As we enter that long, uninterrupted stretch of school days leading up to spring break and find ourselves digging deep into the work of supporting our students, I want to take this opportunity to invite you all to take a step back and make a connection between the work you do every day and the conversation that continues to evolve at the national level. There is a reason that Seneca’s Unconditional Education program was awarded a federal education grant founded on the principle of supporting innovation in the field. You are all doing truly ground-breaking work and bringing to life the kind of best practice that is being talked about at the local, state, and national level. I was reminded of this recently when we were invited to join a national working group led by a sub-committee of national PBIS leaders. Their efforts revolve around the concept of an Interconnected Systems Framework, which they describe as “a proposed and developing interconnection of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and School Mental Health (SMH) systems to improve educational outcomes for all children and youth, especially those with or at risk of developing mental health challenges.”
Sound familiar? This group is developing protocols for supplementing multi-tiered academic and behavioral interventions with multi-tiered mental health interventions. As you can imagine, we have a lot to contribute to the conversation. To learn more about the Interconnected Systems Framework (ISF), please follow this link to the ISF monograph: “Advancing Education Effectiveness: Interconnecting School Mental Health and School-wide Positive Behavior Support.” This monograph is not lacking in content, so I suggest that you start with Chapter One as a good introduction and then see what other chapter titles capture your attention. As you read through these concepts, I hope you begin to recognize that as Unconditional Education staff, you are actually putting into practice the concepts that experts in the field are proposing as innovative best practice for supporting school communities. As always, you amaze.
Blog post written by:
Jenny Ventura, Director of Model Implementation
Jenny Ventura, Director of Model Implementation
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