition, and every year during the second week in February, the school organizes week-long activities and challenges for students to participate in class and during lunch/recess. Previous projects include making “Kindness Chains”, “Kindness Jars”, “Kindness Bingo”, and reading different books on kindness with discussion prompts. With the goal of bringing the entire school community together, the school organizes an art project that is installed in a common area. This year the art project was for each student to create a “Square on Kindness” with their buddy student sharing either their favorite Kindness quote, a colorful drawing, or sharing what kindness means to them. The squares were all combined to create a giant Kindness poster to display in the library. The culminating art project, the Kindness poster, symbolizes the collective commitment of the school community to uphold and promote kindness, respect, and empathy. Displaying this poster prominently in the library not only serves as a visual reminder of the values espoused by Washington Elementary but also inspires ongoing acts of kindness and reinforces the sense of belonging among students, teachers, and staff. Moreover, by involving students in planning and leading kindness activities, the school empowers them to take ownership of their school culture and climate and become active contributors. This not only boosts their self-esteem but also fosters leadership skills and a sense of responsibility towards others. Overall, Kindness week at Washington Elementary goes beyond just a week-long celebration; it embodies the school’s dedication to nurturing the well-being of its students and fostering a supportive and inclusive learning environment where everyone can thrive. Through initiatives like Kindness week, Washington Elementary is laying the groundwork for a future generation that values empathy, compassion, and kindness in all aspects of life. Blog Bost By: Puja Satwani, Director of School Partnerships
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In our work and in our teams, we’ve talked a lot about anti-oppression, we have also realized that the term (although super important in its emphasis on dismantling institutions of unjust power) seemed to be missing something. We have also become interested in liberation and decolonial lenses that look more deeply at the ways that oppression, identity, and power operate in our work. Granted, there are a lot of ways to look at oppression and how it connects to a larger system of inequality. While oppression focuses on the forces of powers that inhibit things about a person or community, liberation speaks to the possibility of constructive change. To liberate is to reclaim and reposition in connection with others and the world around them. According to Castro and Afuape (2016) liberation is linked to “the transformative process of ‘conscientization’, in which we are both liberated and liberate, is dialectical, dialogical, relational and co-created. Therefore, no one person does the ‘liberating’. The development of critical consciousnesses is liberatory, as it creates space to reflect; be shaped by and shape the world and see new possibilities as creative ‘actors’ (rather than passive subjects) in our own experience.” One of the fore-thinkers around a more liberational approach to psychotherapy was connected to Ignacio Martin-Baro. Drawing on Liberation Theology’s “preferential option for the poor,” Martin-Baro called on all of psychology—whether social, clinical, or educational—to stand on the side of the oppressed people of Latin America and join with them in the struggle for social justice (Gaztambide 2019). Inspired by Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy, Martin-Baro collaborated with marginalized communities in El Salvador to develop research projects that empowered them to articulate their experience of political dislocation and develop a critical consciousness of how those experiences were related to oppressive power structures. Unfortunately, he was murdered by the government of El Salvador because of his dissident viewpoints and his access to communal power through his religious community. Through his experiences, Martin-Baro developed ideas around how one can engage with Liberation Psychology through the following approaches, which have also been re-interpreted into applications for psychotherapy. They include:
We invite all of our colleagues to think about how they may utilize some of these approaches in their work with young folks. Let’s start a discussion in our small groups and communities about whether these ideas feel helpful to the work that we do both on an individual and larger ecological scale. Moving into Praxis:
Thank you for reading, and for the work you do! Blog Post By: The Mosaic and Pathways Team
At Alhambra High School's Counseling Enriched Classroom, we believe that the connections you make and the emotions you feel can shape your behavior and your experience of the world. That's why we work hard to create a culture that values connections, inclusion, and positivity. Here are some of the specific things we do to uphold these values.
