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​Please scroll down to read our Unconditional Education blog posts.

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OUR UE MODEL AND SERVICES

Staff Highlight: Sanita McNeally

4/24/2023

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Position: Behavior Support Specialist (BSS)
What led you to your current position: I've always loved working with children in the school setting.  I'm also passionate about social justice issues. Being a BSS, I have the privilege to bring diversity, equity and inclusion issues directly to administrators.
What inspires you to do this work: I am passionate about creating spaces for all children to be their authentic self. I also wanted to support teachers to become more aware of positive behavior interventions to support student success. Being able to sit at the table with the schools administration to create systems for student discipline that move away from harmful zero- tolerance practices that are detrimental to our students is what inspired me to do this work. 
What is a recent highlight you’ve experienced in the work or an important lesson you’ve learned in this role: A recent highlight was being able to reduce defiant office referrals from 40 referrals in trimester 1 to 23 referrals in trimester 2. This was possible by addressing the subjective behaviors concerns directly with teachers one to one and during our monthly all staff meetings. I have and will continue to support teachers to increase their awareness around cultural competency, their personal biases, the power and the privilege they have as teachers, and how to use our behavior matrix to ensure office referrals are procedural and not personal.  We've got a long way to go but change is Here!!
​Share your life motto or something unique about yourself: "I cannot do all the good that the world needs, but the world needs all the good I can do." -Jana Stanfield

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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Resource: National Equity Project

4/21/2023

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Happy countdown to the end of the 2022-2023 school year! I have received requests for more tools and resources to support Unconditional Education (UE) partner's intentions to develop equitable cultures and systems. One resource I want to highlight is The National Equity Project.  An Oakland-based organization, 

"The National Equity Project is a leadership and systems change organization committed to increasing the capacity of people to achieve thriving, self-determining, educated, and just communities".  Their mission is to, "...transform the experiences, outcomes, and life options for children and families who have been historically underserved by our institutions and systems".

The National Equity Project is a well respected organization that has developed tools and frameworks that UE is integrating into our trainings and resources. Two examples are: Liberatory Design and Constuctivionist Listening. In addition, The National Equity Project has other tools and resources that can be shared and utilized with UE schools and school districts.. For further information, please check out the following links: 
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Resources — National Equity Project
Tools — National Equity Project

Best of luck the rest of this semester!! Please feel free to reach out with resource suggestions or questions. 

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​Blog Post Written By: Dev Cuny, Assistant Director of Implementation

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School Highlight: Alhambra Counseling Enriched Classroom

4/17/2023

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​Did you know that UE Alhambra's Counseling Enriched Classroom (CEC) program is located in Martinez, California, and that we work with high schoolers on a public campus? We are a one classroom, eleven student, and all Seneca staff program. There are amazing happenings at the site. Below are some that my team and I want to highlight.
 
Meeting clients where they are at: We work collaboratively with our school partners to create a truly individualized treatment that includes (1) aligning their class schedule (between mainstream and CEC) to match their identified strengths and needs, (2) incorporating a clinical focused lens to school based discipline, and (3) providing additional academic resources such as online credit recovery courses to help bridge gaps in school credits. Most importantly, the program is based on offering a supportive atmosphere environmentally (see pictures) as well as therapeutically (see pictures) that invites each student to be themselves and get the support they need. 
Development of real-world skills: We work to support the young folks to create resumes, apply to colleges and jobs, and navigate commitments that help to prepare them for life after high school. Currently, over 30% of the students are holding a part-time job and actively maintaining a work/school life balance.
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Blog Post Written By: Khom Sai ​J. Ounniyom, Clinical Supervisor and Assistant Director of School Partnerships 
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School Highlight: Dr. Charles Drew Elementary School

4/10/2023

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The sun is finally out and you can see the flowers blooming! From what I hear, the past few months have been challenging in our school communities due to rainy weather, an increase in challenging behaviors, and the fact that this work can be really exhausting. In the midst of all of that, we are seeing student progress and teams supporting one another through challenging times. This week I want to lift up Dr. Charles Drew Elementary School, located in San Francisco’s Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood. At Drew, we have Katy Krogstad (Unconditional Education Coach), Mickey Rosenberg (Clinical Intervention Specialist), and Oscar Prieto (Student Student Support Assistant). The team and school staff are rooted in demonstrating love, community, and joy for their students, families and school partners.

Here are a few words from the Seneca team at Dr. Charles Drew Elementary School: 
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What helps you collaborate as a team?
“Caring about each other as human beings first and also as colleagues. Taking the time to check in, listen, give a hug and center our meetings around topics that feel relevant and authentic to the growth of our students and ourselves for where we are at in our path in this work.”-  Katy Krogstad
What parts or moments of your work with students, families and staff bring you joy? ​
“Hearing from teachers, families and students that students have been growing towards their goals, receiving positive rewards and encouragement and are feeling successful. Having an environment where building joy is possible whether it be outside in the school garden, having bubbles in the Wellness center, playing laser tag on the stage as part of our earned PBIS rewards, or family photos and positive affirmations around a mirror to start each day in the classroom.” -Katy Krogstad
“A lot of this work can bring me joy, for instance, when I hear that a student is using coping skills and feelings language outside of sessions, when I'm able to connect with parents and share a laugh or genuine appreciation for their child with them, and when I get to share a more relaxed moment with staff at a work happy hour and just be a person with them!” -Mickey Rosenberg ​
“What brings me the most joy working with students, families, and staff are their presence. Seeing them all everyday and communicating with them is always a positive experience for me. I also learn a lot from them! Everyone is very nice and welcoming!” -Oscar Prieto
Thank you team and school staff for your commitment and care in creating a supportive and empowering community for students and families!
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Blog Post Written By: Cristina Sanchez-Cruz, Assistant Director of School Partnerships
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Building Community

4/10/2023

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The demographics of our students in Oakland are ever shifting and changing. In recent years, we have started to serve more students who are recent immigrants from Mexico, Central and South America. Some of them came to the U.S. alone, many of them traveling long distances under harrowing circumstances. Some are multilingual and others are monolingual in the indigenous language of their region. Their needs and experiences are unique and diverse.
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Over the past two years, our program has implemented several new services tailored specifically to the immigrant experience. First, two therapists have collaborated to provide newcomer groups. These groups bring together students who are new immigrants to process their experiences and get support from their peers as well as the therapist facilitators. Topic areas include sharing cultural values and practices, celebrating their heritage, processing their immigration journeys and discussing their experience living in a new country. One group started a practice of wearing traditional dress on Friday as a way to share their cultural heritage with their larger school community. These groups were such a resounding success that they were featured in a KQED radio program. Take a listen! 
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Second, at a middle school, a therapist has started a Spanish language parent support group. While this group is not specifically for parents of newcomer students, there is a strong focus on helping monolingual Spanish speaking parents to support the social-emotional wellness of their children. Group topics include communication strategies, adolescent development, love languages and much more!
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Meeting the needs of our students and families has always been at the heart of our school-based work. These new and creative interventions strategies have helped us to continue to meet those needs and build on the resilience of the immigrant communities we support. 
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Blog Post Written By: Amy Blair, Clinical Supervisor 
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