Blog Post By: Khomsai Ounniyom, Assistant Director of School Partnerships
At the heart of Unconditional Education are the relationships we build. A commitment for each and every student to feel supported, welcomed, connected and safe in their school community. However, it can be easy to lose hope and sight of this vision as we support school sites where the impact of violence is ongoing, and administrators and staff are managing crises on a daily basis. As of January 2024, it has been one year since Seneca began our partnership with Monroe Middle School. While it often takes more time to build our relationships and embed ourselves in a school community, the administrative team at Monroe Middle School, led by their principal Ruth Stephens Radle, has embraced us fully. She shines a light on the many challenges students and families face in the Monroe Middle School community and strives to improve upon the school climate and support for young people. For her this means- first and foremost - focusing on school staff’s relationships with the youth. Her commitment to relationship is exemplified by one impactful activity that I’d like to highlight as an inspiring practice– the dot activity. Ruth shares her inspiration to bring the 'dot activity' to Monroe Middle School came from Project Cornerstone, where their education director looked into the research about what drives resiliency in students. Not surprisingly, students who do well usually have at least one adult in their life they feel connected to and supported by. This is at the heart of what Seneca Family of Agencies believes as well, which makes our partnership a perfect match. At an all staff meeting in the beginning of the year, Ruth posts the names and pictures of all 700+ students from her middle school on the wall, divided by grade level. Each teacher is then asked to look at the faces of all the young students and place a yellow dot sticker to the left of a student’s photo if they have a relationship with the student in which the student would go to them for help if needed, and place a red dot sticker to the right of the student's picture if they have any worries about the student, whether it is academic, social- emotional, or behavioral concerns. Looking around the room you can immediately see a snapshot of how all the students are doing, as well as how the teachers feel about their relationships with the youth. Ruth shares that often the students who have a lot of red dots also have a lot of yellow dots. It is the students with no yellow dots that she is the most worried about. In the next meeting, Ruth engages her whole staff team to focus on the students with no yellow dots, asking each teacher to choose 3-4 students who they will intentionally reach out to in the next few weeks. This year Ruth shares she also provided teachers with specific, research-based strategies to choose from to engage with the students they have identified. For example, a strategy called the "2 x 10" focuses on engaging the student in a 2-minute conversation over 10 consecutive days, working on building a relationship and getting to know the student outside of the classroom. The Monroe Middle School's intervention team then focuses their efforts on the students who had 3 or more red dots, delving into other data measures to further determine what the risk/need is for each of those students and how to address those needs. This is now the 2nd year Ruth has had Monroe Middle School's teachers engage in the 'dot activity'. She shares there are still a lot of barriers to overcome - mostly in people's mindset about the importance of this activity and the amount of time needed to dedicate to it, but as Ruth quotes Rita Peterson's Ted Talk, "kids don't learn from teachers they don't like". Relationships are what is critically important to building students' resiliency and success, not only in education but also in life. Partnering with Ruth and Monroe Middle School is an exciting opportunity for us to join in the vision of expanding teacher's perspectives from being "hyper-focused" on certain students to seeing the connectedness and community-health across the entire student-body. Seneca’s Unconditional Education model truly values celebrating what's going well for children, families and schools, and the Dot Activity allows the whole school team to do just that. Additionally, Ruth's vision of collaboration emphasizes that it is not any one person's job to "carry it all". Working together we can have an accelerated impact on the lives of our students and "all lift this together". Just as Unconditional Education aims to help every student thrive, Ruth's vision is that all the adults at Monroe Middle School will see their part in eliminating barriers through coming together as a community. As Rita Peterson reminds us - "Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them." Blog Post By: Jennifer Lin, Clinical Supervisor
During the 23-24 school year, behavior strand leaders participate in a bi-weekly learning community. This space allows leaders from different programs to gather, share, and learn from one another in a free-flowing manner. This year we have focused our efforts on coaching and supervision. Our main resource is “The Art of Coaching” by Elena Aguilar. The books states, “The Art of Coaching offers all the tools necessary for professionals who coach educators. It demystifies the process of coaching with easy-to-apply, immediately actionable ideas. Elena Aguilar offers a model for transformational coaching designed for new and veteran coaches, teacher leaders, mentors, principals, and other administrators.” The information below has helped guide my thinking as I support others with their beliefs around behaviors, academics, and the educational system. In chapter 3 of the “Art of Coaching”, the author introduces a framework titled “The Ladder of Inference”. This framework provides a tool to see how our beliefs are formed and why we do what we do. The “Ladder of Inference” is formed around 7 concepts. Concept 1: Observable Data and Experiences Concept 2: Selected Data Concept 3: Added Meaning Concept 4: Assumptions Concept 5: Conclusions Concept 6: Beliefs Concept 7: Actions The role of a coach is to support others with moving through the steps listed above to form their belief system. As leaders, we must actively explore our beliefs systems, to see transformational and sustained change within our school systems. Finally, “The ladder of Inference is a tool to help us delineate the cognitive steps that lead to our belief system, When we guide clients down the ladder, they can explore other ladders to climb up. This is how we dismantle racist belief systems, or beliefs systems about boys and education, or girls and math, and so on.”-Elena Aguilar Blog Post By: Davonte Wilson, Assistant Director of School PartnershipsUtilizing Data to Drive Tier 1 Interventions: A Success Story from Verde Elementary School3/11/2024 Creating effective interventions to address behavior requires a strategic approach, and at Verde Elementary School, we've embraced the power of data-driven decision-making to implement Tier 1 interventions that make a meaningful impact. At the core of our strategy is the School-Wide Information System (SWIS), a web-based platform where behavior and discipline referrals are logged and analyzed. This system enables us to efficiently gather and dissect data, providing insights into who, what, where, when, and why behaviors are occurring. Armed with this information, we can develop targeted interventions to proactively address issues and minimize the time spent reacting to behavior incidents. To start, Sanita McNeally, our dedicated Behavior Support Specialist, delves into the behavior data to identify specific problem areas. With a clear problem statement in hand, our Coordination of Services Team, under the guidance of our Unconditional Education Coach, Asha Weber, formulates Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound (SMART) goals. These goals serve as the foundation for our intervention plans, which focus on prevention, teaching, recognition, and correction of behavior. In one recent case, our team analyzed data from November and targeted physical aggression incidents occurring on the playground within a specific grade level. Our goal was ambitious: to reduce these incidents by 50%. We devised a multi-faceted approach, including adjusting yard supervision protocols, partnering with an agency to add additional supervisors at hot spots on the yard, implementing targeted social skills lessons, and providing conflict resolution training for staff. To reinforce positive behavior, we utilized a rewards system using Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) points, along with whole-class incentives for exemplary behavior. For students still struggling with aggression, we offered problem-solving conferences and specialized lessons in soccer rules, led by Sanita and our Student Support Specialist, Katryna Soto. The success of our intervention was truly a team effort, requiring careful planning and collaboration from all stakeholders. When we reconvened in February to review the data from the past eight weeks, we were thrilled to see a staggering 78.5% reduction in aggressive behavior incidents on the playground by the identified grade level. This achievement not only validates the effectiveness of our approach but also underscores the importance of ongoing data analysis in driving continuous improvement. Armed with this newfound success, our team is already looking ahead, using fresh data to identify our next goal and tailor our interventions accordingly. By harnessing the power of data and collaboration, we're creating a safer, more supportive learning environment for all students at Verde Elementary School. Together, we're making a difference—one data-driven intervention at a time. Blog Post By: Jenna Evans, Assistant Director of School Partnerships
Located in Hayward, California, Cherryland Elementary School is a vital part of the Hayward Unified School District, catering to 903 students from kindergarten to sixth grade. The UE HEART (Hayward Empowering Advocacy and Radical Transformation) program provides a classroom environment enriched with counseling services to support the academic and personal growth of its students. One student in Cherryland’s counseling enriched classroom has expressed a keen interest in pursuing the CEO position at Seneca as their future career goal. In January, Leticia Galyean Seneca’s CEO visited the Cherryland counseling enriched classroom. During her time at Cherryland, Leticia was given a tour by the students and they also took the opportunity to ask her questions about her job. As a special treat, Leticia was able to witness a piano performance by the same student who wants to be Seneca’s CEO. At the end of the visit the students gave Leticia thank you cards for visiting their classroom. Blog Post By: Stacey Buenavista, Director of School Partnerships
As Team Berkeley, we have a renewed commitment to building connection throughout our program! In the recent months we have enjoyed opportunities for students and staff alike to enhance relationships by engaging in new and exciting experiences together. Here is a little bit about a couple of them 🙂. Field Trip to Kirin- In our Counseling Enriched Classroom program at Berkeley High School, our students took a field trip to Kirin Chinese restaurant in Berkeley. They shared a family-style meal connected to their recent lessons in their Ethnic Studies class. They all reported the food was delicious, they had a great time, and enjoyed each other's company! Staff Outing to Game On- For a recent staff outing we went to Game On in Berkeley where we engaged in some serious gaming challenges together! They have a variety of "gaming rooms" each consisting of "live action adventure" in which you have to work together to solve one or more puzzles. Here is the link for those who are interested- https://www.gameonberkeley.com/about. Our team had so much fun with lots of laughter throughout the experience! Blog Post By: Elizabeth McPhee, Director of School Partnerships
This year, our West Bay team has engaged in a collective care activity during our monthly staff meeting. Each month, different staff members volunteer to lead a collective care activity based on their personal interests to support our program’s work/life balance goals while also learning fun facts about our colleagues’ different interests. So far this year, we have done cupcake decorating with Mickey, Sound bath with Jill, Ripping packs (Pokémon tournament) with Kat, Sip N’ Paint with Grace, friendship bracelets with Roxy, and Teatime with Cristina. These activities have boosted team morale and camaraderie. Our staff have identified that they look forward to our collective care time. Blog Post By: Jalecia Jones, Clinical Supervisor
Recently I got a puppy. Actually, my partner and I got TWO puppies on the same day, leading us to wonder what is wrong with us (impulsive decision!) and leading us to get outside - several times a day. In reflecting on the impact of this overnight lifestyle adjustment, I’ve decided to write a bit about the benefits of getting outside for our physical and mental wellness. I’ll also include a puppy photo because I believe exposure to cuteness leads to a type of mental wellness for many of us. You’re welcome. It’s not just canine companions that encourage getting outside; most of us in the Unconditional Education family spend a lot of time with children at work. And children and youth tend to be experts at getting outside -- (and are cute too!). I guess what I’m getting at is that going outside is almost always an option and this can enhance our lives significantly. It's easy to get caught up in the stress of our responsibilities, tethered to screens and collapsing on the couch after work. Looking at the natural instincts of children to run and play is a gentle reminder that we, too, can be profoundly impacted by just getting out there and taking a walk. Nourishing the Body and Mind: Embracing Active Play and Wonder: Children are naturally inclined to move their bodies and engage in active play. We even offer students “energy releases” to help them eventually focus better in the classroom. Spontaneous outdoor activities not only promote physical health but can also foster a sense of joy and tap into our inner freedom. As adults, we can take inspiration from children's playfulness and incorporate more imagination and movement into our outdoor experiences. Likewise walking my puppies has forced me to get up earlier, splash in puddles, appreciate the thrill of finding the perfect chew-stick, and even notice more squirrels perching in the trees. We all know that exercise boosts mood and improves physical health. Add in the playfulness of seeing the world through the eyes of a child or pet, and suddenly we’ve got the potential for an energetic shift towards wonder. Sometimes I really don’t feel like going on a walk, but I ALWAYS feel better afterwards: more physically grounded, not to mention proud of the steps I’m adding to my exercise goals. Cultivating Connection: Building Bonds Through Shared Experiences: Children routinely demonstrate how outdoor activities provide endless opportunities for social interaction and community building. Walk through an elementary school playground at recess and you’ll see children chasing each other, playing together and huddling to talk in little groups. Sometimes the play escalates and there’s drama, of course, but there’s no denying the buzz of community on a playground during the school day. It is a key part of a child’s day and where relationships often grow and are strengthened. Now that I’m walking my dogs' multiple times a day, I’ve come to know my neighbors in an entirely new way. The morning crew at my nearby coffee shop now knows my coffee order and has it ready before I even get inside (it’s a small coffee, pretty easy one to remember but still-I feel seen and connected!). I hear about things that are going on in our community from the folks who are closely involved, and I notice when things change over time. I am more present in my own neighborhood, and this feels invaluable. I have my puppies to thank for this, 100%. The Science Supports Getting Outside: I’ve written this as an opinion piece, but there’s science behind it. This Cultivating Health article from UC Davis clearly outlines the physical and mental health benefits of getting outside. I highly recommend it if you’d like some simple ideas and inspiration for your own journey into the outdoors. And as promised, please enjoy this photo of our furry friends Atticus (GusGus) and Penelope (Lopey). Blog Post By: Emily Marsh, Director of Clinical Intervention Services |
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